F/O:- Hello again! ducks out from behind cover Now, I know you guys might be a teensy bit annoyed that this has been hanging on for, ooh, months now, but I have excuses! holds up sheaf of paper Really! Well, OK, maybe not. My GCSEs are coming up though, and I've been trying to cut down on writing-time (except for coursework, obviously), or at least to small snippets that aren't connected to anything. I think it might've worked... Nearly.
But this story is finished now, and though unBeta'ed, I've done some intensive work on it, so it should be legible. I hope you enjoy it, because I sure as hell have :D
Disclaimer - As usual, this does not belong to me, but those clever people at the Beeb.
PS. There might be a sequel. Sorry.

End of Chapter 11…

"Look after her, or you'll have more than a slap," she warned, and he nodded.

"With my life."

"Come on," Rose said, taking his hand with a grin. "Let's go home."

Chapter 12

Back at the TARDIS, Jack slunk off to wherever it was he went when it was clear the other two wanted some 'alone-time'. The Doctor keyed in the co-ordinates and pulled them off the familiar planet with ease, before turning to Rose.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," she grinned a little to prove her point.

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to ask, but he did anyway.

"What did you talk about with your mum?"

Rose sighed. "Just – stuff."

The Doctor wasn't sure if that was an invitation to ask more, or to drop the subject, so he fiddled a bit longer. Luckily, he seemed to have made the right decision as Rose walked up to him.

"I, I want to say that I'm sorry."

He glanced across at her, frowning. "What for?"

"…For never thinkin' about you. I mean, I knew all this would be hard on you and stuff – I'm not completely thick," she smiled weakly. "But I, well I thought you were leavin' me. I know you weren't," Rose added hastily. "But I didn't know where you'd go, so I just assumed…"

The Doctor reached over and took her hands in his.

"Rose, I have done many things in my life. Things I've been proud of, things I've been not so proud of. Things I regret, I wish I should've done… But there is one thing I'll never do, and that is dump you home and run off."

For a second, the words hung between them, warming their hearts. Rose seemed to brighten at the words, and her eyes lit up.

Then it was broken.

When she crumpled, only his swift reflexes stopped her head from striking the console. Rose sagged against him, her face contorting and paling in pain.

"Chest," she breathed, her eyes glazing. Then they rolled back into her head and she collapsed into unconsciousness.

Uncommonly, the Doctor swore, his blue eyes full of shock and worry.

Two fingers at her pulse point told him exactly enough to back up her symptoms, and he quickly lowered her to the floor, his hand resting over her heart, which lay dormant beneath her ribcage.

Humans called it a coronary – a heart attack, he remembered as he applied pressure. Now, to do the human recovery technique, or the Gallifreyan cardiovascular technique? His mind seemed desperate to feed him unnecessary information.

"Come on Rose," he muttered, mentally keeping count as he made her heart beat. Fear was held back, panic was reigned in – all that mattered was keeping her going.

Every few seconds, he put his fingers to her pulse, and every few seconds his own hearts stopped as he held his breath.

When he finally felt a pulse, he sighed in relief and sagged onto the metal floor for a second, before collecting Rose's light form in his arms and carried her to the medical bay.

The colour was already returning to her cheeks as he scanned her, and to his immense relief, she seemed mostly unaffected by the sudden heart attack. It had presumably been a result of the second heart starting up that he could feel resonating under her breast.

She didn't wake up as he sat down on a battered chair and sobbed into his hands.

"…Not here again," Rose mumbled as she woke up.

A snort sounded from next to her, and as her eyes focused, she found herself looking into the Doctor's concerned blue gaze.

"Well, if you will keep collapsing on me," he replied lightly, perching on the side of the bed. "How do you feel?"

She considered a moment, before a hand strayed to her breast. "Two hearts?"

"Yes," he replied softly, hiding his own conflicting emotions.

"Weird," she stated succinctly. The Doctor couldn't resist a small smile.

"Good weird or bad weird?"

"Good weird," Rose replied firmly, answering his unasked question. There was no way he was stopping her now.

He couldn't think of a suitable reply, so he stood instead.

"You might want to get some rest," he suggested. "I'll see you to your room."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yes sir."

Still, she took his gallantly offered hand to help her up, and didn't protest when he made sure she got to her destination.

"Why've we landed?" Rose said, coming into the control room some time later as the tell-tale resounding of engines betrayed their actions. The two men looked up from their respective positions at the controls and clinging on to one of the columns.

"Rose, you should be in bed," The Doctor said, looking at her from across the room.

"I feel fine," she waved it off, walking over. "Why have we landed?"

"We need some more supplies," Jack said, trying to persuade the TARDIS that staying still was a good idea.

"Supplies?" Rose said with a frown, leaning on the rail. "I thought we got everything from home."

"Just some medical stuff," The Doctor interrupted shortly. "Go to bed, Rose."

"I said I'm fine," she said firmly. "No headaches, no sickness, nothing. And I refuse to lie in that bed when we're on a new planet, just because you lot all think I'm about to die or something."

"Doc," Jack interrupted, trying to relieve some of the tension. "You want me to go and recon?"

"No, I know these people. They'll be more than helpful," the Time Lord said, grabbing his beloved leather jacket from a chair.

"Can I come?" Rose said hopefully. She was rewarded by a sharp look.

"No. You're going to get in that bed and stay there until I come back."

She folded her arms, in imitation of one of his favourite poses.

"Really."

"Rose," the Doctor said cajoling. "The faster you get in that bed, the faster I can go out and get the device I need to stabilise you. I don't want you collapsing all over the place again."

"I have no intention of going to bed at all – I feel perfectly fine," she glared, daring him to try to forget their earlier argument. He glared back.

"Rose, don't act like a child."

"Isn't it you who keeps calling me 'stupid ape'?" she retorted. "I've told you once, I have no intention of letting this stop me."

"So you're just going to wait until you fall over again? Until you die because something happens that we can't help?" he half-yelled, moving around the controls so that he could face her properly.

"It's not killing me! You and Jack both said that!" Rose replied, trying to get him to see her sense.

"But this change isn't natural! We have no idea what is going to happen – and judging by the results so far…"

"Well, maybe things were supposed to happen like that!" she shouted. "I don't believe in god, or religion or anything much like that, but if things are supposed to happen a certain way, then maybe this is the way they're supposed to happen!"

The Doctor turned away, taking a deep, consolidating breath, and whirled back around.

"Rose. I'm going to walk out that door, get that device, and if I have to tie you down to the bed before I go with Jack holding your arms then I bloody well will!"

Rose glared at his calm facade, and took three slow steps towards him, so that she was right in front of him. Her eyes softened slightly.

"What if I don't care about rules, or, or, consequences, or the danger? What if this is what I want?"

"Rose, you're taking this way out of control!" he yelled, flinging his arms up exasperatedly.

"'Out of control'? Look at yourself, Doctor! And if you don't think I'm well enough, then don't you think that's my decision?" Rose said loudly. "Or are you going to take all of my choices from me?"

This wasn't quite going the way she planned, but damn it, she was going to hold her own. Her eyes held his pained, angry gaze for a long moment, and then his dropped. Rose tentatively stepped forwards, but before she could get any closer, the Doctor turned abruptly and left, the TARDIS doors swinging slowly shut behind him. Rose paled, then, swallowing, she turned around, a glint in her eyes. Pointing at the central column with a commanding finger, she narrowed her eyes.

"You," she said to the TARDIS, "don't go anywhere," she turned to Jack, "you neither."

Jack's lips twitched even as the blonde turned and ran from the room, hoping to find the Time Lord.

"They got it bad," Jack sighed, patting the controls. A few lights gave a slightly smug flicker in response.