So, I understand that it's been a while and all, but life's been pretty hectic and in the hope of not boring you to death or worse, boring you from reading the chappie, I let you get right to it. I know that this chapter is shorter than the rest, but I've been doing the chapter outlines yesterday and realized that this has as much chances of ever being put in the category of one-shots as hell has any chances of freezing over. Yeah, dramatic, I know, but very, very true. So, I decided to cut the chapter down a bit and expland the story plot line more, so you'll get everything in a not-so-much slower pace, as I'm not the type of writer who just drags out a fic for chapters and chapter without getting anywhere, but more like... infusing it with more details and adding a bigger background to the characters and the lot. Anyways, that's all from me... Not too sure what I think about this chapter. Initially, this was supposed to go a completely different direction, but I suppose that the characters have their own way of making their own stories and we, writers are just the ones that put it down on paper. Or on the computer...

She felt cold…

The righteous anger and the boiling rage at her imposed confinement had worn out hours ago.

Now all there was left was anguish and bone-chilling fear as she was left on her own to ponder over her immediate fate as the minutes trickled by, the knowledge that she was well and truly left to protect her own well-fair getting thicker and heavier with each second that passed, permeating the air in the small, dark cell she was in, making her feel dizzy and light-headed.

The strong sense of unwanted solitude and loneliness was steadily getting stronger and the horrifying feeling of claustrophobia was beginning to spread trough her system, making ice flow through her veins instead of blood.

Her alabaster skin was numb and unfeeling as her eyes gazed all around the small, enclosed space; observing, but not really seeing.

From the first moment that she had been taken away from the… from him, she had had the worst presumption ever, stuck in her head, taunting her, teasing her, weakening and dulling her strength and desire to fight her capturers.

Her heart told her to wait… to hold on and not to give up, he had always taught her to be better than that, to be better than those people who decided to let go of the struggle and give in to what life brought them next.

But… fact was, it wasn't really him who had told her that, now was it? The man who begged her to trust him, not to give up on him, even when he was at his worst didn't have big brown-eyes and a maniacal, childish grin that hid unbelievable sadness and sorrow that could belong only to one who has lived life long before his time.

No, that wasn't him at all. He was…

He was tall, blue-eyed, bald and big-eared… He was the most wonderful, caring, protective and fierce man she had ever met in her entire existence.

He was the Doctor…

And only the Heavens knew how much she wanted him back by her side.

Mind, she didn't necessarily want to leave this him either… but… everything was becoming just so hard around him lately…

Her heart, her mind, her very soul felt polluted by him and at moments it was as if he couldn't give a lesser damn about it.

He carried on with his life, doing what he always did, strolling casually into people's lives and waltzing away immediately afterwards, out the back door, per rule.

To a by-passer, she was certain she'd seem as close to a lost puppy trailing after a desired, but-not-actual master as the Doctor resembled a God in his own, true right.

The previous Doctor, her Doctor had let her into his life. He had taken her in, taught her everything he could, everything he was allowed to teach and made her about a thousand times better than she used to be.

With him, there was no Time Lord or Human… no Gallifrey or Earth… no race, no species, no planets… no differences what so ever. They were simply the Doctor and Rose, two people, equals in all things, simply passing through this Universe in a rush, fixing things and making them better, laughing and dancing even when they were faced with their impending, inevitable deaths simply because they were together. And when they were together, they knew that they could do anything…

Rose knew she was getting sidetracked. This was by no means the time, or the place for that matter to be whining and crying over her lost, one true chance at happiness and a life outside of the confinements of the Powell Estates that, should she ever come back, would irreversibly condemn her to an existence as a mere shop girl, with no A-levels, no decent job – or a decent paycheck, and no future what so ever. At least not one she would have desired for herself, that is.

Finally snapping herself out of her daze, her eyes flew from the gray, chipped walls, to the steel door designed to keep her inside and was reinforced with some sort of a power field that crackled with electricity, taunting her, warning her to stay away even at the distance she was keeping from it, to the small window-like opening in the high, northern corner of the room, to the tiny puddle on the floor that had a deep burgundy color and the most ghastly smell of copper and iron, mixed with salt and some other chemicals Rose couldn't discern.

Slowly, a frown firmly planted on her face, she stood, stretching her stiff muscles and massaging her neck and what she could reach of her back, cursing the coolness and hardness of the floor that had served as a bed for her during the last quarter of a day or so.

Tentatively, hesitance and uncertainty literally pouring off of her in waves, she carefully strolled to the little pond in the corner of the room, a shaking hand reached out in front of her with trepidation, whether to actually reach out and touch the blood red liquid or to protect herself if somehow… she wasn't sure about the mechanics of it, but it was possible that the fluid suddenly… leapt in the air and lunged at her. Stupid and pretty unlikely as it may be, after everything she'd seen and done, she just knew that she wasn't taking any chances.

Then again, she was most likely to be dead either way and her curiosity was piqued immensely, considering that, disgusting odor aside, there was a soft pull on her mind, a feeling that she could connect quite closely to mind intrusion that was… compelling her, transfixing and forceful in its intention to get her to touch the mysterious liquid in front of her.

She inched closer still, hands still in front of her and her eyes looking viciously at the puddle, narrowed dangerously, and masking the fear that suffocated her every pore when she suddenly found that her legs had begun carrying her forward on their own accord, without her mind making any conscious decision about it.

Crouching down in front of the ominous-looking thingy, Rose closed her eyes and breathed out a huff. She quietly chided herself, pushing her fear and suspicion away from the front of her mind, locking them in a distant, unreachable corner of her brain and opened her eyes, her lips set in a straight line, her whole face seemingly calm and serene, but the slight pull of her eyebrows alluding to a hint of utter devotion and determination.

Her concentration was absolute and without anyone around to make her waver or break her resolve, her fingers loomed perilously close to the maroon colored puddle at her feet. Her eyes narrowed and suddenly, without thinking it trough, she thrust her fingers in it, closing her eyes in mad anticipation that had her heart racing and the fear breaking free from its cage and creeping right back onto her.

She waited…

One second… two seconds… three… nothing…

"Eeewww, gross." Rose's exclaim echoed throughout the empty cell as she quickly pulled back, clutching at her hand, watching the thick, slimy liquid running down her fingers, onto her wrist and beyond, shuddering against the tinkling, giddy feeling that spread through her skin and within her bloodstream everywhere the fluid touched.

"Yeah, that might not have been the brightest idea you've ever had."

Jumping at the voice, her vocal cords already vibrating strongly, the scream just waiting to be released from her throat, she was stunned when in only a few short steps, a shadow whose face she had yet to see twisted her around and placed his arm over her waist, effectively trapping her arms, and covering her mouth with his own hand.

Eyes wide, she began trashing wildly, her mind deciding to release that pending scream and many that followed right after it, her legs moving around trying to find a way to kick the stranger where it hurt. Her heart was beating at a staccato beat, faster then it ever had before and anguish was running through her, increasing the pumps of adrenaline that had already possessed her thoroughly, blocking her ability to think straight and come up with a strong, fail-proof plan to get away.

"Shh, hush now." The stranger whispered, his lips pressed to her ear sending tremors that Rose would rather die than admit to and she couldn't help, but notice the quiet, yet unyielding authority his voice was infused with.

Husky, low and strangled, it sent tingles up and down her spine and suddenly, Rose was more than just aware of just how intimately their bodies were pressed together. The warmth that flowed through his hands suddenly shot through her and Rose nearly whimpered as she felt the hand that was at her waist inch even lower, going past her hips and staying there.

"I won't hurt you, I promise." He whispered again and Rose internally swore. There it was again, the same tremor as before, this time accompanied by the unshakeable feeling of familiarity that seemed to emanate from him, seeping into her, right down to her very bones.

"So, if you could just stop moving around and screaming so much - you do know that the only thing you'll manage by that is exhausting yourself and hurting your throat, don't you?" Rose glared at nowhere in particular, suddenly whishing that he was standing in front of her, but settled for nuzzling her mouth against his hand, satisfaction flooding her entire system as she heard his sharp intake of breath and the slight release in his hold, managing to use it to her advantage and opening her lips just enough to deliver a hard, solid bite.

His curse was loud and utterly blush inducing, his hand moving away from her mouth and curling to his body instinctively and in pure agony. Once again, Rose smiled to herself as she used her free arm to aim an elbow to his ribs. When her elbow made contact with his torso, he exhaled sharply and she used the momentum to raise a leg, then slam in down against his toes, wriggling away from him and to the other side of the cell, watching him grunt in pain and doubling over as he held his ribs, holding his weight on only one of his legs.

"Who are you?" She spat out venomously, glaring daggers in his direction, still cursing him internally, her anger coming mostly from her instantaneous reaction and pure revolting arousal to his closeness, rather than anything else. "What do you want from me?" she continued undeterred as he raised himself, bracing himself on the wall, the pain from her hits seeming to finally ebb away.

His throaty chuckle echoed around her, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand and an unwanted thrill to cut through her lower abdomen.

He finally stood at his full height, his tall, well-toned frame intimidating even at the distance Rose had put between them, his hand coming up the pull the hood of his jacket away from his way.

Rose held her breath in anticipation and gasped in shock as the hood was pulled back to reveal what was probably the most handsome man she had seen in her entire life.

Tall and slim, with angular and sharp features, his lips sinfully full and still curved in a smirk. His eyes were the likes of which she had never seen before, the color of pure liquid ice, hard and demanding; completely and utterly mesmerizing, transfixing her, capturing her in their unwavering gaze. His skin was pale and perfect and his hair was as black as a raven's, full and lush and making her want to walk up to him just so she can run her fingers through it over and over and over again.

"Feisty," he commented as calmly and casually as if they were discussing the weather. "Then again, I didn't expect anything else, coming from you." His smirk was back and Rose found herself staring at the movement of his lips, his words passing by her completely undetected.

"Wh-what?" she managed to rasp out, hating that her voice sounded so weak and childish. Who the heck did he think he was, anyway? He had no right to do this. Rose was supposed to be kidnapped and waiting for the Doctor to rescue her, while trying to come up with some sort of a game plan when that finally happened.

With a start, Rose gave a sharp cry of outrage and annoyance at herself as she realized that since this… this man had shown up in front of her, this had been the first time she had even thought of the Doctor. That had never happened before. Ever. Sure, Rose was bound to meet a few good-looking guys here and there during her travels with him and she even went as far as to flirt with them and tease them, but none of them had ever had the power to quite literally erase the Doctor from her mind.

However, this man had managed to do it, all in a span of what was probably less than 10 minutes and he had her thinking that he was here to kill her during half of that time. As a matter of fact, she still wasn't too sure in regards of that. Yet.

As if reading her mind, the familiar stranger gave a well-rehearsed roll of his eyes and smirked a cocky grin, leaning on the wall and folding his arms on his chest and lowered his head.

Rose shivered as she looked back at him and noticed him staring at her under his eyelashes, his posture the image of pure calmness, but also that of pure, intentional seduction.

"You never answered my question." She bit back, steeling her resolve and doing her best to at least appear to be as calm as he was, but judging by the knowing twinkle in his eyes, she was probably failing.

"And you, my dear, bit me." He answered back, just as haughtily, his voice a few octaves lower and suddenly dangerous. "I don't like it when people do things like that."

"Yeah, well, you mustn't have met many people then." Rose continued, finding it a bit easier to hold her resolve when she wasn't looking at him.

In a flash, he had her pinned against the wall, his hand on her throat, Rose wincing as her head collided sharply with the wall.

He sat still for a few seconds, unmoving and as still as a statue as he searched her face for something. Suddenly, he grinned and pulled back, leaving Rose to try and put herself together as the pain from her head started to spread.

"If you must know though, sweetheart, I," he gestured at his body, clad in combat boots, black jeans, black muscle-friendly shirt and a leather jacket that clung to him. "Am your dear husband-to-be." His grin fell and he walked over to her again, pressing his body flush against Rose's and a smirk graced his face as she gasped out a breath sharply, avoiding to look at him.

His hands pulled her chin up roughly so that she would face him, but she still kept her eyes averted from him.

"Look at me." His voice was once again laced with authority and left room for no discussion. Rose could feel her breathing growing faster and shallower, sweat breaking out on her forehead and her heart once again picking up speed as she felt his… whomever he was, body pressing up against her, their joint bodies, a seemingly perfect fit as they aligned just right and she felt the desire she heard infused in his voice. She shook her head lightly, filling her head with images of her time with the Doctor, both of them, and shutting out the reality of the situation she had found herself in, somehow knowing that she would crumble and falter under his heated gaze and impenetrable mask coldness and indifference.

"I said look at me, Rose Tyler." He rasped again, nearing his lips to her neck, capturing both of her hands in one of his and raising them above her head, pinning them to the wall. "I don't take lightly to people who disobey me." His voice had dropped to a mere whisper and she finally raised her eyes to his.

What she found there, however, both shocked her and filled with such anticipation that she wasn't even sure if she could ever, in a billion years, explain the feeling.

His eyes were filled with unspoken promises and bridling passion just waiting to boil over. The mask that she had managed to recognize easily thanks to her time with the Doctor had fallen away and his eyes were bared to her along with his very soul. Every secret that he has ever kept was hers. His pain, his happiness, sadness… all of it was now just as much her burden to bear as it was his and she was startled and scared out of her wits as she managed to discern the same look of ancient sadness and vulnerability and pain and loss that her Doctor bore in his eyes, all the time, even though he tried to hide it.

"It can't be…" she whispered, her eyes widening at the same time as his as he seemed to catch himself and realize his mistake. He pulled away sharply and walked away from her, using the moment whilst she was still caught in a trance-like state, brought forth from the impossibility... and... well... impossibility of the last 6 hours, 24 minutes and 38 seconds, accoring to his own calculations.