Rose set all her stuff down and collapsed on her bed, sobbing. She didn't understand how he could do such a thing to her; after all they'd been through. She done all these things for him, she'd trusted him with her life, and then he went and did this.

"Rose? Can I come in?" Jack knocked at the door, and Rose sat up and hastily wiped her eyes. Jack opened the door a crack and poked his head in and a second later, the rest of him followed. He shut the door behind him, walking towards Rose.

"Rose, I need you to tell me exactly what happened. I also need you to tell me what this guy looked like if you want me to find him." Jack told Rose and watched her face flush.

"Like I said, some guy just jumped me and beat me up, Jack. Is that so unusual?" Rose asked defensively, realizing that Jack would know if she was lying or not. Rose sighed, and looked at Jack.

"I trusted him, Jack, and then he goes and does this." Rose said, grabbing onto Jack's jacket and burying her face into it.

"Who was it, Rose? Tell me who and I'll kill the bastard myself." Jack said, and Rose looked into Jack's eyes and found fury greater than she'd ever seen in there.

Forty-five minutes ago…

Rose walked rapidly down the road back to the TARDIS, well, as rapidly as she could, burdened down with dozens of packages and bags. She had enjoyed herself immensely, and knew the Doctor and Jack would enjoy the things she had gotten for them. She had gotten the Doctor a new jumper and a shirt that said 'Trust me, I'm a Doctor.', and Jack a nice black denim duster. She had also gotten herself quite a few things, expensive jewelry among them.

She was about halfway to the TARDIS when someone grabbed her and dragged her into the alley, making her drop her bags. She yelped and felt a hand clamp around her mouth. Her body went tense, her mind on alert. She froze.

"Rose, you shouldn't be alone in these parts of town, you know that." She heard the Doctor's voice and relaxed, somewhat. It still didn't explain why his hand was still over her mouth, and his other hand was still grabbing her arm rather tightly. She tried to reach up to pull the Doctor's hand off her mouth to reply when his other hand left her arm and began traveling to places it had no right to go. Rose was now pissed. This wasn't the way the Doctor usually acted, and she intended to find out why he was acting like this. She pulled away, and turned around. Sure enough, the Doctor was standing there, a look on his face Rose hadn't seen before.

"What's gotten into you, Doctor? You aren't like this, usually. Where's –"His hand shot out, grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against a wall. Rose's anger was replaced instantly with fear. This wasn't her Doctor.

"Quiet. Don't start screaming and I won't have to hurt you." He whispered in her ear. Rose's fear rose. This wasn't her Doctor. His voice wasn't' like that.

Rose felt his hand slide up her shirt, and Rose remembered that she could still move. He didn't say not to move, now did he? She twisted out of his grasp, but didn't realize that he was faster than her. Both hands shot out and grabbed her, one hand around her neck, the other grasping her shirt. She felt herself be shoved against a wall and whimpered in pain.

"Trying to get back to Jack? He can't help you. The only one who can save you is me. Rose, you know you want this." The Doctor said, and his hand didn't leave her neck. He was gripping it painfully tight and Rose was finding it hard to draw a breath.

"You're not my Doctor. My Doctor wouldn't do this." Rose gasped, trying to push him away. He caught her hands and held them above her head. He took his other hand from her neck and it found its way up her skirt. She felt him grab her tights and pull. They ripped and Rose began squirming. He pushed her closer to the wall, using his body weight to hold her there. She felt his teeth graze her neck. His fingers found their goal and began stroking her. Rose felt tears stream down her cheeks as she tried desperately to free herself. He took his hand away, and Rose though he was going to do something else with it. Instead she felt pain as he thrust into her, breaking the virgin skin. She cried out and his hand covered her mouth again as he began to thrust into her over and over, each time bringing her more pain. She tried to fight against him, but that only seemed to please him more. And then he was gone. Rose dropped to the ground, listening as his footsteps faded away. She didn't even realize that they were leading away from the TARDIS. All she heard was another set of footsteps coming closer. Was he coming back?

"Rose? Dear God, what the hell happened?"

Now…

"The Doctor. The Doctor did this to you? He couldn't have. He didn't leave the TARDIS at all while you were gone, I know. I watched him the whole time, Rose. The Doctor didn't do this." Jack said, telling the truth. He had watched the Doctor all three hours Rose was gone. It wasn't the Doctor. The Doctor couldn't hurt anyone. He didn't even like fighting, for God's sake. How could he rape someone?

"I saw his face, Jack. It was him. It sounded like him too. How do you know the Doctor didn't leave? He's got all sorts of programs that could make you think he was on the TARDIS." Rose said, and Jack shook his head. In the short time he known the Doctor, he knew that the Doctor couldn't rape anyone, let alone Rose.

"Look, I'll be back later. I'm going to go talk to the Doctor." Jack told Rose and he left, leaving Rose on her bed.

"Did you find out who it was?" The Doctor asked, leaning against the TARDIS console. Jack looked back towards Rose's room as he nodded.

"She said it was you, Doctor. Now, before you say anything, I know it wasn't you. I know you didn't leave the TARDIS, and I know you couldn't hurt anyone like that, let alone Rose. I want you to tell me if you know of anybody who's a doppelganger?" Jack asked, and the Doctor's eyes went wide.

"Oh no. Dear God no. The bastard….When I find him, I'm gonna kill him!" The Doctor roared, grabbing his coat. He rushed towards the TARDIS door, when Jack grabbed his arm.

"I'll find him. You go talk to…do you smell that?"

"Its blood. Quite a bit of blood….Rose!" The Doctor and Jack ran towards Rose's room, and found the door locked. The Doctor opened it with the sonic screwdriver and the sight within nearly killed him.

Rose was lying on the floor beside a widening puddle of her own blood. Her wrists were slashed open, the knife in her hands. Her eyes were open and she was blinking.

"Rose, oh God. Rose, don't do this to me, please!" The Doctor said, kneeling down next to her. Jack grabbed the nearest article of clothing and pressed it to Rose's wrists, trying to stop the flow of blood.

"He doesn't love me. I'm just there for looks, aren't I?" Rose asked softly, and the Doctor could feel his hearts breaking.

"We've got to get her to the Infirmary now." Jack cried and he and the Doctor lifted Rose and took her out of her room. The TARDIS had moved the corridors so that the Infirmary was just around the corner, and they set Rose down on a bench. The Doctor got to work sealing her wound while Jack tried to set up an IV to help her replenish the blood she'd lost.

"C'mon, Rose, you silly little ape, don't die on me." The Doctor said, watching Rose struggle not to close her eyes. Jack looked at the Doctor and then at Rose. Was he….? Maybe he was. But right now, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Rose stayed awake and alert until they got her vitals stabilized.

"….Love you…..My Doctor…." Rose whispered as she drifted out of consciousness. The Doctor checked her vitals. Her heart rate was slow but steady and she was breathing. She was going to live. He breathed a sigh of relief and nearly collapsed. He felt Jack beside him, supporting him.

"Go on, Doctor, you need rest. I'll stay here and watch her. And don't give me that crap about you don't sleep. If you can't sleep, go get a cup of tea. Or whatever it is you drink. I'll stay here for awhile. I should watch her." Jack said, and the Doctor, taking one last long look at Rose, left. Jack found Rose's hand and grabbed it, while pulling up a chair for him to sit on.

"You gave us quite a scare there, Rose. I guess I shouldn't have left you alone, in the state you were in. You really like the Doctor, don't you? I guess thinking that the guy you love hurt you could make you do stupid things like this. But Rose, he didn't do it. I want you to know that. And I'm sure, deep down, you know he didn't. But, please Rose, hang in there. He loves you, or at least I think he does. Which is a pretty rare thing, if you come to think about it. We'll go to the end of the earth to find this guy, which, actually, you've already been there. But we'll go there again if it means finding this guy." Jack said, not knowing why he was talking to Rose, he knew she couldn't hear him. But it made him feel slightly better, talking to her like that. He still felt guilty about leaving her alone to hurt herself. If he hadn't left, she wouldn't have tried something stupid like that.

The Doctor stood outside the Infirmary, listening to Jack. He had some thinking to do, and he needed to talk to somebody. Not Jack. Jack wouldn't know what to say, no he needed help from one of the wisest people he knew. The TARDIS.

What do you need, Doctor?

"Its Rose. She's hurt herself, and its because she thinks I…raped her."

But you didn't, Doctor.

"I know I didn't. But she doesn't. And it hurts, to have her think that I could do something like that."

She loves you, Doctor. She wanted a relationship with you. She didn't want what she got tonight, Doctor, but she wanted to be loved by you in return.

"Do you really think that she loves me? She never said anything about it to anyone, not to my knowledge."

She talks to me, Doctor. When you think she's sleeping, she lays awake in her bed and tells me all about you. She tells me that you touched her hand, or you hugged her, or that you saved her from something.

"Really? Does she now?"

Yes. And if you were smart, you'd love her in return.

"I can't love her! She's human. Eventually, she will die, and I couldn't stand to watch that!"

You can love her, Doctor. You don't want to love her, because you don't want to be hurt again. You don't want to open yourself up for that.

"No, that's not it."

Then what is it, My Doctor? The fact that she's human doesn't matter to you. You know it doesn't. You're just making excuses. When she wakes, tell her exactly how you feel. It is what she needs right now. She's in pain, Doctor. Not just physical, but mental pain. Jack can help soothe it, but only you can get rid of it, Doctor. Now, you should do as Jack said and get some rest. You're no good to them tired.

The Doctor walked to his room, thinking about what the TARDIS had said. Was it true? Was he afraid to love her? He asked himself, climbing into his bed. He didn't realize how tired he was, he fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.