A/N; I am so sorry about the delay in this chapter. My laptop seems to be breaking down completely , and this was the first chance I had to get to a different computer. I'm also sorry about how short this chapter is because I had to rush it. I promise to get another one up before the end of the night. Thanks for being so patient!

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.

It took Pond longer than he had expected to arrive at Torchwood.

For one thing, he forgot Torchwood 1 had a codename, and spent more than fifteen minutes argueing with the taxi driver that Torchwood was a real place before he remembered they called it Canary Wharf.

Another thing was that he had spent a while sitting in the flat in shocked silence. Rose's Doctor was dead. He could barely fathom just how much he meant to Rose, but he knew she would be heartbroken. He wasn't sure how she was going to cope. He knew Rose was strong- but he also knew that grief had brought people stronger than her to their knees.

He didn't know why he was so sure of that. He had a feeling that he had lost people important to him in his past life.

But of one thing he was positive. Rose Tyler would need him more than ever now. And he was going to stick by her.

No matter what.

Rose dreamed of the Doctor.

She dreamed about him almost every night, but this time it was different. In her drug induced sleep, the Doctor's face floated in front of her, just out of her reach. He was calling to her, his dark eyes filled with sorrow. He was reaching out for her hand, and though she tried, she just couldn't grasp it.

I'm still just an image. No touch.

In her dream she was crying, a harsh wind whipping her hair around. She realized she was back on Bad Wolf Bay. She had lost him.

Again.

When Pond finally arrived outside Torchwood 1, he found Pete Tyler waiting for him outside the door, looking resigned and worn out. He nodded at Pond as he approached, holding out his hand. Pond shook it limply before getting straight to the point.

"How is she?" He said, dreading the answer.

"She's sleeping." Pete said, looking guilty.

"She's still passed out?" Pond said, shocked. It had been over an hour since he had gotten the phone call from Pete saying that Rose had fainted after hearing what had happened.

"Not exactly." Pete said, pinching the bridge of his nose in a way that said he was stressed out. He was leading Pond up the stairs. "We had to, er, calm her down."
Pond stopped in his tracks, staring at Pete in disbelief. "You drugged her?"

Pete turned around, looking more tired than ever. "We didn't have a choice. She was becoming hysterical."

Pond felt a deep sympathy for Rose, but at the same time he was glad he hadn't had to see her like that. It didn't change the anger he felt for Pete at that moment, though.

"You can't do that! You should have expected this, she's clearly in shock. For God's sake, she's your daughter!"

"She's not my-" Pete started, his voice raised, but then he stopped himself. He took a deep breath, looking pleadingly at Pond.

"I didn't know what else to do."

Pond hesitated only for a minute before allowing Pete to lead him down the corridor, into the medical unit.

Rose's dream was getting stranger, more intricate- more real. She was with the Doctor again, and it was so clear that she could almost count the faint freckles on his face. They weren't on Bad Wolf Bay anymore. They weren't anywhere. The whole place was dark, and the Doctor was all that Rose could see. He was grasping her hands tightly, looking at her intensely. She could almost feel the weight of his hands against hers. They spent a moment just looking at eachother, Rose drinking him in, never wanting to forget any detail of him.

"You're dead." She whispered. She only allowed herself to say it out loud because it was a dream- she knew it was a dream. She would never allow herself to believe it while she was awake.

The Doctor said nothing, just kept looking at her, although his eyes were brimming up with tears. The image terrified her. He was usually so able to keep his emotions hidden.

"Find me." He whispered, his hand moving to her face.
"I will." Rose promised, looking at him.

He smiled softly at her, but then something happened. He wasn't the Doctor anymore. His hair was longer, lighter. His eyes had changed to a clear green, but he was still looking at her in the same intense way. "Rose." He said urgently. "Find me."

"Pond?" She whispered.

"Find me." He said once more, before fading away.

"Rose?" Pond stood by her bed, touching her arm uncertainly. Her hair was splayed out on the pillow like a golden halo, and he was stunned momentarily by how beautiful she looked. He cleared the thought from his mind and touched her arm again, shaking it gently. "Rose."

Suddenly her eyes shot open. She looked at him and grabbed his arm, pulling him closer to her. Her eyes were wide, her breaths coming in short gasps. "Doctor!"

He looked at her in shock, scaldingly aware of how close he was to her. "N-No. Rose, it's me. It's Pond."

She looked at him in confusion, her hand still tight around him. After a moment, she loosened her grip, letting her hand slide back into place by her side. "Sorry. For a second there, I thought.."

She shook her head. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Pond said breathlessly.

But it wasn't. Because for that split second, Rose's eyes had been filled with nothing but love for him. She had thought he was Doctor Smith. And she had loved him- just for a second.

Pond pulled up a chair and sat down on it, shakily. He was terririfed.

Because that was the moment where he had realized that he was in love with Rose Tyler.