The plot begins to thicken. ;)

In no time, the Doctor and Rose were immersed in beginning the repairs to the TARDIS and configuring what was needed to integrate the living coral into her systems. They worked for hours side-by-side, happily engaged in conversation and working seamlessly together, just like always.

Rose finally sat up and stretched her neck side-to-side, saying she needed a break. "We didn't even have time for breakfast this morning and I'm starving. Why don't we go get some lunch and then afterwards we can get back to work?"

The Doctor sat up and brushed himself off. "Good idea."

Rose then glanced down at her grease-smeared clothes and the Doctor's blue suit in an equally soiled state. "I think we could do with a change of clothes first," she suggested, then added brightly, "And we don't even have to go shopping to do it!"

"Now that is the best news of all!" he said, standing up and playfully bumping her shoulder. Rose giggled as they headed off to their respective rooms to get changed.

Rose was struck by the surrealism of being back in her old room on the TARDIS — like stepping into a past life. Everything was just as she had left it. As joyous as her time and travels with the Doctor had been in the past, a thrill of excitement went through her at the thought of what the future held for them now. As Rose sorted through her old clothes, she realized her taste had changed a bit, had matured. But her likes were still similar, and she managed to find something suitable to change into.

She emerged a short while later and found the Doctor already waiting for her in the console room. Rose stopped dead in her tracks the instant she saw him. For a moment it felt as if the air had rushed out of her lungs and she couldn't breathe. He was wearing his brown pinstriped suit, a collared shirt, and tie. Her mind instantly flashed back to the last time she saw him dressed like that.

The day he turned his back on her and left.

She felt tears stinging her eyes at the memory that was still raw in her mind. It was as if she were looking back at that same man now. The one who always put up barriers between them and kept his feelings closely guarded. The one who wore the pinstripes almost like a suit of armor. The one who left her without the intention of ever returning.

Suddenly, the fear and doubt she had felt a few days before came rushing back. What if everything went back to the way it had been? What if he returned to his old ways of always running and never looking back? He had the TARDIS now; he didn't have to just settle for this life on Earth — this life with her.

The Doctor immediately noticed the troubled expression on her face and eyes filling with tears, and the fact that her feet now seemed unable to move. He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"What is it, Rose? What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

Unable to meet his eyes, she looked away and shook her head. "'S nothing," she said quietly.

He reached out his hand and turned her face back towards him. "Hey," he said gently, "Tell me. Don't shut me out Rose, please."

She sucked in a breath as the tears spilled down her cheeks. "It's just...seeing you like this...it brings back memories. And those memories still hurt," Rose confessed.

Despite the progress they had made, the Doctor knew it would take Rose some time to fully move past the fact that he had left her behind the way he had. It wasn't something she could just forget happened. Although he was now here with her, he was also the same one who made the decision to leave her, and at the time, didn't think he would ever return.

The Doctor wrapped his arms around Rose and tucked her head under his chin. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't think."

She shook her head. "It's okay. It's not the suit...it's just..."

"The man wearing the suit?" he supplied.

He took a deep breath. "Rose, things are different now. I'm different now. We won't go back to the way things used to be, I promise," he assured her, as if knowing her thoughts. "I couldn't. I want this life with you more than I've ever wanted anything else in the universe. I am not about to make the same mistakes of the past."

Rose pulled back and gazed into his eyes full of sincerity. "I know. I believe you — I do. I just have to stop separating the two in my mind — the one who walked away and the one who stayed. You walked away, but you also came back. You're here now, and I'm trying to just put the past behind us."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I won't leave you again, Rose. That's a promise."

She smiled and moved closer to brush her lips with his, then took his hand. "Why don't you come buy me some chips, eh?"

He smiled back. "Chips it is."

Rose turned to head down the ramp, but he tugged gently on her hand, turning her back to him. She looked at him questioningly.

He shrugged. "I love you," he said simply.

Her heart fluttered at the simplicity yet gravity of his words. He was a different man now. And whatever the future held for them, it was going to be fantastic.

She brought her hand up to the back of his head and pulled him forward to kiss him once more. "I love you, too," she murmured into the kiss as he smiled against her lips. He then took her hand once again and swung it happily between them as they headed out.

-:-:-:-

The Doctor and Rose were lost in their own blissful little world as they made their way through Torchwood heading back to the TARDIS after lunch. They were stealing kisses and laughing softy and almost ran right into the man coming around the corner. All three abruptly stopped and took a step back.

"Rose!" the man said enthusiastically. "I've been looking for you."

"Joron!" Rose greeted brightly. "I was gonna come 'round and say hello once I got the chance."

"You came back," he said delightedly. "I didn't think you would be returning."

She looked up at the Doctor, her eyes twinkling. "I found what I was looking for. Joron, this is the Doctor," she introduced.

The tension between the two was visible as they shook hands, both gripping just a little tighter than necessary. Each knew of the other, and they already shared an equal disdain.

The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties, was tall, (but about a quarter of an inch shorter than the Doctor, he noted with satisfaction), had dark hair, a muscular build, and chiseled features. He looked just a little too much like a male model for the Doctor's liking.

"So, you're the famous Doctor," Joron remarked, sounding completely unimpressed as he sized him up. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Can't say I've heard much about you," the Doctor replied nonchalantly. Rose surreptitiously poked him in the side.

"Rose tells me you're not from Earth," Joron continued.

The Doctor drew himself up straight, using every centimeter of his height advantage to tower over the other man imposingly. "I'm a Time Lord," he replied in that superior tone which made people and planets sit up and take notice.

"Never heard of them. Am I supposed to be impressed?" Joron asked flatly as he took a challenging step closer.

The Doctor smirked and mimicked his stance as he, too, stepped closer. "Those with intelligence usually are," he assured him.

"Okaaaay, let's just tone-down the testosterone, shall we?" Rose interjected as she stepped between them and placed a dividing hand on both their chests.

The Doctor and Joron both took a step back, but continued to firmly hold each other's gaze. After a highly tense moment, Joron then focused back on Rose. He brushed her arm intimately with his hand in a way that made the Doctor clench his jaw, then leaned in closer towards her. "I'll see you later, Rose," he said, his tone dipping low.

"Yeah," she responded, trying to interject cheeriness in her tone, "we should all get together for a bite to eat or something before you leave."

The Doctor put his arm around Rose possessively. "Brilliant idea!" he spoke up with false cheer. "Rose and I could meet you at the chippie 'round the corner! So when are you leaving?" he asked bluntly, ignoring the glare from Rose.

"I had planned to leave within a few days, but I think I may have just found a reason to postpone it a bit longer," Joron said, while never taking his eyes off Rose.

The Doctor cleared his throat exaggeratedly. "Yes, well, I'm flattered. But don't feel the need to stay longer on my account," he quipped sarcastically. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get back to our repairs. Rose was just saying to me in bed this morning what a busy day this was going to be, so we better get back to it."

Rose shot the Doctor another look which he purposely ignored as he led her back down the corridor, his arm still firmly around her. It wasn't just jealously he was feeling, though that was undeniably a part of it. The Doctor didn't trust this man. And he would learn all too soon that he had every reason to feel that way.

Joron watched them go, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Ah, Rose," he murmured to himself. "Oh, this is almost too perfect," he chuckled darkly. He then turned to leave, already making plans that would soon change the lives of all concerned.