A/N: Thank you for the reviews, please make one for this chapter if you can! Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last... This is one of my faves, and the adventures start soon. Hannah x

Disclaimer: I do own Doctor Who. Wait, sorry, typo... That's supposed to say I don't own Doctor Who. Man.

*CHAPTER REWRITTEN 02/06/12*

I blinked back at my best friend; unsure on what words should come out of my mouth next. I'd never ever been in a situation when my best friend was so upset and cold because of me. Was this what the Doctor did? Tore apart friendships and broke supposedly unbreakable bonds? Before the Doctor came into my life –Rose's life, even- everything was going well. Well, not 'well' exactly. But as 'well' as it could get, as far as things went. Our lives were so much more boring and uneventful, but at least we had each other.

But now… Everything between us was potentially over. All those teary phone-calls, giggly sleepovers, hushed secrets. Because of one stupid mistake which should never have happened.

Silence took over us, apart from the slight squeaking of the swings and the occasional gust of wind rattling against the gate. The silence was almost comforting for a few moments, but it was gradually becoming more and more awkward. I felt like I needed to introduce an ice-breaker to at least get us talking again.

"The Doctor is talking to your mum." I said, pushing a strand of my hair which had become loose behind my ear. "He was debating on whether to wear a helmet or not."

A small sense of relief blessed me as a flicker of a smile projected itself onto Rose's tear-stained face. It quickly dissipated again, but at least it was lurking around somewhere. "Currently, for mum, the Doctor is enemy number one. Not that he's ever been on the top of her friend's list or anything, but she hates him more than she did before."

I sighed, covering my face with my hands. "Oh, God, Rose… I honestly didn't mean for it to end like this. One trip, he said. He even promised to return me after that. I just assumed that he'd drop me off the morning afterwards!"

Rose inhaled the bitter April air and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know, Ava. Trust me, I do. He brought me home a year late, remember? But that wasn't the same as this."

I removed my hands from my face so I could see Rose's expression. "I know! We were only supposed to be out while you were asleep, it just got out of hand!"

"And that's supposed to make me feel better, is it?" Rose interrogated while she wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her hoodie. "Going on a trip without me, I can understand. But going away on a trip while I was asleep and not letting me know at all? That, Ava, is what really hurts. That you felt the need to go off gallivanting through time and space without telling me anything. Even after all I told you!"

"I know, Rose, it was inexcusable. I wouldn't even forgive myself- I can't even forgive myself. But you have to believe me when I say nothing happened. I promise. We went on a trip, that was all." I said, but I felt I was just burying myself into a deeper hole.

"That morning, after you left, I went down to where the TARDIS was parked as I couldn't find either you or the Doctor anywhere," Rose began, "And when I discovered that that big blue box wasn't there, my heart began to crack like glass." Rose paused. "The Doctor has never left me behind, ever, unless he's had a reason- like making sure I'm safe or keeping me away from harm. However much I disagree about those reasons."

I looked away as Rose continued.

"But that- that was different. For the first time the Doctor had left me behind intentionally. And not only that, he'd left with my best friend. Have you any idea how that made me feel?"

I shook my head solemnly.

"Well, Ava, it didn't make me feel great. Put it that way. It made me feel like I wasn't enough for him." Rose choked back another sob.

My ears pricked at Rose's last sentence. Rose honestly felt like she wasn't good enough for the Doctor? She was all he ever talked about! And thought about.

I had looked into the deep depths of the Doctor's mind; his solitary childhood, the destruction of his home planet, the terrible war that completely destroyed his life, and the many, many adventures he'd had in-between. The Doctor's feelings were forever changing and forever in flux, but one thought remained a constant. Always there and always the most vital one.

That thought was Rose Tyler.

I leaped off the swing and landed on my feet, grabbing the swing Rose was sitting on with force so that it could no longer move.

"Please can you just go, Ava?" Rose asked as politely as she could. "I kind of want to be alone. It's funny, isn't it? I've spent four months waiting for you to return and now you're here I don't really want to see you at all."

But I wasn't leaving. Oh no. Not until Rose got the full picture. After that, if she still didn't want to see me, then I would go. "Wait. Rose. Just here me out, ok?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I'd thought we'd said enough."

I ignored her. "You honestly believe the Doctor doesn't think you're good enough, eh, Rose?"

Rose sighed, remaining silent for a while before replying. "No. I didn't at first. Ava, he made me feel amazing. He made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. He made me feel like no other person has ever made me feel… But then you came along. You were new. You were someone else he could show off to; because, trust me, the Doctor likes nothing more than to show off the universe."

I laughed slightly as I remembered the Doctor stumbling at the TARDIS console, but I quickly changed the chuckle into a cough. "I'm just a fad, Rose. He took me on a trip because he felt sorry for me." I ignored the fact that that Captain Jack guy had pretty much confirmed that I was going to be an important part of the Doctor's future. "But you, you're like no other girl he's met before. He never shuts up about you, Rose. So don't you dare think that you're not good enough."

Rose's face was softening from anger and despair to a more general expression. She stood up off the swing so that she was opposite me and dusted down her trouser knees.

Then she enveloped me in a long overdue hug.

And I felt more than happy to hug my best friend back. As I'd learnt at The Glass Planet, a hug makes everything look so much brighter. Even if you are already looking at a giant star meanwhile.

Rose nuzzled her face into the wool of my scarf. I could feel my best friend sobbing a little, so I squeezed her tighter. I decided against shedding any tears as I'd cried enough today, even though I was on the verge.

"A couple of weeks in, I was beginning to think that something terrible had happened to you two," Rose whispered into my shoulder. "I know with time travel and stuff the Doctor can't always get the times right, but I thought you might have died somewhere. Some alien planet, somewhere completely foreign to you."

I rubbed my hand gently on the back of Rose's head. "Me? Die? Never!"

Rose chuckled faintly through her tears. "No, but seriously. The amount of times I've almost died with the Doctor is so, so scary. When it's you put in those situations it's different. But to think that it's someone you love so much at risk… That's when you really begin to worry."

An overwhelming burst of guilt sparked inside of my gut.

"As the days built up, more and more images of you or the Doctor dying alone flashed in my mind. But there was nothing I could do. I just had to sit at home and wait for either one of you to return somehow. And trust me, that's not what I wanted to do. I wanted to get to you both. But I couldn't. I was honestly beginning to think that the two people I trusted most in the world were gone for good."

"I'm so, so sorry Rose," I whimpered, taking in the scent of Rose's hoodie as I buried my face into my friend's shoulder.

Rose shook her head. "No. I'm sorry. I was so cold before. I guess I just felt betrayed. But I understand."

Betrayed. "If it's easier, I won't travel with you and the Doctor. I'll stay here. I really don't want to cause anymore grief between us."

Rose grinned. "Don't be stupid! I want you where I can keep an eye on you."

I grinned back as I withdrew from our embrace. "Well, okay, if it's fine with you."

Rose snaked her arm through mine and rested her chin on my shoulder. "I've missed you so much, Ava. I tried to convince myself that you weren't worth it, but how could I? We've been best friends for so long- not even a mad, stupid Time Lord can come between us."

I laughed. I was just so happy that Rose wasn't unbearably angry with me anymore. That I understood. "Yep."

Rose skipped over to the fence and jumped over, like a little kid. "Now, I want to see that mad, stupid Time Lord. I've got some questions I need to ask him. Like why he kidnapped my best friend from me for four months."

She then swiftly ran down the pathway and round the corner to the Estate, too fast for me to catch up. All that running she must've done with the Doctor must've made her that bit faster.

I stood in her shadow for a moment longer, before leaping over the rusty gate myself.

I really did have an amazing, brilliant, incredible, out-of-this-world best friend.