Okay, just to warn you, this chapter is short compared to the previous ones, a fill in chapter if you like. Enjoy anyways xx

She didn't cry the heart breaking way she had after Bad Wolf bay, instead she cried small, silent little sobs, letting her tears trail down her cheeks at such a fast speed that even the Doctor couldn't wipe them all away. He gave up trying after a while, and simply held her, stroking her hair or her arms. Her lower lip stopped trembling after a while, her shoulders stopped shaking and the tears ceased, but smudged mascara still provided evidence of her pain.

Rose leant her head against the Doctor's shoulder, trying to forget the conversation that had just taken place.

"Sorry" she said quietly to the Doctor. She hadn't wanted him to see this.

"Do you love him?" the Doctor asked quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. His voice was gentle, betraying no guilt or anger, but Rose still heard the fearful note in his tone.

Rose sighed. She felt confused, scared, sad and guilty. "Yes" she said finally in a small voice, and tried not to flinch when she felt the Doctor's body stiffen.

"But not enough" she continued. "He wants so much more, and I can't give him any of that. I can't return the feelings he has for me; I can only lead him on further and cause him more pain." She took a deep breath.

"I always saw him as a friend, and I thought I made that at least somewhat clear to him. But I just hurt him more."

"You can't blame yourself for this" the Doctor said gently. "Although you do have a habit of making people fall in love with you, it's not exactly a crime".

Rose gave a small smile at this, but inside her guilt built up again. How many people had she hurt? Mickey, Jack and now Max.

She and the Doctor sat in silence for a few more minutes, until she finally wiped her eyes and got up. I feel like going home" she said. "Is that okay?"

The Doctor nodded, his hand slipping into hers as he stood up. "Of course. Pete won't mind?"

Rose shook her head. "I choose my own hours".

.

.

.

The ride home was mostly silent, the Doctor sensed that Rose needed the quiet. In this type of situation he would generally ramble incoherently about useless and unneeded information, simply to fill the awkward silences and to distract himself. Rose however, preferred to be silent and lose herself in her own thoughts.

He wasn't scared that she wouldn't get over this, Rose was tough and she had gotten over worse situations. But Rose was so compassionate, and she would always blame herself if she caused other people pain. Even if it was completely unintentional.

Jackie sensed that something was up when they got home, and though concerned for her daughter, said nothing but made a cup of tea as Rose curled up on the couch. The Doctor sighed to himself, raking his hand through his hair, making it stand up in every direction.

"What happened?" Jackie asked quietly as he followed her into the kitchen.

"She had to talk to Max about some things…"

"Ah. Well I suppose on one hand the talk is long overdue, but on the other, I hoped she would never have to go through with it…" Jackie said as she finished dunking the tea bag and brought Rose her cup. "Let me talk to her alone okay?" she whispered. The Doctor nodded and went up to their bedroom to start sketching out plans for the perception filter.

Jackie sat down next to Rose gingerly, holding her own cup of tea. "Sweetheart?" she asked carefully.

Rose sighed sadly, her eyes downcast.

"Sweetheart, what happened?"

Rose finally looked up. "Nothing much" she answered. "I just had to talk to Max about certain things."

Jackie raised her eyebrows, but waited in silence, knowing Rose would tell her when she was ready.

Rose took a sip of tea; it was hot and burned her tongue. She set it down on the table and saw her mother looking at her sympathetically.

"He loves me mum" she said suddenly, eyes closed. Jackie immediately reached out to hug her daughter.

"I had to tell him that I changed and that I love the Doctor and Max just snapped. And the worst thing about it is that it's my fault. I let him get closer to me than I did most other people and I knew he had a thing for me but I just let him believe that that cold, hard and strict façade was me."

"But he knew about the Doctor?" Jackie asked, although she already knew the answer. Rose nodded.

"And you never kissed Max, never held hands with him on normal occasions, never asked him out or referred to him as your boyfriend?"

Rose shook her head. "Course not. I mean we went to a café once or twice and we saw a movie once, but I never said it was a date".

"Then you can't blame yourself. You never gave him any signal that you were anything more than friends; he just decided to interpret everything. I know it's hard Rose, but it'll be fine. He'll move on."

"But he hates me." Rose said quietly. "I knew he loved me-or I suspected it anyway. And I never told him that I saw him as a friend. And now he's not just angry at me, but he hates the Doctor too."

"Because the Doctor is alien and competition correct?"

"Yeah. And he saw me cry once, when I didn't know he was there, and he hates the Doctor because he hurt me."

"Does he know what happened between you and the Doctor?" Jackie asked.

Rose shook her head silently. "I never talked about the specifics. With anyone."

Jackie nodded and drank the rest of her tea. "Well then, it's not your fault. This is life Rose, it's not always perfect- and you didn't hurt Max intentionally. I get what he's going through, but if he really loves you then he should be happy for you, like the rest of your friends."

Rose nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. Naturally her mum would stand up for her, but Jackie's tone was sincere.

"Now" Jackie said. "I believe you have someone upstairs who's probably pacing up and down the room because he can't hold your hand and using his superior senses-"(she rolled her eyes)-"to listen in on the conversation."

Rose smiled-and it was a genuine smile this time, not just a small one. "Yeah, you're probably right. Thanks for the tea."

"You're welcome sweetheart" Jackie said with a smile, knowing Rose was thanking for a lot more than just the tea. "Oh, and if you're not going back to Torchwood today, do you mind picking up Tony from kindergarten? I have some things I need to do."

"Sure" said Rose, already making her way up the stairs.

"Thanks love" Jackie called up the stairs, but received no response. She rolled her eyes. Rose and the Doctor couldn't stand being away from each other for more than 15 minutes could they?

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