Thanks to TheBigCat as always shes great.

Thanks to all who have reviewed, followed, favorited, please keep it up

Hear it is the long awaited Chapter 29 and now off to work I go.

Allons-y


Rose was confused. What the hell had just happened?

Well, she knew what had not happened. The Doctor had not kissed her. She had practically begged for it. They had been so close- her fingers on his lips, his gaze had darkened and then-

Nada. Zip.

Okay, maybe not zip- he had kissed her fingertips. Why did he not kiss me? Did he not want to? No, he had wanted to. She could tell. He had fought, when he pulled there had been the hug and his questions. If she remembered what he had shown h?er.

The kiss. He wanted her to remember the kiss. Like she could forget that kiss. Well, she had forgotten the kiss, but that wasn't the point. She remembered it, now. But what was his point bringing it up? She thought back to what had been said.

He kissed me. I kissed you Rose. Me- different face, same man. I kissed you.

Something clicked- He was telling her he had kissed her. She kept separating the two men but they were the same man. And if her first Doctor had kissed her then her current Doctor had kissed her.

Wait, was what he was trying to tell her- that he wanted to kiss her. Just now, as well. Maybe he would only kiss her if she was dying. Maybe that worked for him.

She could not figure out what he had been thinking and it was making her head hurt. She stood and readied herself for the day ahead, trying to push her nagging thoughts to the back of her mind.

She guessed he had another memory to show her. Now that she was voicing how she felt again, she presumed, he wouldn't stop them. They were helping her. Much more then she realized.

She had been so sure he would fail. Everybody else had. Hell, she had even given up on herself getting better, choosing, instead, to lock up who she was. She had been a coward in the greatest sense of the word.

But she was coming back- the old Rose was returning, and while she would never be that naive girl from the memories again, she would take the best parts of that girl and integrate her into the woman she was becoming.

She threw on the leather jacket. It was hers now, a new body armour. But unlike the day before, it was not armour to keep her feelings in check, or to protect her. It had a new mission now; it would help heal her and then it would help her get the Doctor. 'Just mates' wasn't going to cut it this time.

He wanted her and she wanted him. It really wasn't that complicated when you stopped and thought about it. She was just going to have to knock down his shields and get him to make a move. She had waited too long- had travelled too far and had been brought back against all odds to him. And this time she was going to keep him. She just had to convince him of that, and work on her own heart and emotions at the same time.

Rose Tyler would be a coward no longer. No more running from her emotions. No more stupid tantrums. Time to own up to what had happened, on both their parts. She walked through the door and left the coward behind. It was time to find her Doctor and finish the healing he had begun.

Once she was done with that, they would talk. He had hidden things from her and she wanted to know the truth, but she would be patient, she could be very patient when she needed to be. She would get him to confess all. Because they could not move forward if the past held them back.

She hurried to the media room. He was waiting, just like he said he would. She hurried to her place on the loveseat that had taken the place of the couch. The TARDIS was helping, Rose just knew it. But he did not seem to notice as he set down to join her. She scooted till she was against him and placed her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her.

"Ready for your next trip down memory lane?" he asked.

"You mean our trip down memory lane, Doctor," she corrected. "It's your memories." She grinned teasingly at him. He grinned right back, pleased that she was joking with him after this morning's rollercoaster ride.

He could not tell exactly what had changed since he had left her room just a little while ago. But something had shifted in Rose. She was different, somehow. She seemed stronger, more sure of herself. More like the women she was becoming before Canary Wharf had happened.

This pleased him. He was helping her and now she was really trying. That's what the change is, he realized with clarity.

Rose had finally given in the rest of the way. She had decided to stop running and embrace her past. Ooh, this was very good indeed.

"Earth to Doctor, we gonna watch this or not?" her voice broke through, and he started. "Oh yes, Rose Tyler, we're most definitely going to watch."

She grinned at him again and focused her eyes to the screen in front of her. Let's get to work, she thought.

The memory started to play.

On the screen, they stepped out of the TARDIS onto a beautiful hillside. This should be fun to watch, Rose thought. But I should see if he will let me add my memories to this. That'd make it more interesting.

She turned and asked. "Doctor, can you add my memories to the ball thingie? I want you to see it from my perspective. Maybe you can mix them somehow, so it fills in the gaps or something? There's a moment I really think you should see."

"Yup, we can do that. Touch the 'ball thingie', as you put it, and concentrate on the memory you want. Then wham, into the ball it goes." He grinned exuberantly at Rose. He was very excited that she wanted him to see her memories as well. This was a huge stride in the right direction. He walked over to the ball and she followed him.

"Do just what I said- it should work great."

Rose placed her hands on the ball and it glowed a glittery gold after a moment. Strange, he thought. It just blurs then clears when I put mine in there. But he brushed it off, thinking, different memory patterns, it was like when you mixed two colours together and got something different.

They took their places back on the loveseat that now seemed strangely smaller than it had been a few moments ago. They both noticed, but chose not to say anything and resumed their cuddling position with no awkwardness. They fell into it as if it were natural as breathing.

The memory started again, their interactions playing out on screen. He could see now the flirting as it had taken place- the way her arm had gently brushed his as she said she loved traveling with him. The look she had given him had been so full of emotion and wonder.

That's when he realized that he had run for the first time. He had pulled away from Rose. He had grabbed her hand and yanked her to follow him in order to brake the moment, only to have those same feelings come up again minutes later as they lay on his coat, surrounded by apple grass.

He felt Rose snuggle closer into his side and move her head to rest on his chest. He wrapped his arm more tightly around her, cursing himself for being such an idiot back then.

He had no idea that she felt anything for him until the incident at the school with Sarah-Jane. But watching this memory of her, it was obvious. The expressions on her face, the way she teased him- she might as well been holding a sign above her head, that read I like you, I like you! in great big flashing neon letters.

His eyes danced over the women in his arms. He really had been an idiot when it came to her. The memory progressed and he still laughed at her face when she said "They're cats," and he grimaced when he heard his reply. It was meant to be a nice remark on how he viewed her but came out so rude. "Now don't stare. Think what you look like to them, all pink and yellow." Well he could rectify that mistake now.

"I meant it to be a compliment, you know."

Rose looked up at him, confused.

"I was trying to say that that was how I saw you. I've never been too great at complimenting you. It's just like when we met Charles Dickens. And I said you were beautiful before I messed it up by saying for a human." He smiled sheepishly at her. "You are, you know- beautiful."

Rose could feel herself going red at his bold statement. "Shut up," she whispered. "I'm not- let's just watch, yeah?"

He nodded, not sure how to reassure her of how truly gorgeous she was.

"You really should have given me some warning you know, you had the whole walk to the hospital to tell me about the disinfectant," she said into his shoulder. He watched on screen with amusement as the disinfectant process took place, her younger self trying to find the off button. Her face as the powder hit her. And then he could not keep it back any longer, and he laughed hard at her when the dryers came on. "You liked that part, Rose, don't deny it. Just look at your primping in that air."

She laughed with him. She could not help it. "It felt nice. I'm just saying, some warning would've been nice. Then I might have enjoyed my unexpected shower a bit more." She was still giggling.

They watched the him on screen talking to the nurses and finding the Face of Boe. Then it shifted to her memory from stepping out of the lift. The clone greeting her. "Look at you, Rose Tyler," he exclaimed. "Brilliant, you are-followed him but you grabbed something to protect yourself with."

"Not like it helped, she still possessed me," she replied offhandedly.

"Oh, but you tried, Rose, and that's what counts in the end."

They watched the memory of her or Cassandra waking up in her body. Rose sat up quickly, and turned to him. "How come we can see this? It's not my memory, it's Cassandra's."

"Subconscious, Rose. It's still your mind she compressed, so the memories are still there."

He had his lecturing voice on. She knew if she did not halt him- he would give her a whole lesson and while she adored his voice when he got like this- all teacher like- she really wanted to watch. So she raised her hand and pressed it against his mouth with a small "shhh." His lips twitched under her hand and she felt his smile. She removed her hand and went back to watching.

Oh lord, look at how she's having me behave , bouncing around undoing my shirt. Did she just call me a chav? How dare her! I'm not a chav.

"Well at least she likes my butt" she exclaimed out loud, much to the amusement of the Doctor. He choked back a reply that would have left her red for days, and chose to remain silent.

When her phone rang she watched as Cassandra answered it trying to talk like her. "Honestly, how did you not know that wasn't me?"

He tugged at his ear, not looking at her. "Well," he drawled out. "I really wasn't paying much thought at the time. Busy, you know."

She grinned at him and nudged him, asking "When did you know something was off?" He was blushing again. "Never mind. I'll just watch."

Rose watched as Cassandra and the Doctor interacted with great interest. This whole trip had previously been a blur, thanks to the whole mind takeover.

-I can't Adam and Eve it.

-What's- what's with the voice?

-Oh I don't know. Just larking about. New Earth, new me.

-Well, I can talk. New, new Doctor.

-Aren't you just?

Rose watched in stunned amazement, as Cassandra threw her arms around the Doctor- her Doctor- and kissed him long and hard.

Well that's just not fair, not remotely fair! Why was it that every time her lips met his she could not raised her eyebrows at the man next to her. He was red again "You still didn't realize it wasn't me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, becoming redder. She ignored his discomfort, and turned her attention back to the screen.

He had begun to suspect something was up at the computers. And Rose knew why. She was not that tech-savy. Cassandra basically had given herself away. She watched as the Doctor put it all together on the screen, and was a little shocked and pleased about how angry he had become about her being possessed.

She watched them escape the hordes of diseased riddled, soon to be new humans. She watched in astonishment, as he forced Cassandra to remove herself from… well, herself and went into the Doctor.

This is going to be good. He's going to go so red. Oh crap. She was going to go so red at some of the things that Cassandra had said. Oh well, too late now. At least he's going to start blushing first.

-Goodness me, I'm a man. Yum! So many parts. And hardly used. Oh- oh! Two hearts! Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!

Rose could not help it- she burst out laughing. She had wanted to laugh back then, too. The movements Cassandra had been making the Doctor do...

She looked at him- just like she had guessed he was a bright, cherry red.

-Ooh, he's slim, and a little bit foxy. You've thought so too. I've been in your head. You've been looking. You like it.

Rose could feel her own face heating up. She chanced a glance at him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Foxy?" he asked with a sly smile. "You naughty girl!"

She felt herself go redder at his flirting banter, and stuck her tongue out at him, refusing to answer his remark. He grinned brightly at her and dragged her over to him for a quick hug. "Been called worse." He mumbled in her hair before releasing her.

The rest of the memory played out and when it was over, they were both laughing and poking fun at what the other had done while being possessed. He was still teasing her about Cassandra's statement of walking around in a bouncy castle and calling him foxy.

Rose had to find a way to shut him up- then a great idea popped in her head. There was one surefire way to shut him up. But the question was, did she have the nerve to follow through with it? Could she keep her emotions from getting the best of her? Could she keep her walls in place? She took a deep breath. Only one way to find out.

"Doctor?" He looked down at her as she raised her head from the spot on his shoulder, so they were face to face. She steadied herself for the next move. She went in for a hug which he reciprocated gladly.

She pulled back slowly her hand still resting on the back of his neck. She leaned forward, and had just a moment to see the confused expression on his face, before her lips roughly took hold of his. She sucked his lower lip in her mouth slowly before she released him and pulled back, taking in the dazed Time Lord. It took all the power she possessed to not lean in and repeat her last action.

She went to stand, but noticed that his hands had not released her waist. She detangled herself with care as he sat there, staring at her with his mouth slightly opened. She reached up and tapped it closed, before walking out of the room.

"Next time, if there's a next time, you'll know how I kiss, yeah?"

Well, she thought. That most definitely shut him up.

She skipped down the hall to her room, her tongue tracing her lips to memorize the taste.


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