Thank you for all the lovely reviews. This story was supposed to be a oneshot, but you all inspired me to write more!

This chapter is a fair bit more risky than the previous, for various reasons, so I'm not sure how it'll be recieved. Let me know what you think, anyway :)

Enjoy!

He stared across at her from the other side of the kitchen table, and she did the same, sipping the coffee he had made her mere moments before. The Doctor was grinning in a somewhat goofy fashion; a look he hadn't been able to wipe from his face since Rose had kissed him an hour before. They hadn't said much, since, and it was only when the Doctor had suggested a coffee that things had changed.

Here they were. In the kitchen. How very...domestic of them. The Doctor should've shuddered at the word, but he didn't. Odd, that.

"I was thinkin'." Said Rose casually, and the Doctor's eyes widened at the sound of her voice. They had been sitting in silence for some minutes now.

"What?"
"I was thinkin' that I like all of this new stuff." She looked up and around at the new TARDIS interior, so shiny and new, nothing like the old one. "I didn't think I liked change."

"But you do now?" Asked the Doctor, leaning forward. Rose leant on her hand and looked over at him.
"Yes."

A spark flickered between them, and their eyes stayed locked on each other, before the Doctor looked away, another question burning within him.

"Whatever happened to the other me?"
"He wasn't you." Rose responded instantly, sipping the coffee idly, as if it was the most obvious and boring thing in the world. "He looked like you, sure, but he wasn't you." She leant back, twisting the mug around in her hands. "And now that you look like this, he definitely won't do."

The Doctor couldn't help but smirk triumphantly. It was silly really, to be jealous of yourself, but he hadn't been able to help it. Seeing her kissing him on Bad Wolf Bay had broken his hearts.

"Very well then." He stood up abruptly, and went to stand over her, where he played with a strand of her blonde hair. "As long as he's not roaming about in the wild somewhere."

"Oh, no." Rose laughed, and she sat up and looked up at him with a smile. "A girl at work took a shine to him..." She lowered her voice. "Slapper."

"Rose Tyler! Did you just call one of your colleagues a slapper?"
"You bet I did." Rose said cheekily, and she stood up and faced the Doctor, who tucked the stray hair he had been toying with behind her ear. They stared at each other again for a few moments, but the goofy smiles were gone. All that was left were soft, affectionate smiles. The Doctor considered it amazing that his love for her had lived on throughout two regenerations and three incarnations. That was Rose though, always blowing his brilliant mind.

Her focus was on the bowtie now, and he felt stressed under her scrutiny, even though he knew she liked it.

"You like the bowtie," said he, "which is a feat in itself, Amy doesn't like it at all."

Rose's expression faltered.

"Amy?"

The Doctor looked sideways at Rose, wondering if he should have mentioned his companion at all.

"Amy, yes. Amy Pond. My friend." An afterthought. "My married friend."

Rose shrugged and looked down at the empty mug, toying with the handle and spinning the cup around on the table top.
"That hasn't stopped you before."

The Doctor cleared his throat.

"You know it's not like that. Let's move back onto bowties..." He didn't want another awkward argument type thing, like before. Especially over Amy, whom he would always view as that little girl who waited in the garden all night for him.

"Is she pretty?"

"Rose." The Doctor warned, and he gave her an incredulous look. "I just risked the collapse of two universes to drag you through for a couple of hours, and you're asking if Amy's pretty as if she's a threat." He paused, and leaned towards her. "I assure you, she's not." And he pecked her on the cheek.

Rose watched him, pouting slightly, and then she smiled, and touched the bow tie with finger and thumb.

"I do love the bowtie. Very much." And her brown eyes looked up at him through thick eyelashes. "But I do think, it might need to come off."

The Doctor looked at her oddly.
"What?"

She gave him a devilish smile.

"Along with everything else you're wearing."

The Doctor was suddenly animated, embarrassed and red in the face.

"Rose! You're not suggesting-"
"No!" Interrupted Rose, pink in the cheeks too and evidently even more embarrassed than he. Perhaps it was too soon for such things. "No, I would...never...Suggest..." She paused, gathering herself. "It was a joke! Ha ha!" She laughed overtly, taking a step back. "That was me, joking!"

The Doctor, confused beyond belief, laughed along with her, through lack of other things to say.

The giggles died down into awkward murmurs, and finally silence. They avoided eye contact, looking anywhere but at each other. The tension was fierce.

The Doctor had actually hoped very much that Rose was suggesting what he thought she was suggesting, and frankly, it was rather disappointing that she had been joking all along. They didn't have much time together, they may never see each other after this, and then what? They'd have missed an opportunity. An excellent one that they had missed several times. He shifted his feet, wondering if he should go to the console room, just so he could flick switches and look busy, when Rose spoke again.

"Doctor." He made himself look at her. "I wasn't joking at all." She breathed out, completely deadpan. "Not even in the slightest."

The Doctor observed her, completely bowled over, and then replied.

"Oh, thank the stars." And he seized her hand, and pulled her out of the kitchen.

Scandal. They've realised they can no longer waste time. Who can blame them, eh? ;) Please review :)