The sun set in a kaleidoscope of reds and yellows. Rose stood next to the Doctor, her hand in his as they watched the sunset. It was a peaceful end to what had been a peaceful day. On reflection Rose liked having time out from the whole saving the universe thing.

She looked at the Doctor. His face was bland but his eyes were dark and she knew he wasn't seeing the wonder in front of him. She hated seeing him like that, so she squeezed his hand.

"It's so pretty," she gushed, hoping to break his mood.

There was a low laugh. "Yes I guess so."

"I've had fun today," Rose continued. "Nice to have a change of pace."

"Like I said; nowt on this planet that's gonna eat us or shoot at us or anything like that. S'not even any poisonous plants."

Rose flushed. "Okay, you can drop that any time you like."

The Doctor laughed. "It was funny."

"Yeah, hysterical," Rose said dryly. "I love itching like anything. And all over my stomach."

"I never knew you were ticklish there."

The blush deepened. The plant in question had left her with a rash down both arms and over her stomach. It had itched abominably and the Doctor had had to rub cream onto the inflamed skin to stop Rose scratching herself raw. Only in doing so he'd discovered she was ticklish. Very ticklish. And had tormented her until she was clinging to him breathlessly. They had stared at each other, then the Doctor had say something stupid that had broken the mood.

That was always happening, Rose thought to herself as she watched the sun slide a little further down. They would mess about, often flirting like idiots. Then it would start getting serious and the Doctor would change mood. It had been weeks since they'd faced the Dalek and they still hadn't talked about it. The sexual tension between them was stifling at times.

Rose looked at the Doctor again, her eyes on his lips. He had nice lips. She wondered if he was a good kisser. She grinned in the growing darkness. There was really only one way to find out...

The Doctor froze as Rose kissed him. He had no idea where that had come from, but... her lips were warm and soft and he could smell the scent of her hair. For a moment he lost himself, closing his eyes and responding to her kiss. Then he realised he was kissing Rose. He pushed her back.

"What on earth are you doing?" he asked her.

"Kissing you," Rose answered somewhat defensively. "And you were kissing me back."

"Don't be daft." He was dismissive.

"I am not! You were!"

"I was not. Not on purpose anyway."

"Not on purpose? Why what's the matter with me?"

The Doctor sighed. "You're human Rose."

"Yes? And?"

"And I'm not. I might look it, but I'm not."

"So what? We're not... compatible or sommat?"

"We're... look it doesn't matter. I'm not human and I'm nine hundred years old. You're... different."

"Different?"

"Yeah."

"Too different?" Her voice was small.

"Yeah."

"Oh." There was a pause. "You know this isn't half as nice as I thought. And it's cold. I'm going in."

He watched her go and sighed. It was only a kiss, a part of him thought. Then he acknowledged that 'only kisses' often led to other things where humans were concerned. He did care for Rose, probably more than he should do. But it was because of that care he had to do this; he couldn't allow her to get involved with him. She'd only get hurt. One way or another.

Inside the TARDIS, Rose sat on her bed and cried softly. Any hope she had for something more in her relationship with the Doctor had just gone to smash. It was only now she realised just how much in love with him she was. He was everything to her and he'd just told her it was pointless.

Rose felt lost and alone, for the first time ever since she'd left home. Before when anything was wrong - when the world had ended and all hell had broken loose - he'd been there, right by her side, holding her hand. This time she was on her own and she was scared of how alone she felt. Her world had just crumbled.

Would he take her hand again or would he be afraid she'd read something into it?

Everything had changed. He would act the same around her now; she'd ruined it all. There was nothing else for it but to go home and lick her wounds. Release him from the burden of looking after her and not getting too close.

Rose stood and washed her face. She brushed herself down and went to the control room. The Doctor had come in and was tinkering – a sure sign he was uncomfortable with the situation.

"You know, I'd rather not be in the way," Rose told him quietly. "I guess if I'm too different I probably am. I don't want you worrying about me any more. Take me home."

The Doctor stared at her. "Are you sure?"

Rose nodded, not trusting her voice.

"Oh," he sounded disappointed. "Well. I did promise." He gave her a tight smile. "Ten seconds," he said and spun the control.

The TARDIS shuddered and shook and Rose grabbed a hold of a support to keep herself upright. When the world returned to normal, she crossed the room and looked out. Her mother stood there, shock on her face.

"One minute, okay?" Rose asked her. Her mother nodded dumbly.

Rose looked at the Doctor. He watched her but said nothing. She ran down the corridor and into her room. The tears were falling again. She had hoped he'd argue – wanted him to argue. Not to meekly take her home. She picked up her bag. Too different.

She entered the control room and looked at the Doctor, her heart in her eyes. His jaw tightened, but otherwise his expression was neutral.

"Thanks," she managed. "For everything. I'm sorry..." the tears ran down her face. "You... take care okay? Since I'm not here to pull your ass out..."

She dropped the bag and ran to him, throwing her arms around him. He stood stock still, his eyes closed against the pain of what he was doing, but she didn't see that. She planted a brief kiss on his cheek. Then she went to her bag and picked it up.

And left without another word.