Rose felt sick with guilt and nerves as she sat in the small waiting room with Jack. He'd done his best to comfort her, but she was inconsolable. Jack knew that however many times he told her it wasn't her fault, it wouldn't change how she felt. Only the Doctor could do that. So he sat there, close beside her on the futuristic sofa, in silence.

Rose had never imagined being so terrified at the prospect of meeting the Doctor. Terrible images of his battered body burnt across her vision. She stared at her hands, digging her fingernails into her jeans. Memories of a TV production of Macbeth she'd once seen suddenly flashed before her eyes. Of the blood, both reality and illusion, on Lady Macbeth's hands. Rose found herself fighting the urge to run and wash her own. And keep running.

More than anything, it was the thought of losing him. Her Doctor, who'd shared all those adventures with her. He may tease her about it, but he didn't seem to mind that sometimes she got in the way, or said stupid things. But why would he still want her when she'd actually tried to kill him?

The door handle was suddenly yanked downwards from outside, but the door opened in a contrastingly controlled manner. It was Bella. The Myvian woman now seemed to view her with barely-disguised hostility. In Bella's eyes, the incident was definitely Rose's fault. The eyes flashed at Rose again, who tried to avoid her stare.

"He wants to see you."

Jack got to his feet as Rose stood up. "Do you want me to….?"

"No." Rose breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself. "I've got to do this on my own."

Down the corridor. Third Right. Second Left. First Door. She'd played out the journey in her head. Three, Two, One, and she was there. She opened the door. Zero.

The room was large, the sound of the air-conditioning, present everywhere in this building, invading the silence. The Doctor was lying on a bed in the centre of the space, propped up by pillows. There were tubes leading into his arm. It may have been a totally separate planet, but it was all too similar to a human hospital for Rose's liking. Two lights pulsed gently on a monitor. One for each heart.

The bruises stood out against their white surroundings. As did the scratches on his neck. Rose dug her fingernails into her palms. The Doctor opened his eyes as she hovered at the end of the bed.

"I'm sorry Doctor. I'm s-sorry… I didn't….I'm so so sorry." Tears threatened. "I –"

"Shut up, Rose." She stood frozen, unable to move.

"Come here." He looked at her enigmatically, then wiggled a finger slightly, beckoning to her. Rose moved the four steps to his bedside, feeling numb.

"If you say sorry again, you're going to have to leave."

"Why?" Please don't drag this out, Doctor. You don't have to give me a reason.

"Because I'll be compelled to yell at you if you do. Don't you dare blame yourself for this, Rose Tyler."

He reached for her hand, and gave it a slight squeeze as she sat on the bed. The frail touch, lacking its familiar, comforting strength, brought back the waves of guilt with renewed vigour.

"But you d-don't understand," she stuttered, "Look what I've done to you!"

"But it was the Healdon possessing you! This isn't your fault, you silly –"

"No." The tears broke free and tumbled down her cheeks. "It was me. I felt it. It felt…. like Bad Wolf again. I had all this power but I wanted to hurt you," she sobbed.

"You're hurting me now," he said softly. Rose closed her eyes to evade his gaze.

"The Healdon didn't just control your body, Rose, it's able to control your mind as well. It's how they alter their appearance to match their …victim's."

"But I –"

"It's still out there, Rose. It's perfectly possible it's still able to influence you."

He leaned forward a little, trying to catch her eye. "Unless you really do want to strangle me?"

Rose looked up. He was grinning.

"You know I don't." She smiled back, his trademark expression making her whole body feel lighter. "Apart from when you criticise my dress sense."

He chuckled, then winced. "Ow. Shouldn't do that with these ribs."

"Shouldn't we get you back to the Tardis? I know Bella wants you to stay here but…"

"Nah," he said, lying back and closing his eyes. "Wait 'till I'm feeling stronger. They've tanked me up on so many pills I'm surprised I'm not hallucinating."

He sighed, running his tongue over his teeth. "There's something you could get for me, though…"

"What?"

"Well, I'm not too picky, but something sweet, sugary or containing chocolate preferably?" he said hopefully.

Rose giggled, feeling like an exasperated parent. "Honestly, Doctor. It's a wonder you have any teeth left. How 'bout something healthy for a change?"

The Doctor pondered this for a second.

"Ice-cream?"

Lol, yet more AS english is creeping in... this time it's Carol Ann Duffy poetry techniques. How random. This chapter was the one that sparked off this saga nearly four months ago... so I hope it's not too different. Enjoy anyway!