A/N - Sorry for the long wait. Here's chapter 6 of this story - I hope you enjoy.

Rose sat in the medium sized bedroom, contemplating her fate. She had never expected to end up in a situation like this, it had never occurred to her that there would be a time when she would be separated from the Doctor for longer than 12 hours. She had been apart from him before, of course, the longest being when she and Mickey had to wait 5 and a half hours for him to come back from the past, from Reinette. She tried not to think about this. He had come back that time. He couldn't come this time, he didn't know where she was, but Rose knew that he would find a way to get to her. If there was one thing she could count on. It was the Doctor's persistence, and the fact that he had blurted out his feelings for her (which she was still trying to get her head around). The very thought of that night send chills down her spine and made her heart beat faster.

The Doctor and Rose entered the TARDIS both looking worn out as the Doctor closed the TARDIS door and collapsed on one of the jump seats. He put his head in his hands and sighed. Rose stood with her back pressed against the door of the TARDIS, wondering if she should say something. She decided against it, he looked like he needed time to himself. She began to walk out of the room when she heard his voice.

"Don't go," he said, almost roughly, into his hands. She walked back over to him and was about to sit next to him when she stopped herself. She decided to take the jump seat next to his instead, so as to give him a little more space.

She was starting to get worried. She feared his silence, and was apprehensive of the next words to come out of his mouth. She hated it when he was like this, silent, blunt. She could take his long rants, his exuberant nature, even his lecture, because she knew that that is what he was like. This…silence, she couldn't take. His coldness was frightening and she was starting to wonder whether this was all her fault.

She was the one who had lingered to look at the back of the T.V; she was the one who had gone to Mr. Magpie's shop. She had broken his age-old rule: Don't wander off. This was all her fault. With this thought came another terrifying notion. The reason he was so silent, the reason he had wanted her to stay. He was going to talk to her about…about… Rose forced herself to think it. What if he was going to ask her to leave? Tell her that she had caused too much trouble to stay on his ship and that he couldn't keep risking him and other people's lives for her sake.

She began to fret. What would she do when he asked her to leave? Would she beg? No. He would already be feeling bad about it without her begging him to stay. She would walk out as if she weren't bothered, as if she'd had a good time but agreed that her time was up. And when she got home she would break. She would have to hide it from her mother, of course; otherwise Jackie would hunt the Doctor down like a bloodhound and…well. It was pretty obvious. Rose would have to be very careful about hiding her feelings and would have to pretend as though it were her choice to leave. This would take a lot of strength but she knew it would be worth it. To save her mother from rage, save the Doctor from persecution and regret, and save herself from… what? Nothing. There would be no saving herself; there would be nothing to save. She would be only an echo of what she used to be: The Shop Girl. That would be her title again – no longer Dame Rose. All her adventures with the Doctor would be nothing, would mean nothing.

She would no longer exist.

Rose forced herself to breath as these thoughts came crashing down on her, each one cutting her heart. Some cuts were shallow; others were so deep they might have cut her heart into two. She wanted to run away – not out of the TARDIS, but into it's depths, so deep inside this magnificent ship, so far lost that she wouldn't be able to find herself, let alone him finding her.

Before Rose could start hyperventilating, the Doctor had recovered himself enough to speak.

"Rose," he said looking up at her. He started. She was pale, very pale and her eyes were huge as if he were about to eat her, but the Doctor couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at actually seeing her face when he looked up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, " Rose said, far too quickly. Her voice sounded like a shriek to her own ears so she cleared her throat and smiled (with a LOT of difficulty) sheepishly. "Sorry, sore throat."

His eyes widened but he didn't press her further, she had had a long day. He looked at her face again, she still wore the same terrified expression, however she was trying, in vain it seemed, to control it.

"Rose, I know you've had a long day but you don't have to be scared any more. The Wire is dead, you're safe."

He longed to reach out and touch her but he kept his distance. She might want to be left alone, she had tried to leave but he had stopped her selfishly. He really needed her to be there. He couldn't be able to face looking up and see nothing there. However this brought back some previous insecurity. What if she wanted to leave? What if she had had enough of almost dying for one lifetime and wanted to go back home to her normal carefree life? He wouldn't blame her. But this ate away at him. However hard he tried, he couldn't always keep her safe and maybe this was why she might want to leave.

But he couldn't face (wrong word) asking her. Instead he asked her something completely different but still quite important.

"Are you hungry?"

"What?" she obviously hadn't been expecting this to come out of his mouth, however her face looked relieved.

"Well, you must be hungry, what with all the… madness that has gone on today." He tried a smile, but it sort of came out as a grimace.

"You don't have to do this, you know," she said bravely. She knew how hard this must be for him, and she was determined to make it easier, regardless of what that would cost her in the long run.

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked bewildered.

"Pretend."

"Pretend about what?" asked the Doctor, who was even more confused.

"About... about," she took a deep breath. She could do this. "About…how you, um…how you feel. How you really feel," she managed to get out with a squeak.

The Doctor looked at her in complete shock. How did she know? She was only human, she couldn't read his mind…or could she? He wasn't sure anymore. Maybe prolonged experience with a Time Lord enhanced those latent abilities. He didn't know, he had never tested it before, but he was willing to bet that this had nothing to do with latent abilities and everything to do with Rose being Rose. He gulped. He was going to have to do this. She had seen it in him, and he knew that she was not going to let this drop.

He cleared his throat.

"It's ok," Rose said, before he could begin. "You don't have to worry about me. I can handle it." She said, in an attempt to sound brave.

"Rose…"

"I'm a liability, I realise that now, so you don't have to sugar coat it or anything. Just spit it out." She said, her eyes squeezed shut, as if she were reading a fatal blow.

Liability? Oh!

It all made sense now. She didn't read his mind; she was worried about something, else, something entirely different. Something stupid, ridiculous, mad, and most importantly - impossible. She was worried that he wanted her out. It all made sense, her expression, her breathing pattern, her speech. All of it. As he came to the realisation that Rose thought that he wanted to get rid of her, he surprised himself. Abruptly he was angry, very angry. How many times did she need to be told, why wouldn't she understand how much she meant to him? He could never just leave her and fly off into the stars without her! What was the matter with her?

"Rose," he said, his voice now struggling to hide his anger with her, "I don't want to get rid of you!"

Her eyes widened. She didn't think he would just come out and say it like that. Wait…he didn't want her gone? Oh! She started to smile until she saw his face. He was furious.

"Why are you so angry with me?" She asked, shocked, "I didn't know. You just sat there silently for about half an hour without saying anything to me. I thought I had done something wrong!"

"So, naturally you came to the conclusion that I would kick you out? Because I really am that cold-hearted aren't I?"

Rose sighed. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I just thought that, well; since I went to Magpie's shop that it was sort of my fault. I put myself in danger and if you hadn't have found me, well…" I wouldn't have a face she finished in her mind.

"Rose," he said, "I can't imagine a world without you. Don't you understand?"

"Oh, you'd get over it," she smiled with some difficulty (though not as much as before). "I'm not the only person you've been with" Ok that didn't come out right.

The Doctor's face crumpled. She still didn't get it.

"I'm sorry," she said, watching as the Doctor's face fell. "I didn't mean it like that. Gosh I get my mouth back, and all I end up doing is saying the wrong things," she laughed nervously.

He continued to stare at her and Rose thought she noticed a tear in his eye. She felt terrible. She got up from her seat and walked over to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and did something that surprised Rose. He started to cry, very softly. She could only tell he was crying because he shook against her. She had never before, in her life, seen him cry and she found herself doing things she ordinarily wouldn't. She held him tighter as he dropped to his knees in front of her and began to stroke his hair in an effort to comfort him. After a short time, stroking didn't seem as important as kissing, so she kissed his hair and kneeled down in front of him. She hugged him again and kissed his temple.

"I'm sorry," she said again, holding him tighter. He groaned unhappily in response.

She began to reflect on how their relationship had changed from mere acquaintances, when she first came on board the TARDIS, to… this. What was this? Was it what she always wanted, were they stepping over the platonic line and venturing into something more? Or was this something he would just brush off when he was done crying?

No. She would not accuse him again tonight.

"Rose," he sighed. He voice sounded muffled but it didn't hide the longing in his voice. Her heart sped up as she held him tighter (it was a miracle he could breath at this point).

"Rose," he said again, unwrapping himself from her strong hold to look at her. It was now or never. He needed to tell her. "IneedyouandIcan'!" he blurted out.

Rose's heart stopped for a fraction of a second and then started beating double time. She had heard 3 words clear enough to understand what he had been saying. Her smile was like the sun coming out on a particularly stormy day. "Took you long enough," she murmured. She stood up and, pulling him up with her, took his hand, leading him to his bedroom…

She knew that dwelling on this would only make her more upset, so she tried to focus on the present. And speaking of the present, she decided it was time to phone Angel (he had given her his number promptly before he had left) and demand to know where he was with her pyjamas and toiletries. She climbed out of the bed she had been wrapped up in and made her way down to the lobby in the semi-darkness of the Hotel. She reached the stairs and was about to start descending when she heard a shuffle of feet.

"Angel?" she called out a little nervously, she had never been crazy about the dark. She descended the stairs in slow motion, listening for any sign that Angel was in the building; she wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Angel," she called again, a little more confidently: she wasn't about to get played about. She entered the bright lobby to find that it was empty – except.

"Surprise" came a voice from behind her.

Her world went black.

-x-

A low rumble alerted her to the sound of someone else's voice. She gasped. The room was dark so she had no idea where this person was. She hadn't realised it at first but…the room also smelt bad. Really bad. Like dog. She sighed. The first room she goes into and it has to be the one where the British guy keeps his smelly pets. The rumbling sound grew louder and she waited to hear a bark or something but nothing came. There was only the sound of rumbling, which now sounded a lot like growling. Oh great. An unfriendly dog. Like that was what she needed at this time.

"Nice doggy, " she said as she fumbled to find the lights. The growling grew louder. She found the switch and flicked it quickly "Good…little…doggy?" She had been wrong. It wasn't a dog. The growling sound was now ripping from the werewolf's throat as it watched her feel for the door handle. It coiled and sprang towards her. Cordelia screamed.

-x-

Angel got out of his car and walked over to the hotel. He had gone to find Rose some pyjamas although he didn't know it was going to be as hard as it was. He didn't even know why he had bothered in the first place. What, because she told him to? What kind of flimsy excuse was that? He was a vampire, dammit. He should be bossing her around. He sighed. Rose was more like Cordelia than he could have ever imagined. She already had him fetching errands for her and she hadn't even been there for a day. What was the world coming to? He rolled his eyes and resolved not to take any crap from her when she saw her pyjamas. Apparently all they had in Walmart at the time where men's pj's and so he braced himself for her temper and resolved to put his foot down the moment she raised her voice, which he wasn't sure she'd really do. He walked up the steps and was met with – silence.

No screaming, no complaining, no Rose. He supposed that she was in her room so he hurried up the stairs, deciding that if she was already asleep, he might not kill her for wasting his time, and might just place the pj's in the bin instead. No – actually, no that was a waste. But he'd make her find them. He entered her room, suspiciously to find – nothing. He sighed, if he was going to be trailing around the hotel for her, he would not be happy.

"Rose," he called. "Hey Rose, I got your pj's here," he said making his way back towards the lobby. "They're for men so don't be…pissed…" he said coming to a stop at the front desk where there was a little note stuck to it. It read:

'We have Cordelia – time to make a deal.'

He scrunched the piece of paper in his hands until it was about the size of a stud. He inspected the lobby – carefully, this time. He found tiny bits of broken glass, a bit of rubber that looked like it had come from an expensive shoe and…blonde hair. They didn't have Cordiela, they had Rose. He had only just met the girl, it was her first night here and she had been caught up in his troubles already? He wouldn't stand for it. He pulled out his blasted cell phone and managed to dial his team one by one. They were going to save her.

-x-

The Doctor burst into the room - already a bad sign, there was a perception filter on this door for a reason - and turned on the light to find Cordelia sitting on the floor covered head to toe in drool, however the picture before him was a strange one. She was not cowering in fear as he suspected (although she had to know by now, that Buster was not dangerous) she was just sitting with him as though she found some kind of calm with him. This surprised him. Buster, at first sight was what a human would instantly describe as a werewolf, but in actual fact, this was not the case, he was simply a genetically enhanced Clos'm - creatures they deemed to be pests, that actually resembled odd-looking dogs - from the planet Malasikla. The Doctor had rescued Buster. He was being experimented on in the cruellest ways, so he decided it was time Buster found a new home. All this he did without Rose's knowledge, to his intense surprise, because she had spend that afternoon in the locals' gardens scaring away their pests with her pink and yellowness. He smiled fondly at the memory and surveyed the sight in front of him one more time before speaking.

"Err, are you all right?" he asked, apprehensively.

"Yes, no thanks to you," she said quietly "Where were you about 30 seconds ago when I was actually terrified?"

"Well… to be honest I didn't really expect you to find this particular door. It's, you know, reserved for him." The Doctor said, gesturing to Buster.

"Yeah, well, when I came in here it seemed empty."

"Buster was probably asleep," he said. A thought then occurred to him. "Hang on; aren't you meant to be recovering?" He asked his eyebrows rose in suspicion.

"I needed some air," she replied hastily. No need to tell him that she had attempted a rather pathetic escape.

"And 'needing some air' happened to find you in here, did it?" he said, smirking now.

Cordelia rolled her eyes at him and turned back to look at Buster, who had now curled himself around her feet. 'Buster' - weird name, she thought, wasn't so bad, after all, Cordelia decided. Once you got past the fact that he looked incredibly like a mangled werewolf, Buster was actually pretty sweet.

"Are you planning on staying in here then?" The Doctor's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Let's see," said Cordelia, pretending to contemplate, "Annoying British alien, or smelly gigantic dog…"

"He's not a dog, he's-"

"I don't give a crap at this moment," she said, unwrapping herself from Buster, who had fallen asleep, and wiping drool off her hair. She wanted one thing, and one thing only. "Where's the bathroom, I need a shower, like now."

The Doctor cleared his throat. He didn't much like the idea of her showering in his shower – it was the closest – so he gave her directions to another one, down the corridor, to the right and then four doors down. She rolled her eyes at him and headed off without thanking him, and without any spare clothes. He sighed, as much as he didn't like the ides of Cordelia wearing Rose's clothes, those were the only women's clothes he could think of that would fit her.

"Women," he muttered to Buster's sleeping form.