Time to continue on with a sorta dark chapter!

Let me know thoughts!

Words Unsaid

It was a month after Rose was able to call Jackie. She would have assumed things would have gotten better, but she was greatly mistaken.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked when the Doctor pulled on his trench coat late on Friday evening.

"Going out," the Doctor responded with a slight smirk on his face. Rose was furious now, how dare he act like that to her. He couldn't shut her out now, he was all she had. But it seemed like that was all he was doing lately and it scared her.

"Where?" Rose questioned when he brushed past her towards the door. "You know Mary-Sue came over yesterday after I came home from work."

The Doctor cocked his head to the side, squinting his eyes in confusion. "Why?"

"Remember…I have a job? Or have you forgotten because you hardly ever talk to me anymore?" Rose muttered. She couldn't stop now that she had started. It hurt her, the fact that he barely said more than three words to her the past week. She had no idea what had changed.

"I'm not an idiot, Rose," the Doctor exclaimed. "Of course I know you have a job."

"Could have fooled me with the five seconds of time you've spent with me since I started," Rose whispered, hoping he didn't see her beginning to cry. "You can't drop me now. You are all I have. I thought we were going to be stuck her together. You promised me you would never leave me. You said I was different. Well, I'm sorry you can't drop me off at Aberdeen, but I'm not going to give up that easily either."

The Doctor actually paused for a moment, his eyes meeting hers with a strange intensity for a moment before he looked away. "I'm not dropping you off, Rose."

"But you are in a way…" Rose explained, reminding herself to remain rational. "You are distancing yourself from me. It isn't the same as it used to be. We don't joke around anymore. You didn't even make a snide comment about Mary-Sue to make me laugh."

"We're making our own lives, Rose," the Doctor said. He didn't want to say the next sentence, but he knew he had to. He couldn't lead on Rose's false hopes anymore. He couldn't sit and watch her age and die, waiting for him. "Maybe you could get one."

Rose felt her own mouth drop open, absolutely surprised by what the Doctor had said. He wasn't like that, at least not anymore. Maybe if he still wore a leather jacket with big ears she would be able to stomach his comment, but definitely not now after all they had been through together. She only had time to let out a small squeak before the Doctor left the house, leaving her alone once again.

Deciding that she wasn't going to take it, Rose marched up the stairs. She was going to show him, she was going to go out tonight and prove to him that she could have a good time without him dragging her down.

The Doctor was surprised when he heard the phone he had made for Rose to call Jackie start ringing. What surprised him more was that Rose didn't have it with her when she left. Even though he assumed that she left after his rude comment, he would have assumed she had her phone, especially since she was always waiting for a call from her mother.

"Jackie?" the Doctor said when he answered the phone. He didn't necessarily want to be talking to her, but then again she was Rose's mother.

"Doctor?" Rose whispered into the phone, her voice barely audible over the music in the background and the general weakness of her voice at the moment.

"Rose? What's wrong?" the Doctor asked. He didn't even know how Rose knew this number or where she was calling from. All he knew was that she sounded scared. And if there is one thing the Doctor did not tolerate it was anyone trying to hurt Rose Tyler. It didn't matter what had happened in the past, it never would, all he knew what that Rose was upset and he wasn't there for her. And it was his fault as usual. With blood pounding in his ears, he asked her once more, hoping for a response. "Where are you?"

"I don't know where I am," Rose muttered into the phone, fear the most prevalent emotion in her voice. Her voice was shaking like she was crying as well.

The Doctor took a deep breath to collect himself before he spoke again. "Rose?" he asked. Once she didn't respond he tried again, his voice rising as she remained silent. "Rose! Rose, are you still there? Rose?"

"Hello," a strange man's voice said into the phone after several minutes. "What's going on?"

"How dare you have the audacity to ask that?" the Doctor barked into the phone. That despicable ape had the nerve to do something to Rose and then steal her phone and ask what was wrong. "What have you done to my Rose?"

Listening to low voices for a few seconds, the Doctor was relieved to hear the voice again. "The blonde? Listen, I think you better come get her," the man said, explaining where Rose was and that he should hurry.

Without waiting to respond to the man, the Doctor hung the phone up, already running out of the house. It was terrible, he decided, having to sit and move so slowly towards Rose right now. If he had the TARDIS he would already have arrived.

Finally arriving outside of the seedy looking pub, the Doctor quickly went inside, his eyes searching for Rose. Seeing a peek of blonde hair in the corner, the Doctor pushed his way through the dance floor, concern filling him as he moved closer.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked as he reached the woman who was obviously her. He suppressed the urge to be upset at her. She was wearing clothes that he couldn't believe he had even let her bring into their house, or at least without him noticing. Her dress was short enough that he was sure that she could wear it as a shirt and it was so tight it left little to the imagination. If that wasn't enough, she had even more makeup on than usual and towering stiletto heels.

"I assume you are the bloke on the phone?" the man asked. The Doctor shot the man a glare for even being near Rose. He didn't like him at all, she was practically sitting in his lap and completely unconscious.

Not even saying a word to the guy, the Doctor reached over to Rose and touched her shoulder to see if she would wake up. Rose merely peeked open her eyes and mumbled something intelligible before falling against him.

"She isn't drunk. I've been here the whole night and she hasn't touched any alcohol, was just drinking water" the man explained as the Doctor watched, thankful that Rose was waking up. "They were dancing and looked like they were having a good time. I noticed them go into a corner, probably to snog, but she came out looking upset right after that."

"Then what is wrong with her right now?" the Doctor asked as Rose mumbled something and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face against his chest.

"I think he slipped something into her drink…he seemed rather put off that she wasn't reciprocating anymore," the man said. "I stepped between them and made sure that I had my eye on her since then and the guy left pretty quickly after that."

Thanking the man for making sure Rose was okay, the Doctor picked her up and carried her out of the bar.

While the Doctor was walking towards the house, Mary-Sue came running out of her house. "John, what's wrong with Rose?"

"Not your concern, Mary-Sue," the Doctor huffed, shifting Rose so that he could open the door to the blue house.

Hearing the tone of his voice, Mary-Sue let out a clicking noise with her tongue and went back to her own home, her presence soon forgotten.

"Hey, hey," the Doctor whispered when Rose's eyes fully opened and she gazed up at him in surprise. "I've got you."

"What?" Rose muttered in confusion, closing her eyes as her head pounded with the Doctor's steps. She finally opened her eyes when she felt the Doctor lay her down on her bed. "What happened?"

"Shhh," the Doctor murmured, his eyes glancing at Rose's limp form, unsure of what to do next. Usually with the TARDIS he could give her medicine to counteract the drugs, but here he wasn't even sure what the douchebag of a guy had given her so he was helpless to wait out the effects with her.

"I'm hot," Rose moaned, clumsily reaching up and beginning to take off her dress. Realizing that it wouldn't be as simple as pulling it off, Rose repositioned herself and began to work at the zipper down her back. She felt the Doctor's cool hands grab onto hers before she had moved it more than two inches, preventing her from moving the zipper down anymore. However, she just batted his hand away with what she hoped was a sharp glare in his direction and quickly unzipped the rest of the dress, breathing in relief when she felt the cold air hit her clammy skin. She felt better already, more conscious for sure.

The Doctor took a deep breath when Rose began to swivel out of her dress, attempting to keep his distance from her. Although she wasn't feeling well, Rose looked simply adorable curled up on her bed with only her underpants and a thin camisole. Leaning down to brush the hair out of her face, the Doctor couldn't help but kiss her forehead. Only checking her temperature of course. "What do you want now, Rose?"

"I'm feeling a bit better," Rose whispered. She opened her eyes and attempted to sit up, only to be pushed back down by the Doctor. Although her mind was clear now and fully awake, the rest of her body simply refused to respond accordingly. "What happened?"

"Don't worry about that now, Rose. The Doctor's here to take care of you," the Doctor explained, relieved when Rose let out a weak chuckle at his words. Getting up, the Doctor quickly fetched Rose a glass of water, forcing her to drink all of it. That task took almost half an hour of concentration on her part as she kept insisting she was fine, but ever persistent the Doctor ensured she would stay hydrated.

Almost as soon as the glass was empty, Rose shivered, conscious of the fact that she was just in a camisole. "I'm cold now. Really cold."

Deciding that he wasn't in the mood to search through her crowded closet, the Doctor shrugged off his suit jacket, handing it over to Rose to put on as he pulled the covers over her for good measure. "That better?"

"No," Rose whispered, her eyes meeting his with a strange intensity no longer clouded by the drugs. "Come here and cuddle," she continued, holding up the blankets for him.

Trying to suppress the smile on his face, the Doctor slid into the bed next to her, practically breathing out a sigh of relief when she snuggled up against him, her face pressed against the crook of his neck. It had been too long since they had lain together like this, with the distance between them and all. They both laid there for quite some time, Rose feeling more in control of her body, relaxed against the Doctor and reassured that she was safe with him.

"Doctor," Rose murmured as she fought against the comfort of sleep, her voice suddenly sounding small. "You talk all the time, but you never really say anything."

"Rose, what's wrong?" the Doctor asked. Rose wasn't usually like this and frankly it was scaring him a bit. The closest Rose had been to saying anything like this before was when she met Sarah Jane Smith. He knew that he should leave her to sleep it off right now, but she was clinging onto him so tightly that he knew he couldn't do that.

"I'm stuck here, Doctor," Rose explained, reposition herself so that they were face to face. "For the rest of my life, living out of my time. And I'm scared, Doctor. Scared of the future here. I thought I would have you. That you would understand and we would get through it together like we always do, as a team. But…it isn't like that anymore. Why don't you want me?"

The Doctor could hardly believe Rose had just said that. It was so unexpected and his hearts clenched when he noticed Rose was on the verge of tears. How could she think he didn't want her? "I'm sorry I've trapped you here, Rose."

"And the thing is that I think about it…what my future should be here. I should adjust, after all this London isn't that different from my time and I can still talk to my mum. I should grow up, get a better job, meet a guy, get married, have kids, and then die. Just like the rest of the universe. But I can't," Rose whispered. She knew she shouldn't be saying this, that it would only push him away. But she had to and her mind was telling her right now was the perfect time. "Because I love you."

At her words, the Doctor suddenly stiffened, though he kept his arms wrapped around her thankfully. The room was pitch black and his face was the other direction, but she could imagine the grimace on his face from her words.

"I'm in love with a stupid alien that will never love me back. And it hurts me, Doctor. I gave up everything for you and someday you will have another companion and you won't even mention Rose Tyler anymore. And my life will have been a waste."

"Your life will never be a waste. You are fantastic, Rose Tyler, never say you aren't important," the Doctor muttered. Rose was surprised when she heard him speak. They weren't the words she wanted, he would never say that, but it was something.

"Just don't leave me tonight," Rose whispered. She needed him. She needed his arms around her tonight. "Please?"

Thankfully, the Doctor obliged without a single complaint, allowing her to snuggle up against him as he pressed a kiss to her hairline. "Just sleep now, Rose."

"I promised I was never gonna leave you," Rose mumbled, her mind so tired again.

Taking advantage of her current position, and half asleep irrational mind, Rose leaned up and pressed her lips against his. At first, the Doctor was stiff against her, but she didn't pull away like she should have. Nope, instead she pressed closer up against him, opening her mouth and running her tongue against his lips. It took her by surprise, the moment when she heard the Doctor's breath hitch in his throat and open his mouth against hers. This kiss was different from the few they had shared before, she assumed they were both conscious of what was happening, it wasn't forced, and it was deep and passionate. Letting out a sigh, Rose pulled her lips away from his to breathe in some much needed air. Just barely having enough time to get a sufficient amount of oxygen, the Doctor crashed his lips upon hers once more, trailing his hands so that one rested on the small of her back to draw her in closer and the other tangled up in her hair. After what felt like hours, Rose pushed him away, halfway asleep by the time her head hit her pillow. That didn't mean she didn't remember what happened next. The Doctor kissed her lips lightly not once, but three times. With one last kiss to her forehead, the Doctor pulled her back closer, feeling her relax into sleep, finally safe and sound.

Falling into a deep sleep, Rose remembered something important. He had kissed her back, she had been the one to pull away. But, then again, it was probably just a dream. Yeah, it was a dream.

The next morning Rose woke up so much later than usual, with the still strange sun shining in on her. The room was empty and she was still cold. Just as she was relaxing back into sleep, she was hit by a wave of memories from the previous night.

"Doctor?" Rose rasped out, knowing she wouldn't get a response.

Sighing in defeat that she was alone in her bedroom, Rose lifted up a hand and lightly touched her lips, hardly believing that she had kissed the Doctor. It must have been in her imagination, the Doctor would never do that. She reached over and felt the side of the bed he had laid on, surprised to see that the imprint of him was still visible and the sheets were warm.

Just then, a loud clanging noise came from somewhere inside of the house followed by a loud curse. Shaking her head, Rose grabbed a fluffy robe and hesitantly left the bedroom to go see what had happened.

"I broke the toaster," the Doctor exclaimed when he saw Rose walk into the kitchen. The aforementioned toaster surprisingly looked almost exactly like the toasters Rose was used to. It was comforting to wake up in the morning and have some toast and pretend like she was in her time London.

"What did you do?" Rose asked. She stood awkwardly in the corner of the kitchen, unsure of how to act around the Doctor or to acknowledge her declarations the night before.

"Oh, I was just messing with it," the Doctor said, turning towards the counter and letting out an odd chuckle and rubbing his hands through his hair. "My sonic screwdriver hasn't been used in quite some time."

Rose moved towards him, pretending like she was studying something in the pantry. "Oi, what am I going to do with you? At the rate you are going through we will have to buy everything new at least two times."

"Listen, Rose," the Doctor whispered. At his serious tone, Rose whipped around to face him, scared at what she would see. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Rose murmured, pulling on her hair as she looked down at the floor. "Sorry about all of that, I was still out of it. You know…"

"Yeah, of course, nothing to apologize for on your part," the Doctor responded. From the look on his face, Rose knew that he wanted to say something more, but settled for something different. "Just don't do that again. You had me scared there for a bit."

"I won't," Rose said, smiling as the Doctor began to assemble piles of papers. "Promise."

The Doctor nodded in response, a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes. "Listen, I've got to go to the lab today. I'm working on something important right now that can't wait."

"Sure, sure," Rose muttered. She bit her lip, wondering if he would hug her like he usually did. This wasn't typical for him, working on a weekend. "Have fun today being all science-y."

"Yeah," the Doctor said. He stepped towards her, extending his hands like he usually did to hug her goodbye. But then he halted, clearing his throat and putting his hands down. With a tense nod, the Doctor turned and left the house to go to work, slamming the door just a little too hard behind him.

Rose stood in the kitchen for a moment, dumbfounded at what had occurred. She figured if she had thought things had been tense between them before, she couldn't even imagine what it would be like now. Sucking in a breath to prevent her eyes from filling with tears, Rose decided she had to grow up. She couldn't keep on imagining that the ridiculous fantasy that she had developed was ever going to happen. Not anymore.

So a lot happened, but I am sure more is coming!

Gabrielle