A/N As a Christmas gift for all of my Who friends, I give you...a cliffhanger. And now I await a lump of coal in my stocking. :P

Chapter 24

As Rose reached the end of her shift for the day, she knew she needed to let her mum and the Doctor know she wasn't going to be back at the flat for her usual session with him that night now that she'd made other plans. Rose realized she didn't have a phone number for the Doctor – she didn't even know where his office was. He was the one who always came to her. She assumed her mum would have his contact info, though. He had been treating her, he had said, in a medical facility before she regained consciousness, and her mum had no doubt collected that information from him before she was released back home. Maybe she was being a coward, but Rose was glad this gave her an excuse to not be the one to have to talk to the Doctor just yet, leaving that to her mum.

Jackie had just finished talking with Pete for the day when Rose rang her up. Pete would be wrapping up his business dealings and returning from his trip the following week. If at that time Rose still wasn't in the condition to be faced with her father's double from a parallel world, then it was decided he would stay somewhere out of the flat for a little while until she had recovered more fully – something everyone was hoping would happen quickly for so many reasons.

In talking with Rose, Jackie was surprised to hear she didn't plan to be there for her evening session with the Doctor. Rose seemed to look forward to her time spent with him more than anything else; and though Rose was anxious to regain her memories, Jackie knew her eagerness to spend time with him stemmed from more than that. But if Rose wanted to grab a bite to eat with a mate from work, she didn't see the harm in it. Besides, Jackie knew she had to remain the level-headed one, because she knew a certain Time Lord who undoubtedly would see the harm in it. As of late, his protectiveness of Rose had been off the charts.

And she was right. When the Doctor came to the flat expecting Rose to be there after getting off work, he was not at all pleased to learn Rose wasn't back.

"You mean to tell me she's not back yet?" he responded to Jackie's statement after he'd questioned where Rose was. His tone quickly escalated. "Rose should have already been here by now. Jackie, you should have come to the TARDIS and let me know she hadn't returned so I could–"

"Doctor, just calm down, alright? Rose called and said she wouldn't be here for her session because she was gonna get something to eat with a mate from work."

The Doctor's hands raked through his hair. He was already counting off the reasons why this was not at all good, having made it up to thirty-two in a matter of seconds. And just who was this 'mate' she was with? His brows drew together as his eyes narrowed. "Who?"

"Paul. Paul Tanner. She an' him used to be friends years back."

The Doctor stood for a few seconds in non-reactive silence. After a pause, he regained his equilibrium enough to respond, an edge to his voice. "She's...gone out with another man. Rose has gone out with another man and you see nothing wrong in this?"

Jackie softened. She could understand his feelings, though she believed they were unfounded. "Doctor, she's just eating with a friend, not going on a date. She can have male friends too, without it meanin' anything more. Besides, I know Rose, and I know she was never in the least bit interested in him in that way. I also know that even if she doesn't remember how or why, she is completely in love with you." The Doctor's eyes flicked downward. Maybe she had felt that way until earlier today when he'd undoubtedly come across as rejecting her, he thought ruefully to himself. Jackie continued. "It's plain to see how she feels every time she just looks at you. I can promise she's not thinkin' about anyone else. Paul's just a friend."

"Paul...," the Doctor muttered the name to himself, making a mental recap of Rose's colleagues he might have met. He couldn't place him; but then, whenever the Doctor had been with Rose at work these past few days she was always his sole focus.

"He's a nice enough bloke," Jackie assured him. "She's just gonna grab a bite to eat, and then be back safe and sound."

The Doctor's face wore a scowl of firm disapproval. "I don't care if she's gone out to eat with the Pope. Any number of things could happen. What if she consumes alcohol?"

"With the Pope?" she smirked.

The Doctor's eyes were sharp. "I'm being serious, Jackie."

"Look, she's not going out to get drunk. And with the way her stomach's been feelin' lately, she's probably not gonna feel like even eating much, either. Besides, before startin' back at work you gave her a list of 'Doctor's Orders' of do's and don'ts. No exerting herself, no heavy lifting, and no alcohol in any amount. And you know that Rose is responsible and committed to her recovery, so she's not gonna just go out and do something careless to jeopardize that."

The Doctor crossed his arms over his chest. "Alright, fine. But alcohol consumption aside, there are other things to be concerned about. What if–"

Jackie cut him off. "Doctor, you can 'what if' yourself to death, or you can just relax until she gets back."

That was not the course of action the Doctor cared to take, but what else could he do? Actually, his mind was calculating exactly what he could do. He could find out where Rose was by tracking her bio-signature in the TARDIS and following her there to make certain she was okay. The Doctor's mind went back to the time, before their relationship had developed to this point, when he'd followed after Rose once before when she'd gone out with another man. He had donned a pair of jeans and strode into the club where Rose was, sat himself directly in front of her view and refused to take his eyes off her, thoroughly disrupting any previous plans she'd had for the evening. He had been making a statement and staking a claim. As it turned out, it had not been one of his more brilliant plans.

This time, however, his motivation was not simple jealousy, though the thought of Rose being out with another man made his blood run hot, regardless of Jackie's reassurance. The thought of another man even so much as looking at Rose in a way that went beyond friendship caused a storm to stir up within him; but his primary concern at the moment was over Rose's well-being. The Doctor reasoned to himself that he could simply keep a protective eye on her from a distance without Rose knowing he was there.

Jackie could practically hear the gears turning in his head as she eyed him suspiciously. "What are you thinking?" The Doctor focused his attention back on her. "No need to answer – I think I already know. You're plannin' to go after her, aren't you?"

The woman could sometimes be startlingly perceptive. The Doctor knew there was no point in denying to her what he was thinking. "I'm not planning on...on dragging her back. I just want to keep an eye on her to make sure she's okay. She won't even have to know I'm there."

"And what if she does find out you're there? How would you explain that?" she countered.

He shrugged. "A happy coincidence?"

Jackie shook her head and pointed a finger at him as she spoke in a firm tone. "You just sit down and relax, before you go runnin' about and making trouble out of nothing."

With the couch right there beside him, the Doctor momentarily complied with the sitting, but not with the relaxing. At least partially satisfied, Jackie turned to head into the kitchen. "I'll go make us some tea. Good cuppa's what you need."

The Doctor took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Rose once again fully well and once again fully his were the only things he needed. They were slowly working towards the former; would he ever again have the latter?

-:-:-:-

Upon leaving Henrik's, Rose and Paul had decided they would go for pizza, but as Rose sat at their table looking down at the greasy, peperoni-covered slice staring back up at her, she was beginning to wonder if it had been such a good idea. It seemed her nausea, which lately had just been affecting her in the mornings, was threatening to make an appearance now.

Rose had a feeling her stark lack of appetite also had to do with her jumbled feelings over...everything. Rose knew she needed to move past the attachment she had formed with the Doctor, but that might be easier said than done. The way he seemed to almost consume her every thought was somewhat startling. She literally could think of nothing else. The more she pondered it, the more an idea and possible explanation began to form – an idea that frightened her a little. Maybe this was an effect of having him within her mind, Rose thought. The experience wasn't exactly a typical thing between two people, and surely there could be some unusual side-effects with it.

Rose shivered. Not necessarily just from her uneasy thoughts. She had been feeling a chill all day – almost as if it had seeped into her bones and taken hold, despite the fact that the weather was mild.

"You alright?" Paul asked around his slice of pizza, noticing Rose hadn't touched hers.

Rose folded her hands and leaned back in her chair. "Just not very hungry, I s'pose."

He noted her deeply-furrowed brow. "It's more than that though, isn't it?"

Rose breathed a sigh. "I just feel so confused right now. And not just because of my lost memories. I feel confused about the here and now. The Doctor's treatments have helped some, but...I'm beginning to think that maybe they've somehow affected me in other ways, too."

"What'd you mean?"

Rose chewed her lip, then finally answered. "He has a way of...going into my mind, seeing my memories and helping to try and clarify them. It's amazing, but it's...it's kind of scary, too. I'm starting to think maybe there could be effects of that I didn't realize at first."

Paul was utterly bemused. "How is something like that even possible? I mean, is he some kind of...of psychic...or...?"

"No," Rose clarified, "nothing like that. He gave some scientific explanation about quantum physics or somethin' and new advances in neuro-medicine. And he's been strictly professional." Rose tried not to sound disappointed with that last remark.

"It all sounds dodgy to me," Paul frowned, not exactly alleviating Rose's uneasy thoughts.

She looked back down at her uneaten pizza, her stomach churning unpleasantly. "I think I just...want to go home, Paul. I'm just not feeling well right now."

He nodded. "Alright, I'll take you back."

He paid the bill and they walked back out to the street, getting in his car. After leaving and driving just a few blocks away, Paul slowed and came to a stop outside an apartment building.

Rose angled her head, looking out the side window. "What are we stopping here for?"

He looked at her with a hesitant smile. "Well, after promising a meal, I feel bad taking you back home without you having anything at all. Maybe just a cuppa, or something. This is my place. We could go in and you can just relax for a bit."

"Paul, I'd really rather just..."

"Oh, come on. It's just tea, Rose. And I think being out a bit longer will do you some good. We can just sit for a while and talk about old times. How 'bout it?"

Rose glanced once more out the window. She hadn't been very good company for her friend when all he'd been trying to do was make her feel better. Plus, the nausea she'd been feeling earlier had now eased. "Alright, I suppose," she finally consented. "But just for a few minutes."

They both exited the car, and Rose followed him up the steps and into the flat. Once inside, he flipped on the light switch by the door. It was a step up from the apartment she remembered him living in from before, but it was still rather modest. Decently clean for a single bloke, though.

"Just make yourself at home and I'll put on the kettle," he said, heading to the kitchen. Rose nodded and walked towards the lounge and sat down.

-:-:-:-

The Doctor sat on the couch in Jackie's flat, stood to pace, then sat back down again, a cycle he'd been repeating as Jackie now went about preparing some dinner. His anxious thoughts continued to center on Rose. Just because she'd seemed okay the past week didn't mean she was out of danger with this pregnancy by any means. The Doctor knew any number of complications could set in rapidly. What concerned him most were the unknowns with a human/Gallifreyan pregnancy. She needed continual, close monitoring. He already blamed himself for Rose's neural damage. If he hadn't been so absorbed in his own tumultuous feelings at the time, maybe he would have realized the possibility sooner and been able to take preemptive measures. There was no changing that now, but he was determined to take every precaution from here on out.

He couldn't do that, however, sitting uselessly on a couch in Jackie's flat, not even knowing where Rose was. Something else had been concerning him, too. The Doctor feared her delicate mental state had been upset by the incident between them earlier. The last thing she needed was anxiety, and he suspected that was exactly what she was feeling, and the reason why she didn't want to be here for their usual evening session. She was avoiding him. But prolonged mental anxiety could be detrimental at this point in her recovery.

The more time that went by, the more concerned he became over the situation. The Doctor finally decided enough was enough and he needed to know for certain if she was alright. There just might be a way for him to do that and know immediately. With their partial bond still lingering, he could reach for her mind with his, ever so gently. He had told Rose during their first session that he could not just project towards her and read her mind, which was true. This would not give him exact specifics like it once could have, but at least he'd have a vague sense of her current state, and it should be subtle enough that Rose wouldn't even be aware of it.

Testing the tenuous remains of their bond, the Doctor closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing on what remained of their link.

Underestimating Rose's remaining connection to him, his gentle probe was less subtle than he thought.

-:-:-:-

Sitting on the couch next to Paul, Rose was trying to focus on their friendly conversation and forget, at least momentarily, the uneasy thoughts she'd had earlier, when she suddenly gasped, her startled movement jostling her mug of tea and spilling a little over the edge.

"What's wrong?" he quickly asked.

Rose lifted her eyes, wide with alarm. "I think I just felt something in my head...right now. Like...like how it sometimes feels when the Doctor..."

"You mean like he's in your thoughts...now?"

Her voice rose a notch in fear. "Is that even possible? How could he do that – he's not even here!" Rose squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh, what have I opened myself up to with this?"

"Calm down, Rose. You're probably just overly stressed thinking about the possible effects you were talking about earlier."

Rose released her held breath and opened her eyes. "I just don't even know what to think anymore. I'm getting so mixed up over all of this."

-:-:-:-

Rose's sudden distress was felt by the Doctor upon reaching out to her, propelling him into action. He'd been sitting passively long enough. He was going to find her, now. He was beyond thinking of ways to observe her subtly. He was going to find her directly and would deal with any consequences later.

"Something's wrong with Rose, Jackie. I could feel it," he called out, bounding to his feet and making his way towards the front door.

Jackie swiftly appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. "What is it? What's wrong? And what are you gonna do?" she called after him.

"I'm going to find my wife!" he responded without giving a backward glance as the door shut behind him with a bang.

-:-:-:-

Upon reaching the console in the TARDIS, the Doctor scanned for Rose's bio-signature, soon locating her exact whereabouts and setting the coordinates.

Materializing across the street from the apartment, the Doctor made haste in exiting the TARDIS and heading for the building. The fact that this man apparently had Rose alone in his flat made the Doctor's feet pound that much harder on the pavement as he broke into a sprint.

Back inside, Paul was trying to ease Rose's tension, his plans for the evening not exactly going as he'd hoped. He brought her a small towel to dry the spilled tea, placing it in her hands as he sat back down beside her. "Just relax, Rose. Just try to forget about that doctor for now and instead focus on...us," he suggested.

She cut her eyes over to him warily, placing the towel aside once she was done. "Us?"

He edged a little closer. "Rose, there always seemed to be something standing in the way between us before. There was someone else, or maybe we were just too young, or whatever other reasons there might have been. But does it have to be that way now?" He reached forward and stroked a hand down her hair as he spoke softly. "Why don't we see where this takes us this time – give this another chance."

Rose positioned herself further back from him, feeling uncomfortable with his advances. She knew he wasn't the type to force himself on her, but she also knew he was the type who needed to be told 'no' plainly. "Give this another chance? Paul, we were never–"

He placed his hand on the side of her face. "No, but we could change that now."

It was at that moment the front door to the flat abruptly opened. No knocking, no hesitating, the Doctor simply threw open the door and charged in with a single intent in mind. Glancing only briefly at the man sitting much-too closely beside Rose, the Doctor then focused his single gaze on her.

Rose and Paul jumped to their feet simultaneously.

"What the–"

"Doctor! What do you think you're doing?" Rose cried.

He extended his hand towards her and spoke evenly. "Rose, come with me. I'm taking you home."

"You bloody well will not!" she shot back indignantly. "I...I can't even believe this! I can't believe that you just–" Rose stopped short as her hand came up to her mouth, her face contorting. "Oh, not now of all times! Paul, where's your loo?" she asked in quick desperation.

He stammered at first, still thrown by the sudden turn of events. "Um, d-down the hall. First door on the right."

He'd barely gotten the words out before Rose was making a hasty dash for the bathroom, her stomach apparently choosing now to empty itself. The Doctor's eyes followed Rose as she disappeared down the hall to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He then turned and faced Paul who was quickly moving towards him.

"Look, I don't know just what you think you're doing, but you are way out of line here! I don't care if you are her doctor."

The Doctor's fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. "Rose is in my care, and right now she needs to be home. And I should be asking what you're doing," he seethed. "Rose thought she was going out for a bite to eat and instead you lure her into your apartment!"

"I didn't lure her here, and that's absolutely none of your business. Now get out of my flat before I call the coppers and have you thrown in jail!"

The Doctor's eyes were dark and his voice sharp as a blade. "I'm not leaving without Rose."

Paul took a challenging step closer. "What right do you think you have to just–"

The Doctor had finally had enough. He really couldn't take much more in this situation. He wanted to be sure this man was abundantly clear concerning Rose. Knowing Rose was still in the bathroom and out of earshot, he lowered his voice but spoke with force as his eyes flashed. "I have every right in the universe, and you do not want to take me on. Assuming Jackie was right and you are even a halfway-decent man, then once you know this you'll keep it to yourself so as not to harm her recovery, but you Will. Back. Off. Rose is my wife, and she is pregnant with my child. She hasn't been able to regain those memories yet, or else she never would have gone anywhere with you. She only belongs with me, and I am not about to let you or any other man anywhere near her. Do I make myself clear?"

Paul's eyes drifted from the Doctor to look over his shoulder. "Yeah, I think you have."

Time slowed to a crawl as the Doctor's hearts went to his throat. No.

No, no, no...

The Doctor turned on his heel to see the object that had caught Paul's attention, and it was as he'd feared.

Fortunately for Rose the moment of nausea had passed. Unfortunately, it meant she'd stepped back out in a moment of worst possible timing. Rose stood in the hallway, looking more ghostly-pale than when she'd retreated moments before. Her mouth had gone slack, her eyes wide in absolute shock and clear fright.

The Doctor took a tentative step towards her, which seemed to spur her frozen form into action.

"Rose..."

"NO! You just...just stay away from me!" She backed away from him, then took off like a shot towards the door and ran from the building.

"Oh, well done, mate," Paul murmured with a smirk.

Paul shook his head. Well, he supposed he and Rose were just never meant to be. But if what the Doctor had just said was true, then judging from Rose's reaction to hearing it the two of them might not be such a sure thing, either.

A split second later, the Doctor's legs were again capable of motion as he ran after her. "Rose!"