-Chapter 25-

Rose sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hands. The Doctor had really needed to fix something on the TARDIS and who knows what Amy and Rory were doing, Rose thought almost laughing to herself.

She couldn't get what Cyril had said to her in her head. He had called her Rosie. Only one person had ever called we that. She did laugh then. It was insane. It couldn't possibly be him. Cyril was old and completely mad. He did know a lot though...and the mad part was believable...she shook her head. Nah, too weird. It couldn't be him.

"Hey Rosie." Jack said walking in. He had that worn look on his face. She had hardly ever seen that look. Only a very few times.

"Hey Jack. How are you?" she asked as he sat beside her.

"Better."

"Were you really worried I left Jack?" she asked putting a hand on his.

He stated at their hands. "It felt too real. Everything about it. For a second..."

Rose squeezed his hand. "I know. But I will never leave you like that. Not ever. You know that Jack."

"I do, thank you Rose."

"Is that what you were scared of? Cyril talked about fears." He looked at her and he didn't have to answer. His eyes gave him away, they always did with Rose.

"What did he do to you? I can't have been the only one, or maybe I'm just special." he joked. Rose smiled and nodded.

"I guess...it was a vision or dream or something. It felt so real too. Like you said..."

Jack turned to face her better. "Come on Rose, I told you."

"Yeah. It just..." she was interrupted by the Doctor walking in. He noticed they stopped talking when he walked in and frowned.

"Well don't stop on my account then." he said confused.

Jack just smiled and kissed Rose on her forehead. "I'm going to hit the sack; it's been a hell of a day, huh? Night Rosie, night Doc." he said standing and putting a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"Goodnight Jack." the Doctor said. He turned back to Rose with a still confused expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Today. Not exactly the best of trips."

"Not the worst either. Remember when I had my face taken off? That was worse." Rose said shuddering slightly.

"Or when I got stuck in that picture. Took you long enough to get me out that time." he joked.

"Oh you got to run the Olympic Torch, that wasn't that bad."

"Don't forget the edible ball bearings." he said grinning. She laughed and hugged him. He hugged her back. "Rose what happened, really?"

"Just...I don't know really. This vision Cyril gave me...it felt so real but I know it wasn't. Still..."

He pulled back to look at her. "What was it?"

She shut her eyes and sighed. "Can we...can we talk about it tomorrow? Right now I'm just happy we're home and safe, and we don't have to stand fifty feet from each other." she said, giving him a small smile.

"Very true." he said. He leant over slightly to kiss her.

The Doctor woke up after only about three hours sleep with Rose still sleeping soundly, her head still on his chest. He smiled. He wanted to wake her. He wanted to know why she had looked so sad earlier, and why yesterday her eyes were red from crying. Also what she was possibly hiding from him.

"Too early..." Rose mumbled, shifting her arm so it fell over his stomach.

"Sorry Rose." he whispered. He grinned. She must have felt him worrying. He smiled wider. She could feel what he did now. Well that wasn't completely true, she could barely feel the strongest emotions but when they were actually bonded she would feel it all.

He still couldn't get over the fact. He could be with her. Truly and fully. Well once they were able to actually bond. He hadn't exaggerated; it actually was a very complicated process.

Suddenly He felt Rose shift up and kiss his cheek. He grinned and turned his head. "Hello." he said.

"Hello." she said, still a bit groggy from sleep. "It's only been three hours Doctor. Why are you up?"

"Oh I don't sleep often, you know that."

"Well I do, and aren't I Time Lord now?"

"Yes but you're Rose. You sleep quite a lot. While you may not technically need as much anymore, your body will probably still want to."

"Oh, good to know. So Doctor why were you worrying then? You were weren't you? I thought it was worry." she said resting her chin on his chest and looking at him.

He forgot what she was saying for a moment. Or more what he was suppose to say. "Uh, oh. Just...yesterday. You did say you would tell me tomorrow, yesterday."

Rose sat up more and looked at the ceiling. She had said that hadn't she? "Yeah." she agreed quietly.

"Rose, what's wrong? I can't help of I don't know what is wrong in the first place. And when it comes to you I can't stand not being able to help."

"Um. Well what do you mean by yesterday? A lot did happen..."

"Why did Rory think you were hiding something?" he asked. She looked at him and didn't need the connection to his mind to see the hurt in her eyes. Another thing Cyril was right about then.

"Cause...cause I am." she said quietly and looked back up at the ceiling. How was she supposed to even begin to explain it?

"Oh." the Doctor said quietly too and looked at the end of the bed. Quite a nice end of a bed. Good structure. Nice color. Good design qualities. Mahogany. Some varnish. Standard end of a bed really.

"Doctor..." Rose started, then she looked over and saw him fixating on the bed. Now she had gone and made it worse. She moved to face him completely but he didn't move. She took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "Not because I wanted to keep anything from you. Nothing like that." she said honestly. His eyebrows knitted together.

"Then why?"

"I'm scared. Nearly terrified actually." she admitted. She bit her lip and his hurt left his eyes. He turned towards her and hugged her to him.

"More a reason to tell me Rose." he said. She took a deep breath and nodded into him.

"I know, I do. It's just...I don't even understand it and that scares me too." he pulled back and kept his hands at her shoulders.

"What is it?"

"Its...it's um...well this." she turned and took a box off the table beside the bed. She had noticed the TARDIS putting some of her things in his room last night and stuck it in there again.

She sat it in her lap and just looked at it for a moment. "The box I got you on Raxacorikafalapatorius?" he asked confused. She grinned slightly but shook her head.

With another breath she opened it and took out the watch. She closed her hand over it and set the box aside. "It's this." she handed the watch to him.

His eyes widened as she dropped it in his hand. He brought it closer to his face and turned it around. It was warm. And not just the warm metal got from being held for awhile. Its core was warm. And the markings on the outside were unmistakable.

"Rose...where did you get this?" he asked slowly.

"Oh well, in the other world. It was a...um, a gift. I suppose." she said.

"A gift? Rose, someone wouldn't just give this away. Who gave it to you?" he asked confused. No sane person would just give it over without a very, very important reason. And probably not a happy one.

"John. John gave it to me."

He lowered the fob watch. Well that explained who gave it to her. But he didn't understand. John was the past him. He trusted Rose completely. If this was what he thought it was, it was still impossible for John to have done anything to make it warm. John had been human, completely human. A human wouldn't have been able to do anything with it but tell time. "Rose, this is important, do you remember why?"

"Well yes, actually I do." she looked at him wondering if he would actually make her say it. He just looked at her waiting. She closed her eyes. "Sort of. He knew he was sick. He knew he wasn't gonna live too much longer. So he gave it to me."

"Oh. Right. But Rose it doesn't make sense. John was human."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Have you looked at the engravings closely? Since you've been back?"

"No." he handed it to her. She looked and for a second didn't see anything. Then she did. She understood the markings. 'my love. my heart. my mind. my soul.'

"What...Doctor is this Galifrayan?"

"Yes. It can be used as a bit of a last resort. It doesn't have to be a watch, but well mine was and so were a lot of them. It allowed a Time Lord to put his or her memories, and well whole part that was Time Lord, inside. While the body and whatever fake life they chose was completely human. Or at least if that's what they chose. Could just as easily be another species. Well not easy, it's an extremely painful process."

"Wait, so if John was human he couldn't work it?"

"Right, that and I'm positive he didn't even begin to have the proper technology to do what it's used for."

"I think I'm supposed to open it." she said nervously and bit her lip.

The Doctor tried to open it and couldn't. "Hm. I think...there's a DNA lock on it. Only opens for the hand that matches the signature imputed."

"What could he...put in there? What would make it warm?"

Well the consciousness of a Time Lord, but that wasn't it. No other Time Lords. "I don't know." he said finally.

"That can't be a good sign then."

He felt her worry and nerves and set the watch down. "You don't have to open it Rose."

"I know. I just...I have this feeling that I should. That and the TARDIS told me to."

"She did?"

"Yeah."

"Rose was there something else? I doubt this watch would make you cry. Was it Cyril? Did he hurt you?"

"No...no not, directly I guess. I-I had this vision I guess. Like Jack did when he thought he saw the TARDIS leaving him alone." she but her lip again and didn't look him in the eye. What if when she told him he realized it was true. And what if he left her somewhere on earth. What of he avoided her? That would be worse.

The Doctor felt some of her emotions and frowned. "Rose, what was it? What was so terrible?" she looked up and searched his eyes for something, not sure what.

"You."

"Me? I was terrible?" now he was even more confused.

"No. No, that's not what I meant. The vision, it was of you."

"Oh. What happened?"

"Um you...you hated me. You were...so disgusted I could see it in your eyes. Then, well then bloody John popped up. And you were killed. And you didn't regenerate. You died." she said and didn't look him in the eye.

The Doctor just looked at her. That was what she fears? "Rose..." she just but her lip and continued to stare at the duvet. "Rose that is the most impossible thing I have ever heard."

She looked up confused. "What?"

"That I could ever hate you. Or be disgusted with you. Is impossible, completely." she looked up and he saw that little sliver of her that thought for some mad reason she wasn't good enough. "Rose. I love you. With my entire being. There is possible no way I will ever, in my entire life, not love you. I love that you're Time Lord. I love I am able to have a telepathic connection with you. But even if you weren't, even if you were still my little pink and yellow human, I would still love you just as much as I do now. No matter what you are, you will always be that one thing."

Rose grinned. "What's that?"

"Mine." he said before he crushed his lips to hers.