Rose felt rather groggy when she woke up. As her brain began slowly processing, she realised she couldn't be at the flat. This didn't feel like their bed. Plus there were noises all around her, though they sounded weirdly muffled.

She didn't want to open her eyes, or wake up. Sleep had been nice. She wanted to go off again …

Wait, who was that holding her hand? The answer came to her almost at once—the Doctor. She could tell; she'd held his hand enough times to be able to recognise it blind.

There was a rattling of curtains, and an unfamiliar voice spoke. "Dr Tyler? How's your wife doing?"

We're not married, Rose thought, but it was too much effort to try and say it out loud.

The Doctor didn't correct the speaker. "Much better, thank you." He paused slightly. "You couldn't get her some food, could you? I think she's waking up. No naz milk."

"Of course." The curtains rattled again.

"Rose?" the Doctor said softly. "Are you awake?"

"Slightly," Rose murmured, trying to open her eyes and wincing at the whiteness everywhere. "What's going on?"

"You're in hospital. Don't panic," he added quickly, sensing her alarm. He looked like he was about to say something else, but the curtains opened. Rose glimpsed rows of beds outside.

The person who'd opened them, dressed in a uniform that could have been a nurse's, was carrying a tray. She smiled upon seeing Rose.

"Ah, you are awake." She smiled at both of them and handed Rose the tray. "I'll leave you and your companion alone, Dr Tyler."

"Thank you, Sten."

Once she'd gone again, Rose raised her eyebrows at the Doctor. "I thought we weren't going to use that word anymore?"

"Actually, we didn't get a chance to discuss it—and I had to tell the hospital you were my wife because there was no way in the universe they were going to let me treat you otherwise," he said. It wasn't until then Rose realised he was wearing a white doctor's coat. "So, breakfast?"

Rose looked down at the tray. She didn't recognise any of the foods on it, and hesitated, memories of the meal coming back.

"It's fine," the Doctor said in a gentle voice. "I promise none of these are going to make you collapse."

She slowly picked up a spoon. The plate was one of those plastic trays divided into sections. The largest held what looked like Angel Delight … but it was green. One of the two smaller sections held an unfamiliar kind of sausage, and the other, red jelly.

"Don't tell me," Rose said as the Doctor opened his mouth. "I'm not sure I want to know what they are." He smiled as she began eating. The food was a far cry from the meal last night, but she had to admit, she had tasted worse.

"So," the Doctor said. "Do you want the good news, the good news, or the good news?"

"The good news please."

"Which one?"

"Doctor!"

"Oh, okay. The first good news is, you're gonna be fine. Give it a couple of hours, you'll be able to come back to the flat. The second good news is, you're allergic to naz milk."

"How is that good news?"

"I was afraid it was going to be the laya; Ylies put that stuff in everything, it would have been quite difficult to have to avoid. Whereas naz milk is easy to."

"Oh, good. And the third good news?"

"I've got a job!"