Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed!!!

I am so sorry that this has taken so long! I finally finished my third year at college though, finals were rough, but now that they are over and done with, I should have more time to write!

By the way, it may be obvious that I love to beat the Doctor up—can't deny it; it's just too obvious—so just bear with me! (The beatings will all hopefully be beneficial to the plot and not deviate into obscurity, radioactive wallabies, criminal sconces, or anything else that may threaten to escape the dark recesses of my mind)

I HAVE been thinking about this story a lot throughout the long weeks its been since last I updated, and I finally have a direction for this!

Previously: "Doctor?" Rose shouted, slamming her weight against the door, and achieving no result. "Doctor!" Her voice rang through the hall. There was no answer from the bathroom.

Chapter 3

There was a sound of heavy footsteps and Pete charged up the hall. "Let me," He said, pushing Rose away. "It's a pretty old house… should be able to just…" He rammed into the door repeatedly. It crashed open, sending splinters in all directions. Steam billowed from the room. Peering through the steam with trepidation, Rose froze as she recognized her doctor.

He lay beneath the shower, his head resting against the edge of the bathtub, one arm on the ledge. She ran to him and vaulted into the tub. His skin was red and blotchy from the hot water that poured down on him, dripping from his lashes and his sodden hair.

"Doctor, wake up!" She turned the water from hot to cold. She took his face in both hands and lifted his head. His face was too pale. Rose noticed with a start that his lips were blue. "Doctor!"

He opened his eyes slowly and stared blearily up at her. "Rose…" His voice was slurred. The water had caused the shallow cut in his side to bleed excessively. "I think I hurt myself on the table. Fell into it pretty hard. Not feeling well. Stand back." He pushed a weak arm in her direction. "I have to regenerate, I'm sorry." He tried to get up, but he slipped and fell back against the tub. "I need to stand,"

"You can't regenerate, Doctor. You're human. Let's get you out of here," She switched the water off swiftly and hooked her elbows under his arms. She tried to heave him up but failed, cursing her weak arms.

"Human?" His voice was calm and curious. "How did that happen?" He drew in a long wheezing breath. "Cant… breath."

"We need to get him out." Pete threw a towel in her direction, and Rose wrapped it around his trembling body, doing her best to tuck it underneath him.

Her tears fell onto him as she grazed her shaking hands over his face, unsure of what to do. "Your cut is very shallow Doctor, it's not a big deal, you'll be fine, it just bled a lot."

"I—if I'm human… Rose, I took too many."

She froze as understanding dawned. "The vicodin."

"We need an ambulance." Pete looked imploringly at Rose.

"He's not completely human… if they find out…what if they dissect him… like some sort of… animal?" Rose glanced at the Doctor. His eyes were closing.

"Rose, I think that is a risk we need to take!" He shouted, as he looked down at the man. He slapped his cheek repeatedly, then pushed a hand under his jaw, searching for a pulse.

Rose ran hard to the bedroom across the hall for her cell phone.

It had passed in a blur. She had sat in the ambulance and watched in horrified silence while the defibrillator was pressed to his chest. His body had arched into it and the technicians had repeated the process.

Her parents had met her at the hospital.

Her eyes had glazed over as the nurse explained to her what was happening.

He lay in the hospital bed, looking the worst for his first day as a human. She leaned onto the bed from where she was seated beside him and stroked her fingertips idly across his brow.

His eyes flickered open. "Why are you crying?" His voice was hoarse and he groaned, rubbing his chest.

Rose started at the sound of his sickly voice, so unlike him. "I almost lost you again today, and it's my fault. I left the container on the bedside table."

"Don't be daft, I took the pills myself," He frowned. "…feel like my chest is being ripped apart."

Rose flinched at the analogy. "Your heart stopped…"

"Ah. That's what happens when you don't have a back up heart." He reached for her hand. The heart monitor that was pinched to his finger made it difficult.

"They pumped your stomach."

"That explains my throat." He rubbed her arm. "I'm fine, really."

The tears would not stop and Rose wondered if they ever would. She stared at her hands, unable to meet his eyes. "They need to keep you here for a little while. Just to be sure it's gone. They've been asking questions...about your parents, I just told them I don't know. They asked why you took so many pills…I told them it was an accident, but I don't think they believed me, and why would they?"

The Doctor nodded. "Rose…look at me."

She obeyed and he put her hand to his chapped lips. "It's strange." He said, as examined her hand, running his finger over her knuckles. "Humans are so needy. Timelords don't nearly need as much physical contact." He kissed each fingertip.

"What happened earlier, with your heart, is that over?"

"Seems to be." He said nonchalantly.

"But… what happened?"

"It's very simple really. One human heart was forced to take on the job of keeping a part human, part Timelord alive. Two hearts distribute the job easier than one. My one poor heart is getting used to this just like my mind."

She was staring at the wall across the bed, only half listening. She could not help but imagine what she would do if he had died. How could she get on with the life she supposedly had after losing the man she loved three times… four times? Her heart could not take the pain. What if something were to happen to her? Who would take care of him? She supposed her mum and dad would look after him until he got a grasp of what it is to be human.

"Rose." She looked back at him. "I need you."

She shuddered and realized how cold she must appear to him. "Sorry." She laughed suddenly when her eyes locked on his face. "You're healthy." He nodded, grinning goofily at the change in her mood.

Then suddenly, she was kissing his nose, his cheeks, his eyebrows, and his chin. The Doctor laughed weakly and cringed, his eyes closed throughout the onslaught. She pulled away, one hand holding the side of his face, and very gently kissed his lips.

"I love you." He stated, and pulled her to him, deepening the kiss. He pulled back and smoothed his fingers over her eyebrows. "You saved my life…you always do. I'd be dead, and this time I mean, genuinely, bonafide, dead."

Feeling bold, she pressed her lips to his neck, and drew her tongue slowly up, and scraped her teeth across his earlobe. "I'll make sure you stay this way, especially for what I want to do to you."

"Rose Tyler!" She pulled back, blushing furiously. He gaped at her. "Whenever did you get this forward?" His voice grew deeper and he grinned as he squinted at her. "I like it."

"Mr. Smith needs his rest."

Rose drew back to find an older woman in blue scrubs, looking at her pointedly. "Yes… of course." She hesitated, then grabbed her jacket and kissed his forehead. "Love you." With that, she hurried out to join her parents in the waiting room.

Dr. Samuel Haxall, frowned as he gazed at the blood sample he had taken from Mr. John Smith. It was impossible. Type A Positive was understandable. What confused Dr. Haxall was the other 50 percent portion that was unclassifiable, containing antibodies he had never seen in his long life in the medical profession.

Understanding dawned and he glanced through the open blinds and into John Smith's room. The man on the bed gazed benignly around the room.

Dr. Haxall glanced at the waiting room. It was getting late; Smith's friends and girlfriend were getting ready to leave.

He entered the patient's room and John Smith looked up, politely curious.

He peered down the hall, then shut the door and closed the blinds.

A/N Please review! Honestly, I just don't have the motivation to continue the story without them, you guys are fantastic!