Disclaimer: Doctor Who (c) BBC Television

Rose.

She woke up slowly, experiencing that peculiar sensation of being not quite asleep but not exactly awake. She was aware of shouting going on somewhere. It was only when she was awake enough to discern the words that she knew she was awake. She blinked. Was that... Mickey?

"... This girl you brought, she's treatin' me like a slave! A real one! She wants me to get her cappuccinos and cream blueberries and just-"

What was going on? Rose frowned, throwing off her covers. She padded to the door and looked out, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Well, Mickey was talking about food, so it must be the kitchen. She set off down the hall, not caring if she was just in pajama pants and a tank top.

She had almost reached the kitchen just to have Mickey push past her in the hallway. It looked like he was in the sulking aftermath of having an argument, but the flame ignited once more as he looked at her.

"Rose!" He exclaimed. "Now look, you tell that, that Doctor that I will not stand for this! Well. I mean, you remember when we had to stay all those hours on that spaceship, not knowin' if he was comin' back, and I thought that was the worst of it, but now this!"

"What? What is it, Mickey? What d'you mean, 'this'?" Rose asked.

"That Reinette! Rose, she's treatin' me like a slave! You know, the whole 'shine my shoes and fix me bloody cappuccinos at two in the morning unless you wanta be whipped!'"

Rose gasped, but spoke quickly to try and reassure him."Mickey, she can't really-"

"But she does Rose, she does! The Doctor said it was because back in France when she was there they still had slaves, so she thinks she can treat me however she likes! So she treats me as if the only reason I'm here is to be that TARDIS slave! And I thought being the tin dog was bad. Best day of my life, this!" He left in a huff, stalking down the hall.

Rose whirled to see him go. "Where you goin?" She asked, baffled that he had left so quickly. One minute he was raging at her, the next,he was off down the hall.

"I've got my milk! I'm goin to sleep!" He turned back around to face her. "But if she's still like that in the mornin', I'm not stayin' here any longer. I'll go home. I'm not livin' with that sort of treatment." He hesitated, then went on in a rush. "Tell the Doctor what I said, Rose. Cause I mean it. I know, he probably won't care if I leave or not, but I want to make sure he knows exactly why." He pivoted and turned a corner, disappearing from her sight.

Rose's head was reeling. Did Reinette really treat Mickey like that? Fury boiled beneath her skin. How could she do that? She could have realized yesterday that Rose and the Doctor treated Mickey like a person, not a slave.

Maybe she hadn't even noticed Mickey, Rose thought bitterly. She probably just saw a black guy and he became invisible to her until she needed something, like... What had Mickey said? A cappuccino? Had she really thought Mickey would just make her a cappuccino? At two in the morning? That awful little...

Rose was two seconds away from stomping in there and giving Reinette what-for. She got to the doorway, then suddenly stopped short, eyes wide. Her jaw dropped.

Reinette was kissing the Doctor. And the Doctor was... kissing back?

She felt like she had been punched in the stomach, hard. She covered her mouth as tears sprung unbidden to her eyes. She choked on her tears and tried not to make any noise. But knowing there were tears in her eyes just made her frustrated. Why was she crying?! The Doctor had never been 'hers' to begin with! Before Reinette, they might have had something, could have had something, but it was completely gone, now. Extinguished like a tidal wave rolling over an ember.

She tried to keep from making any noise, but soon found that even if she did, it probably wouldn't matter, as they were lost in their own world. She just stood there, frozen, teary eyes glued to the scene before her.

'Doctor...' She thought, in pure agony. She wanted to scream and cry, but her throat had closed up painfully. She tried to swallow, and let out a whimper.

She heard them start speaking. They were going to be coming this way. Her eyes went wide with terror at being discovered, and she glanced around for somewhere to hide. She backed up, the hand that wasn't clasped grappling over the wall, trying to find a door. She brushed against a doorknob, grabbed it, turned, and plunged herself into the room, not caring what room it was.

She had made it just in time, hearing the Doctor's footsteps start on the floor. She heard the Doctor and Reinette murmuring softly as they walked past. Reinette giggled softly at something the Doctor said. They turned the corner, and Rose heard no more.

She let out the breath she had been holding, and looked around in the pitch black darkness. She searched for a light switch. Found one dangling from the ceiling. She pulled, blinked rapidly as light flooded the small space, and groaned. She was in a broom closet. She shifted slightly, knocking something over.

For some reason, that small little act made her eyes well up in tears once more.

'Why am I so upset over this?' She thought angrily. 'Just stop it! Of course the Doctor chose Reinette! Stop being so bloody stupid! Reinette is refined, elegant, beautiful, and is the Uncrowned Queen of France! I'm a shopgirl- well, I was, but now I don't even have a job, with no A-levels, no prospects, no future... You don't have to have gone to Oxford to know who'd be the better pick! So will you stop blubbering and just get over it! If you want to do something useful, here it is: pack your bags!'

Reinette got the Doctor, the Doctor had Reinette, and Rose was in a broom closet. She sank to her knees, the tears she had tried to hold back streaming down her face. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed quietly.

Thank you for all the new reviews! It means so much. Thank you to gaiafreedom21, ashleigh, bex19, Ringwarriorkayla 1607, SweetMisery327, Genne, Venus Star2-com, montypython203, Fusionmix, and Syreene.

Rose may seem like a pathetic waterworks machine right now, but she won't be for long, don't worry. She is at the beginning, but she'll toughen up more or less later on.
And, to answer a common question in the reviews: This is a 10Rose story. Not 10Reinette.