"Rose…"
"I'm not talking to you."
"You just did." The Doctor pointed out. She shot him a withering glare. "Look, alright, I'm sorry. I'm really, really, truly sorry."
"What for?" Rose asked with a haughty sniff.
"…Well I was rather hoping I'd be able to work it out from the way you reacted to the apology." The Doctor said. "Obviously I need to work on that strategy a bit – but whatever it was, I am sorry, honest."
"How can you be sorry if you don't even realise what you did?" Rose demanded.
"Why don't you tell me?" The Doctor suggested. "Then I'll know what I'm apologising for, you'll be able to accept my apology and everyone'll be happy."
"You're supposed to be a genius aren't you? Work it out for yourself."
"I'd need to be more than a genius to understand human women." The Doctor muttered, as Rose stomped out of the room. "I'd need to be barmy."
-----
It was beginning to get on his nerves.
They'd been in the Vortex for two days now. The Doctor was damned if he was going to take her anywhere while she was acting like this. She wasn't going to appreciate it.
He'd given up trying to apologise. He couldn't work out what he'd done wrong and had come to the very sensible conclusion that he hadn't actually done anything. If anything, he thought, she should be apologising to him for all this trouble she'd caused. The mental anguish, not that there had been terribly much of that he had to admit. Perturbation, maybe, irritation. Not exactly anguish. But still! An apology was richly needed.
Everything probably would have been fine if he hadn't made that comment to her the other morning at breakfast. He hadn't been able to resist saying that he was pleased she'd gotten over her little snit, which, in retrospect, had been rather childish of him. Of course, she'd started it.
-----
The Doctor was busy not sleeping in the library when he opened his eyes and saw Rose standing over him with her arms folded and a frown.
"Yes?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, taking his glasses off and slipping them back into the pocket of his coat, suppressing a wince as Rose swam back into focus.
"You really haven't got a clue what you did, have you?" She said.
"I really haven't got a clue." The Doctor agreed. "Does this mean you've decided to tell me now? Marvellous!" He sat up in his chair and grinned at her, looking attentive. "I'm listening. Say on!"
Rose frowned at him and opened her mouth to speak, then changed her mind and began to pace slightly. The Doctor watched her for a moment.
"Now," He said after a long while. "I might be mistaken, but that doesn't look like 'saying on'."
"I know you didn't bring me with you because I'm smart." Rose blurted. "'Cause I'm not smart, and if you wanted someone to talk about science 'n stuff with you could've found someone else."
"Now hang on- " The Doctor protested.
"You picked me up 'cause you were lonely and I was someone you could remotely stand." Rose continued, ignoring his protest and beginning to get into her rant now. "And I'm fine with that, 'cause to be honest it was what I needed. But if you've changed your mind now just 'cause you've regenerated, then say so!"
The Doctor noted in the small part of his mind that seemed to be permanently tapped into pop culture that this was vaguely like that Rod Stewart song. Well. He was damned if he was going to be Maggie May.
"Right. Well. Everything's still as clear as mud." He said, holding up a hand when she opened her mouth. "You're smart. You might not be as well educated as some but that's your education system to blame. You're intelligent. And if that's what you were worried about- "
"Then stop ignoring me!"
The Doctor paused.
"What?"
"When you're around smart people, you ignore me! It's like…a smart-people only club!"
"Now." The Doctor frowned at her and stood, moving to put his book back on the shelf. "That I know I haven't done."
"You have." Rose muttered sulkily. "Back on Tiernan."
Tiernan. With the brain leeches. And Rose had worn that grey dress.
"I didn't ignore you on Tiernan." The Doctor said coolly, turning to face her. Rose glared at him.
"Yes." She said sourly. "You did. You and that…Bisgu woman."
"That 'Bisgu' woman," The Doctor told her. "Was the only person capable of reversing the effects of the brain leeches."
"Yeah, fine, I get that." Rose waved it off. "But you didn't even attempt to include me!"
"Rose – there wasn't time, we needed to - "
"Even when time's been short before you've let me help. You didn't even look at me!"
"Because you were wearing that bloody dress!" The Doctor snapped. Rose jumped slightly. "That bloody – how was I supposed to concentrate with you dressed like that!"
"You managed quite well when I was flashing my cleavage at you on New Earth." She said hotly, flushing.
"That wasn't you though, was it?" The Doctor shot back defensively.
"So, what, you're saying I can distract you from a life-or-death situation? That was never a problem before!"
"Well it's a problem now!"
Rose stared at him. He stared back.
"Right. Well then." Rose said stiffly. "Fine."
"Rose-"
"No, no. That's fine. I'm a 'problem'. I get it." She gave him a forced smile. "Fine. That's…Fine."
She turned and headed out of the library.
"Rose…" The Doctor said, following after her. "Rose!"
"What?" She snapped, whirling back to him. "What now? I'm already a 'distraction' and a 'problem'. What else am I!"
"You're a pain in the bloody arse." The Doctor snarled, grabbed her arm and pushing her back against the wall, boxing her in.
"Thanks a lot!" Rose glared at him. "And is this a new thing or did you always think it?"
"I've always thought it." He said. "But it used to be easier…"
"What used to be easier?" She asked coldly. "Putting up with me?"
"Everything. I could just tell myself that it wasn't right and that it would just complicate things…And I'm not going to be Maggie May."
"If you're just going to go all cryptic on me let me go." Rose said, trying to push him off. "I'll go to bed and you can drop me off in the morning-"
She froze when he kissed her, staring at him when he pulled back.
"…I don't want you to go." He said finally.
"You kissed me." She told him, in case he'd missed it.
"Yes."
"I can't believe you kissed me."
"Well if it was that bad-" The Doctor said hotly.
"No! No." She grinned at him. "Don't think you're getting away with this just because you kissed me."
"Damn." He said and stood back. "New plan."
"...Maggie May?" She asked.
"'S a song." He told her. "'Bout a woman who tempted a young lad away from school and seduced him to keep her company."
"You're such a geek." Rose informed him. "But I wouldn't have minded if you'd seduced me."
She kicked him in the shin and strolled back to her room.
He rubbed his leg and watched her with a vague grin, the strains of 'Rob Stewart and the Faces' croaking in his head about wrecking beds and being kicked in the head.
"Human women." He said, turning and heading back to the library. "I'll never understand them."