A/N: I have a good excuse!

...

No, not really, I was just horribly lazy, and when I did work on it, I got frustrated and had to put the laptop down to keep from throwing it across the room. But I'm back, and I'm okay and... and wow, it's been nearly a month... oops... Welll, here's this chapter... and to make up for my absence I'll begin working on the next chapter right away (although I can't actually promise that you'll get it any sooner... I'm bad at promises...)

Anyway, enjoy! :3

The Doctor jumped up and down like a little kid, his eyes wide with excitement. Rose wondered how often he got out last year. "Moron," she breathed, shaking her head affectionately. The Doctor had woken her up at six, which was way to early, if you asked her. He'd been hyper since the moment he'd woken up, which wasn't as fun as it sounded, considering several people had gotten hurt, including Rose herself hit in the head by a flying rock. He wouldn't sit still, and eventually, they had just ended up leaving for their destination early.

"You'd think you had never gone swimming before," Rose laughed, grinning as the Doctor nearly tripped over a log. Kaylee, who stood on the other side of Rose, laughed at that.

"Oh, you should have seen him two years ago," she said, shaking her head. Rose arched an eyebrow, curious.

"You two knew each other?"

"Oh, yeah, we came here together as campers ourselves. He was always fond of the water. That was his favorite part, really, was just going down to the lake to swim. His second favorite," Kaylee breathed a long, amused sigh, "was getting into trouble and dragging me into it."

Rose laughed, sending a curious look in the Doctor's direction, but he didn't seem interested in the conversation. He was focusing on their surroundings. Rose didn't actually blame him, either. They had to walk through a stretch of forest to get to the lake, but the area seemed different to that which they had already seen. Huge trees towered above them, and green was just about everywhere. The ground was covered in moss nearly strong enough to support their weight. He seemed to find great entertainment in that, performing short ballet moves on them and constantly sending Rose enthusiastic grins. Chuckling, she focused back on the stretch ahead of them. She could just see where the dirt and grass began to fade, replaced by tiny specks of sand. The Doctor must have seen it too, because he was over by her side again in just a couple of seconds. He grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers with hers.

"Goofball," Rose snorted, nudging his shoulder with hers. The Doctor smiled, running a hand through his hair. His muscles flexed when he did so. Rose felt a blush rising to her cheeks. The Doctor had been allowed to wear something besides the usual counselors suit today. So, he had chosen a light gray t-shirt and shorts. For some reason, the Doctor made those two clothing pieces seem much more sexier than they should be. She almost hoped that it was no easier for the Doctor. Out of the several swim-suits Rose had chosen, she had gone with the bright yellow two-piece, and she definitely hadn't missed the way the Doctor had skimmed over her figure with a surprised look when she had exited her cabin wearing it. He had gulped and looked away. Now, it was her turn, desperate to not let the Doctor know the affect he was having on her.

"Come on," he chirped, tearing her from her thoughts. Blinking in surprise, she gasped as he suddenly tugged on her and started to streak across the sand. She followed clumsily behind him, trying to find her correct footing again. Several of the other campers had already made it to the water. Others trailed lazily behind.

When they finally reached the dock, she had a brief moment to wonder who was going to jump into the water first, when two warm hands wrapped around her waist. Confused, she tried to turn to look at the Doctor, but before she could, she was thrown into the lake. Squirting water from her mouth (Ick! It tasted terrible!), Rose struggled to the surface, gasping and spluttering. The Doctor was sitting on the dock, snickering at her.

"It's freezing!" She groaned, her teeth chattering together. He only grinned, not saying a word. "Jerk," she sniffed, before wading over towards the dock again. She pulled a hand up and the Doctor, looking slightly bemused, foolishly grabbed her hand. Smirking, she tugged on his arm. Taken by surprise, he was sent into the water, stomach first. She spun in small circles for a moment, her eyes narrowing when he didn't come back up. She backed up under the dock, scanning the deep blue water for any sign of where the Doctor was.

Rose was about to dive underwater to try and find him, but suddenly, he was springing up in front of her, causing her to shriek. Erupting into laughter, he placed a hand over her mouth to silence her scream, his face lighting up in delight. He'd surprised her two times that day- thrice, if you counted how early he had awoken her. "You are such an idiot," she scowled, rolling her eyes, which only made him laugh again.

While he was laughing, Rose couldn't help notice how close they were. She could feel his breath on her cheek, warm and smelling strongly of peppermint- her favorite. Her mouth was dry, her head spinning at the closeness. Surely he didn't realize how close he was to her, or the affect he had on her, especially on this very moment, when the water on his t-shirt was making the fabric cling to his skin- it was all very unfair, the display his muscles were putting on. Seriously, for a skinny guy, he was pretty well muscled. But anyway, she was fairly sure if he knew, he would be backing away.

Except when he stopped laughing, and the closeness registered in his eyes, he didn't move an inch. He was staring at her with the same look he'd given her the night before- the look she could have sworn carried affection, and now, being closer, she was positive that it did. She swallowed, her breath shaking a bit. The Doctor met her gaze, his eyes a little wider than usual. He seemed to be breathing a little quicker than before. His hair hung limply in front of his face instead of spiking up like usual, and honestly, it was adorable. His gaze lowered to her lips, and all too slowly, he leaned down, softly pressing his mouth to hers. Her heart was hammering in her chest, her eyes fluttering shut as she dug her fingers into his mess of hair. He gently placed a hand on her cheek, the other wrapping around her waist and tugging her closer. His lips were soft, much softer than she'd expected… not that she had thought about it… except she had, a little too often, and this was so much better than she had imagined.

For a brief moment, he deepened the kiss, and then, he was completely gone. Rose's eyes flickered open in surprise, scared she might have been dreaming- but, no. The Doctor was still standing there, just farther away now. A bit too far, for Rose's liking. He looked like he was beginning to panic. Fear clawed its way up Rose's throat and she winced at the look on his face.

"I'm sorry," he sounded strangled, his voice quiet and a little hoarse. "That- I'm so sorry, Rose. I, we, I…. can't. Reinette and… the camp and everything, it's my fault, I'm…" he didn't finish his sentence. Looking scared and ashamed, the Doctor slunk back to the shore, leaving Rose alone. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she tried to fight simply bursting into tears. Being alone, she easily lost the battle. The salty liquid stung her cheeks. Quickly wiping them away and trying to compose herself again, she dived under water, breathing through her nose and squeezing her eyes shut tight. She tried to shake the thoughts racketing in her brain, but she couldn't rid of the one clinging on desperately; how badly had she just screwed things up?

XXX

Rose was still dripping wet when they got home. It was terribly chilly, but her mind kept wandering back to the lake. She didn't know who had been avoiding who, but Rose and the Doctor hadn't spoken, or even looked at each other again since…

"Rose?

Her head jerked up. She almost expected- almost wished- that it was going to be the Doctor speaking, but it wasn't. Steve was staring at her, his head cocked. "Er, yes?" She mumbled, trying to even out her breathing and erase any traces of fear from her features.

"Can you cook?"

Rose blinked, a bit taken aback. "What?"

"Well…" Steve looked slightly embarrassed. "Our cook, Clara Oswald, is sick, so we don't exactly want her cooking and… the Doctor won't talk to anyone for some reason, I can't cook, and Kaylee always manages to burn the water… you're the next person I trust."

"Uh… I think? I mean, depends on what you're cooking, I 'spose."

"Hot dogs and hamburgers." Steve sniffed, rubbing the back of his neck, looking a little embarrassed. "It's a Thursday afternoon," he muttered. "A boring time of day to go with a boring meal."

Rose couldn't help but grin. She faintly remembered hearing the Doctor say that once. He had been explaining what days of the weeks was fun and which were boring (apparently Saturday's were a big plus on his list). "I used to help my mum when we had barbeques. So, I'll see what I can do, ya'?"

"Yes! Thank you!" Steve grinned, and then bit into his lip. "Uh, you might want to change first though." He motioned to a group of fourteen-year-old boys who seemed to be staring at Rose. When they realized Rose was staring back, they all blushed and looked away. Steve snickered, "Because you seem to be a bit of a distraction."

Rose smiled the best she could, but she was having trouble not just bursting out into tears again. Pushing her feelings away for the moment, she simply nodded and quickly turned around on her heels, feeling Steve's gaze burning curiously into her back.

She quickly changed into shorts and a weird, short-sleeved hoodie her mum had packed. It was white, so it didn't absorb the heat as much, thank God, for once she stepped back outside, she couldn't believe how hot it had gotten. She hadn't realized it before, since the cool breeze had covered it up, but now the wind had gone and it was sweltering. Groaning, she trudged to where she usually saw the pretty brunette cook baking their meats. Steve was waiting there, a puzzled look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked, frowning.

"Kaylee just reported that the Doctor's feeling a bit sick, so he can't make it to lunch… I hope nothing's going around… anyway, I'm pretty sure you know how to start up a grill, so, yeah, but…" Steve was talking, but Rose wasn't listening. She felt sick to the stomach, but not from any virus. The Doctor wasn't sick at all; he'd been just fine this morning. That had probably been why Steve had looked so confused, but no. The Doctor was avoiding Rose. He probably didn't even want to see her.

"Rose?"

She jumped at the sudden voice, focusing her attention back on Steve. "Uh, what?" She mumbled quietly. "Sorry, I was… spacing off, I guess." Steve shrugged and continued talking. Rose was still only half listening.

The Doctor was ignoring her, and all Rose wanted to do now was go home.

A/N: *distant sound of me laughing* I did say I'd get to the "plot" in the last chapter, didn't I? Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. c: Please type in that box below what you thought!