He was a lot more argumentative this time round, he thought, as he stomped out of another room of the TARDIS. Or she was getting more stroppy. Or maybe he had less authority this time round. She used to give in to the old him much more often; she'd sulk, yes, but she'd at least let the matter go. Now she refused to let him have the last word.
"If you hadn't wandered off-" He tried again to reason with her.
"Wandered off?" she screeched, storming after him. "I didn't wander off! I got sent to change my clothes, something you agreed with as I remember!"
"Well you were dressed pretty inappropriately-"
"You told me we were going to 1979! To a rock concert! Not bloody 1879, and you never mentioned Queen Victoria!"
She did have a point there.
"Well, we all make mistakes."
They were arguing over the length of time he'd taken to find Rose in the dungeon. He had to admit, he had been a bit slow and that a few minutes more might have resulted in a tricky situation, but it had all turned out all right, so he didn't really see the problem. Rose, however, was determined to have it out with him.
"And it's not like it's the first time you've been a bit slow either!" she continued. "You were hardly quick at Christmas either!"
"I was regenerating!"
"You were asleep!" She seemed to calm down a bit after shouting the last bit at him, and he felt safe enough to move towards her, though very gingerly.
"Look, I'm sorry," he said. "I should have noticed where you were sooner, I know that. But as soon as I realised, I was straight down there, I…" He put his hands on her shoulders. "I wouldn't have left you in any danger any longer than I had to. I'd never do that."
Rose met his eyes unwillingly. "Promise?"
"Promise." He pulled her into a hug and let himself acknowledge that he had been just a little worried about her down there. "You're too important to me for me to just leave you somewhere. Of course I'll come and get you out of whatever trouble you've got yourself into."
"I don't go looking for trouble," Rose mumbled.
He smiled. "Yes you do, Rose."
She met his eye guiltily and blushed. "Well, I suppose maybe a little."
"A lot. But that's okay." He hugged her again. It was fine if she went looking for trouble. Because he'd always be there to get her out of it.
