Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all, I am merely borrowing.
Spoilers: Through The Satan Pit.
Author's Notes:Desperate to save Rose from a body snatching spirit, the Doctor resorted to establishing a forbidden bond between them. Now, he's just as desperate to keep them apart. When they visit a starlight festival for a little fun, he might very well get his wish. The much requested sequel to The Moonlit Cotillion.

The building trembled as explosions shook the frame and Rose struggled to haul the Doctor over the threshold and into the TARDIS. As she gave one final pull, she noticed something fall from his pocket and clatter against the floor. Sparkling, it rolled across the grating, coming to a stop in a groove next to the console. Reluctantly, Rose moved away from the Doctor, reaching for the object.

It was a ring. The metal was warm against her fingertips and it glowed faintly in the cradle of her palm. There was a faint engraving of circles across the band that not even the TARDIS would translate.

Just like the pendant.

Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized the similarities. She turned to the Doctor for answers, but he was incapable of any reply. His motionless body sent her mind hurtling in another direction. The pendant had saved her and perhaps...

With trembling hands, she slipped it onto his finger.

"Tell Rose...tell her I...tell her..."

"Doctor?" She was at his side in an instant. "Tell me what, Doctor?"

"Rose..." His eyes fluttered open and he groaned as he tried to focus. "Wha' happened?"

"You we're in some kind of control room an' there was a stampede."

"Oh. S'that all? No wonder I feel...dizzy." He raised himself onto his elbows and gingerly touched the back of his head. He studied his fingers. "Oh. Blood. Mine?" He licked his hand and grimaced. "Yep. Definitely mine. That's not good. Rose, I think I've hurt my head."

"Just a tiny bit," she agreed. "Looks like it's mostly healed."

"Restorative trance. I'll be fine in a bit. Well, memories are a little fuzzy." He cocked his head to the side, trying to remember. "I was setting...escape velocities and that...that should have..." His brow creased with confusion as he became aware of their surroundings. "We're on the TARDIS. How...?"

"I dragged you."

"You...what?"

"Dragged you. Found you in that control room an' then, well, stuff started exploding. An' we couldn't stay..."

"Exploding? That shouldn't have happened. Of course, I hadn't planned on a stampede..." He ran a hand through his hair, stopping with a wince as it brushed against his injury. "But you weren't there. I made sure you were..."

"Locked in a cupboard?" She slapped his shoulder and he yelped. "You tricked me an' left me behind! You went out there, on your own, an' I only just managed to get to you." She took a deep shuddering breath, her hands clenching into fists. "You could've died! You...you could've..."

She shook her head, trying to stop the tears she'd kept inside since she'd found him bloody and unconscious on the control room floor. Her vision blurred. She felt his hands on her shoulders and, despite her anger, she couldn't resist the solace of his embrace.

"There's no need to cry," he murmured, rocking her gently. "Rose, I'm fine. I'm all right."

"But if I hadn't..." She choked on a sob, tears already soaking through his shirt.

He sighed and she felt something brush against the top of her head. She froze as his lips traveled along the edge of her ear and paused against the curve of her neck.

"All healed now. Perfectly...fine."

He wondered why his voice sounded so rough, when he felt better than he had in weeks. All of his thoughts were crisp and clear, no lingering confusion about his feelings. He knew what he wanted and he saw no reason to delay any longer. "Rose..."

"Yeah?"

"Something's not right. Something's...wrong."

"What?" Alarmed, she pulled back, just far enough to look at him.

He appeared a little dazed, but with his recent injury she wasn't surprised. His hair was wildly askew and his eyes were darker than she'd ever seen them. She didn't want to think about the soot and blood smeared across his pale skin. Before she could ask him what he meant, cool lips pressed against hers and he was kissing her with a confidence he'd never before expressed. Almost as soon as it happened, he scrambled backwards, eyes wide with shock.

Tentatively, she reached for him. "Doctor?"

"Stay back! I must've ingested something. I've got this..." He cringed. "...inexplicable desire to ravish you. Most unnatural that. Usually I've got fantastic control and..." He gestured frantically with his hand, halting abruptly when he noticed the ring. "Oh." He twisted his hand, observing the subtle glow of the metal, mind reeling at what that meant. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" His eyes flicked between her and the ring several times before his face contorted with anguish. "You didn't! You...oh, but you did, didn't you? You had to...to..."

Rose bit her lip. She hadn't imagined he'd react well to this development, but her heart lurched at his obvious revulsion.

"You foolish girl! I was trying to give you a choice. To let you go before...before this relationship consumed us. But no..." He shook his head and when he continued his tone was accusatory. "You just had to go an'..."

"It was in your pocket," she interrupted.

His jaw clenched tight as he gritted his teeth. "Was it?"

"It matches the necklace."

"Well, of course it does," he snapped. "It's suppose to."

His callous tone brought her to the verge of tears again. She didn't deserve this outburst, not after all that happened recently and all the secrets he continued to keep. "You were unconscious! An' injured an'..."

His incredulity was obvious. "And you thought putting a ring on my finger would snap me out of it?"

"Figured it couldn't hurt."

"Couldn't hurt? Couldn't--" He took a deep breath. "My pockets are filled with dangerous things. You know that, Rose."

"What's so dangerous about it?"

He didn't reply, turning away to pace the room with quick strides. "Maybe it's not too late. Maybe there's some way to reverse it. Maybe..."

There were few rules the Doctor hadn't broken in his long life, but he'd never even considered this one. In fact, bonding had been forbidden for so long that a necklace, like the one now draped around his companion's neck, would have been impossibly rare even before his planet burned. It would have been made long before his people became guardians of time. Long before they made rules. Of course, with his people gone, the consequences wouldn't be the same as they'd once been.

Until now, he'd never understood why his father had taken the risk.

"Doctor?" Rose had latched onto his coat sleeve, attempting to halt his progress across the room. "You can't just shut me out like this. Not with what's happened. Don't you dare!"

Rose's voice drew the Doctor back to the present and he stopped short, causing her to stumble. He caught hold of her waist, breath catching at the temptations their proximity presented. Despite his family history, the Doctor had only a vague idea of what to expect from a bonding and if his current impulses were any indication, his control was about to be put to the test.

Her eyes flicked down to the location of his hands. "Doctor?"

He forced himself to release his grip on her waist. "You should..." he began, ruffling his hair. "...keep your distance. 'Til I've got more control. I'm not accustomed to...feeling so needy."

Her eyes were wide as she studied him, looking for indications of what had changed.

"It's been a realllllllly long day, hasn't it?" He observed, stepping back to what he hoped was a safer distance. "You should get some rest."

She shook her head, following him to prevent his escape. "No. We need to talk about this."

"Rose, I really don't think that's the best idea, just now." He leaned his weight against the console, desperate for the extra space. "You're very...close."