The next morning John woke when he felt Rose begin to stir. She was still cuddled against him and his arms held her close. He loosened his grip on her as she slowly pulled away, making him groan which he didn't mean to. Rose giggled at his small protest and he opened his eyes to see her smiling at him. Even with her hair a mess and sleep still in her eyes, she looked beautiful.

"Hi," she told him shyly. She didn't even remember falling asleep the night before, let alone cuddled with him.

"Hi," he repeated back in a gentile tone. He kept staring at her, the sunlight coming in through the window almost made her glow. She was too perfect and he wanted to wake up like this forever.

As he stared at her, Rose felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry for…," she pointed at the small space that she occupied all night.

John looked to where she pointed, as if he would see something, "nah, it's alright. You dozed off and seemed so comfortable, I didn't want to wake you."

"I don't even remember falling asleep," she tried to think back but the memory was hazy. "It couldn't have been too comfortable for you though."

"Believe me, I've slept through far worse," John immediately wanted to slap himself. He just made a perfect night sound like anything but.

"Oh," Rose's face changed to a slight frown. She paused then changed the subject, "well, I'm just going to take a quick shower, if that's ok."

John nodded and watched her climb out of the bed, forgetting about how she was dressed. Those shorts left very little to the imagination and he couldn't bring himself to look away. He watched her hips sway with each step and when she stopped midway to bend over and pick up her bag he could barely stop himself from growling.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, his hand immediately came up and smacked over his face. "Of all the things you could have said…," he mumbled to himself angerily. He sat up and noticed his next problem, his swollen cock left a very noticeable bulge in his pants and worried if Rose saw that too, what would she think of him? He closed his eyes and took a few deep, calming breaths, hoping to contain his…excitement. He again scolded himself for his perverted thoughts while he climbed out of bed and slipped his boots on. He then left the room to find Alejandro because he knew if he heard Rose in the shower, the images in his head would drive him mad.

Once Rose shut the door she leaned her back against it and rubbed her hands over her eyes, upset with herself. Although her memories from the previous night were a bit foggy, she could still remember them. She remembered her playful touches at the dinner table and how she was practically on top of John before she fell asleep. She looked down at herself and what she was wearing, wondering what impression that left on him. All that hard work of trying to improve their friendship ruined in one night. She then heard John moving and the door open and close as he left the room.

She sighed and turned on the shower, undressed, and stepped in. The water was a perfect warmth as she stood under the powerful spary. As she washed up, she wondered how she was going to fix their friendship again. Should she even mention it? She played different scenarios in her head from him shutting her out like he did the last time to sending her away forever, she was not going to let that happen. She also imagined a more pleasant outcome where they spent the rest of the day in that bed, doing more than reading.

Once finished, she got out and dried off. Then she pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, much more modest than before. She stepped into the bedroom and found that John was definitely gone, not a good sign considering how he acted the last time. She strolled over to the bed and smoothed out the bedspread before sitting down. She glanced over at the book that John had left on the bedside table and the corners of her mouth curled into a smile as she thought back on their beautiful moment, even if he didn't think of it that way. She picked up the aged book and flipped back to the story he was reading to her. She really did enjoy it but her tiredness won her over so she never got to hear the end. She found the last part of the story that she could remember and decided to finish it before she went out to face John.

In the kitchen, Alejandro was seated at the table, eating breakfast with two of his men. When John walked in, the two men excused themselves and Alejandro invited John to join him. John sat and poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Did you sleep well?" Alejandro asked.

"Very," John smiled. "I can't remember the last time I slept so well."

"Wild night?" Alejandro smiled mischeivously.

"It was pleasnat," John told him. "Anyway, is there any new information on van Statten?"

"Ah, right to business ." Alejandro laughed. "There is some new information, actually. Turns out that contact that he met and traveled to Durango with is an old friend of yours."

John raised an eyebrow, "who?"

"Harold Saxon"

John felt his heart sink when he heard the name of his childhood friend and war buddy. "Any idea why?"

"They are trying to start something. Whatever it is, they are keeping it quiet for now. I doubt it's good."

John nodded, his mind elsewhere. Harold Saxon is a dangerous man and if he continued to follow van Statten it was more than likely that he would find Saxon as well. He then worried about Rose around a man like that.

"I have a car you can use, and the roads are clear again." Alejandro said, bringing John's attention back to him.

John nodded, "thanks, let me talk to Rose first."

Alejandro nodded back, he could see the paleness in John's face but decided not to acknowledge it.

John stood from the table and headed back to the room that he shared with Rose. His feet felt heavy as his mind lingered on the previous night and how Rose made him feel. He stopped at the door, looking at it, not ready to go in. As much as he didn't want to, he came to the decision that maybe it was time to let Rose go home while he followed van Statten on his own.

He really didn't want Rose to encounter Harold Saxon if he really was there. He's had it out for John for a very long time and he would gladly use Rose against him if he got the chance. He also thought it was a good idea to take a break considering how his feelings for her seem to be shifting, maybe some distance will set his mind straight.

He took a deep breath and opened the door to find Rose showered, dressed, and sitting on the bed, reading his book from the night before. She sheepishly smiled at him, "sorry, I just wanted to see how it ended before I came out."

His heart melted at the sight, "it's fine, I've been in that same position many times before." He shut the door behind him and sat down on the bed beside her.

She handed him the book, "I might borrow this later, some of those stories look fascinating. Any new information on van Statten?"

"Actually, yeah, there is," John stood up and put his book back in his duffle then turned to face Rose. "I know you aren't going to like this, but I think it would be best if you go home. Just for the holidays."

"What?" Rose cried out, springing to her feet. "Why?" She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, this is exactly what she feared.

John sighed, he couldn't even look at her and instead focused on a spot on the floor. "This man that he met up with is dangerous, more dangerous than anyone I've ever met."

"So, you are going to just do it alone?" Rose argued.

"It's better than putting you in danger." He told her back sternly.

Rose turned away, trying to hide the hurt in her eyes. "Are you going to come back, or are you just going to leave me behind once I'm gone."

"I would never leave you behind, Rose." He told her sincerely, "I just need you to trust me on this. Besides, don't you want to be with family for Christmas?"

He had a point, it wouldn't be fair to her Mum if she didn't come home. Leaving John didn't seem right either. "How about you? Don't you have family to be with?"

"Nah, it's just me," he told her shrugging it off.

"Nobody at all?" she asked again.

He shook his head solemnly, he didn't want to go into details right now.

"Oh," Rose said glumly. She could see in his eyes that there was a deep loneliness that he kept hidden. "There's still me…" she added shyly, hoping he understood that he didn't have to always be alone.

A smile crept across his face as he felt his heart aching for her.

"I mean…" Rose continued, trying to fill the lingering silence. "If you want, you can spend Christmas with me, at my place."

John couldn't remember the last time he spent a Christmas with anybody, he usually treated it like any other day. Rose's offer was tempting but he really did need to try and track down these men. "Maybe, let's see how this search goes."

John had Rose at the airport by lunchtime, making her feel like he was trying to get rid of her quickly. She also knew that he wanted to begin his search so she didn't take it too personally.

"Do you have anyone to pick you up when you get there?" John asked as he walked with Rose into the airport.

Rose shook her head, "I was hoping to surprise Mum."

"I'll call Jack, he can come an get you." John came to a stop outside security, feeling awkward about saying goodbye. "Well…I assume you know where to go from here."

"Yeah, it's pretty self-explanatory," Rose faked a laugh.

There was a long pause as they both stared around, not sure what to say or do next. Rose didn't want to leave him and part of her still worried that she would never see him again. "I'll miss you," she mumbled out.

John grumbled and pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Nah, I'm sure you've grown tired of this daft old face."

"I like your face," Rose told him before she buried her face into his shoulder.

They held each other for a long moment before John gave her a final squeeze and breathed in her scent one last time. He regretfully let her go and started backing away, knowing he had to leave now before he embarrasses himself. "I'll be back before you know it, then you'll remember what a pain in the ass I am. Just you wait, Rose Tyler."

Rose laughed, no longer able to hide the tears that were escaping. She had no more words, she waved and started walking away. John stopped and watched Rose leave, each step taking her further away from him. He wanted to follow her, give her a proper goodbye, and kiss her. Oh, he wanted to kiss her. She looked back at him one last time, giving him a weak smile, before she disappeared completely.

John didn't move from his spot for several minutes, hoping she would come back but knowing if she did, he would tell her to turn around. This was for her own good, he reminded himself, so why did it feel wrong? He's had women in his life before, what was it about Rose that made her different? Whatever it was, John couldn't wait to find out.