I don't own Doctor Who!

A/N: This one has a lower word count than usual, but I just didn't want to stretch it too far just for the sake of length.

Chapter 5: Say It

"Once?" she said so quietly that he thought he might have imagined it.

"Yeah." The corner of his mouth turned up into a heart wrenching crooked smile.

"Like, like you mean you've only loved one person…once?" She knew she sounded silly, but her brain hadn't totally caught up with is words.

"What else would it mean?" he asked, his eyebrows arching up.

"I…I dunno." She looked away, her eyes filling with tears she could not find the reason for. Was it that she knew that he must be talking of someone else who died long ago, or who he could never see again? Was it that he said it in such a fierce tone that suggested that he would never love again?

"Rose, what's wrong?" He was confused. He thought he had made himself quite clear.

Her eyes met his, and she mopped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Oh, nothin'. You know me, I'm fine."

"Yeah, sure, right. 'Fess up, Rose. What's goin' on?"

"It's just…I know you'll say no. And I don't want you to take this the wrong way, I guess, because I just want to stay here, with you. Always. No matter what."

"Okay…" he replied warily. "You know, I want you to stay with me here always, too, yeah?"

"You do?"

"Yeah, I thought you knew that." He said it more as a question. Surely Rose knew at least how much he saw her as so vital and important to him, even if she was currently experiencing a massive blind spot in other areas.

"Right, yeah. It's just…do you think you'll ever love anyone again…someday?"

"No, I don't think so, Rose."

"Oh, right, then. Okay." She inhaled deliberately and her body shook from the sobs she was trying to restrain. "Shall we go back to the TARDIS, then?" She pulled away and started walking back in the direction of the Hyde Park Corner Tube station where they'd come from parking the TARDIS in Holborn.

"Rose!" he said, grabbing her arm. She tried to wriggle away, but he pulled her back to him.

"Nice try, Rose. Firstly, I'm the one holding the Oyster cards. Secondly, actually, this one should actually be firstly, now that I think of it. I'm rubbish at this."

"What are you on about, Doctor? I'm hungry. I wanna get chips before we leave, yeah?"

This was a lie, she didn't really want chips that badly. And she definitely wasn't hungry. She just didn't want to be standing here in front of him with her heart breaking all over the pavement.

"You're being ridiculous," he said flatly.

"I'm being ridiculous? Says the man physically restraining me from walking away." She tried to wrench her arm away, but it wasn't working. Some Superior Time Lord strength bollocks, probably.

"Rose, just listen!" His eyes were dark, almost angry, but not quite. They mostly looked panicked. "Why are we even arguing?"

"I dunno…"

"I think…I think I do."

"Do tell, then," she said with an edge in her voice that she didn't really mean.

"It's because you're stubborn and impossible."

"What!" She wore a look of outrage.

"Let me finish! It's because you're stubborn and impossible. And because you're smart, Rose. You're so smart. But honestly, Rose, you're jumping to conclusions!"

If they carried on like this, they were going to attract a crowd. They were in the middle of Hyde Park during the Olympics, after all.

"Just be quiet for a minute and let me finish."

She nodded her assent and crossed her arms, looking at him in confusion.

"It's because you're stubborn and impossible-"

"You've made that quite clear, thank you."

"Shh! I'm not done!"

He lowered his voice and began again.

"I told you that I've only been in love once, yeah? Who did you think I was talking about?"

She looked up at him, her eyes widening.

"I…I guess I thought that you meant someone on Gallifrey. Or someone you met a long time ago, someone who you can never see again. Someone that you loved so hard that you can't open your heart up again."

"There was no one I loved on Gallifrey, Rose. Or anywhere else."

"The TARDIS, then?" her voice was full of cowardice, her heart unwilling to take the leap it so desperately wanted to take for fear of being wrong.

He chuckled loudly at hearing this, and pulled her close.

"I love the TARDIS, but I hardly love the TARDIS."

"Who were you talking about, then?" she asked.

"Oh, Rose Tyler, I think you know very well who I was talking about."

"Then say it." She didn't want mistakes or misunderstandings. She didn't want half-truths or sneaking suspicions. She just wanted to know. And she wanted to know from his lips.

"You, Rose. Of course I meant you. Who else?"

"Literally anyone in the entirety of Time and Space?" she asked weakly.

"Rose, I just told you that I love you. Please stop pretending that you aren't good enough. It's a bit mopey, really."

"You're serious, then."

"When am I not serious?"

She arched her eyebrow distinctively and he smiled.

He wanted to let her know. It was time to say it, again and fully. If he didn't say it now, the opportunity might be stolen away from him, slip into a void. These were words that needed saying more than anything else in the universe. More than "Bad Wolf" more than "We are not amused" more than "Allons-y" which was a very important one. She was everything and the world.

"When I tell you that I've only been in love once, I mean with you, and I mean always. And I didn't even know until it was already deafeningly clear."

She inhaled raggedly and she pushed herself closer and rested her head on his chest, listening to the rhythm of his hearts.

"Show me."

A/N: One more chapter after this! Please review! I'll love you forever. It gives me motivation to write more!