So sorry this has taken so long - I just couldn't seem to get on with writing it. Anyway, enough excuses, here it is. There's only one chapter after this one so fingers crossed I can get my act together and get it written before I die of old age. Anyway, enjoy!

4th November

"I love fireworks, did I tell you I love fireworks because I really seriously do love them. They're like explosions but not really as dangerous and with colours and shapes all that noise, they're really just fantastic!"

Rose tilted her head to one side. "Weeeell," she began, mimicking the Doctor's voice and causing him to chuckle, "you say they're not as dangerous, but I bet that's only because you're not the one setting them off."

The Doctor nodded gravely. "That is very true – in face, the last time I set off fireworks I ended up with no eyebrows and half my hair gone. Imagine that, me with no hair! I couldn't do this for months!" He demonstrated, wiggling his eyebrows so wildly that Rose was surprised they didn't leap straight off his face.

The night was cold, but Rose had dressed more appropriately than the morning before and so she wasn't freezing. It was a shame, she would have loved an excuse for the Doctor to wrap her up with him in his long, brown coat and never let go.

They strolled along towards the park, not in any hurry. There was something in the air that made Rose feeling incredibly happy, and she didn't quite know why. It was probably something to do with the sky being filled with more stars than she had ever seen, the cold breeze that sent shivers down her spine, and the sharp branches of the trees, no longer masked by their usual covering of leaves. It felt as though anything might happen – though, in Rose's case, she had something much more specific ideas of what she wanted the "anything" to be, all of which included herself and the Doctor.

"Bonfire Night – it's almost as good as Halloween," the Doctor said, sounding almost as if he was talking to himself, something which he didn't do that much – not if there was anyone there to listen to him.

"But it's not even Bonfire Night yet, it's only the 4th!"

"Ah, but the fireworks don't start until about 11, so after a little while it will be midnight, and then it'll be the 5th, you see?"

"I see that you're not really making much sense, but OK, we'll let it slide." Rose ducked to avoid a blow from the end of the Doctor's scarf, grinning infuriatingly at him.

They reached the park just before the fireworks started, the Doctor immediately finding them a perfect place to sit, slightly on a slope so they could see the sky better, and laying out his coat to give them something to sit on. Rose smiled at his obvious enthusiasm – it was almost child-like and yet it seemed so natural that she had started to do it herself without even realising. She had only noticed when the Doctor had pointed out (rather smugly) that she had got extremely excited when they decided to get chips for dinner the night before.

They settled themselves on the Doctor's coat, lying side by side and staring up at the sky as the fireworks began, the crackles and pops sounding just a fraction of a second after the lights had painted the sky with a rainbow of colours.

Rose raised their hands (it was taken as read that their hands would be clasped between them – she didn't even question it any more) holding them up in the sky and tracing the patterns of stars and swirls and explosions with their intertwined fingers.

" Can I just say," Rose said softly, turning her head towards the Doctor who was looking at her, "being with you, I love it."

He grinned, a slow grin that seemed to bubble up from inside him. "Me too." Rose was not sure she had ever felt happier than she did at that moment, in the cold on the grass with the skinny man she had literally bumped into only a few days before.

They must have lain there for hours, because by the time the fireworks ended Rose's back was numb with cold, even with the Doctor's coat to lie on. She stood up slowly, stretching her sleepy legs and hoping to avoid any embarrassing falling over due to a dire pins-and-needles attack.

The Doctor insisted on walking her home (Rose was hoping she could just invite him in when they got there, though the finer details of that plan had not quite fallen into place yet) and they walked hand in hand through the orange lit streets. They might as well have been in a ghost town, as they saw absolutely no-one after they left the park .It was eerie and Rose didn't like it, particularly as they began to cross the part of town that was less well lit.

This had to be a bad idea. Rose wasn't normally one for overreacting, but she also wasn't normally one for walking home late at night in the dark. There were barely any lights around – she had always been afraid of the dark as a child. Staring into the blackness on either side of her, Rose blocked the thoughts of things hiding just beyond her sight, focusing on the warmth of the Doctor's hand as it kept her anchored to here and now.

As it turned out, however, there was something lurking in the dark.

She heard them before she saw them – two men appearing out of the shadows. It was strange how, in that moment, Rose struggled to focus on anything she could see or hear. Later on she would strain to remember the details of the moments leading up to the next few minutes, but in the moment all she could see was the left hand man holding out his hand, saying something along the lines of "wallets and phones, now."

The Doctor stepped forward, reaching into his pocket. Knowing the Doctor he had probably lost his wallet again, and Rose did not want to think about what would happen if the thugs realised they had nothing. She gripped his hand but he let go of hers, trying to put himself between her and the men as though by instinct."We'll give you our money," the Doctor said slowly, holding out his hands in surrender, "just please don't hurt us."

The man on the right looked at the one on the left, raising his eyebrow as though in question. The other man nodded, and the one on the right grinned a revolting grin before pulling back his hand and punching the Doctor hard in the face. He whirled to the side, head smacking against the wall. He slumped to the floor unconscious and Rose felt anger and fear surge through her in equal measure. She summoned up her courage, as well as anything she could remember from her kick-boxing lessons that she had given up when she was 15, and prepared to defend both herself and the Doctor.

Rose whirled, punching one man in the face and kicking the other in the stomach. Pain flickered across her knuckles, but that didn't stop her from hitting again, using the heel of her hand to break the first man's nose. At least, she thought it broke – the feeling of it under her hand was disgusting, she winced as she heard it crunch. The one she had kicked in the stomach was coming towards her again. It wasn't graceful or smooth, but she stamped on his foot and smacked him in the throat, arms flailing wildly. It did the job.

Both men staggered up and ran off, looking back at Rose as she stood boldly on the pavement, trying to disguise the shaking in her legs. They rounded the corner, and her knees buckled.

She sat on the floor, back against the cold stone wall. Rose could feel her hands trembling, fear and adrenaline still coursing through her, as well as disbelief. She glanced across at the Doctor, panicking at the sight of him lying prone on the ground, not stirring in the slightest.

Crawling towards him (trying not to put weight on her hand – she suspected it might be broken) Rose looked for signs that he was still breathing. The relief that flooded her as she detected his chest rising gently up and down made her want to collapse on the floor all over again. Against her body's will, she summoned all of her strength to kneel next to the Doctor.

Rose carefully stroked strands of hair from his face. It was pale and a little cold, but there was no blood visible in the place where his head had struck the wall. Her hands moved over his head and upper body, desperate to find something to do to help him. She wasn't a doctor, she had no idea what she should do. Calling an ambulance was out – her phone was dead, and she was certain that the Doctor didn't have one.

"Idiot," she mumbled furiously at him, hands coming to rest on his shoulders. "Please wake up Doctor, I don't know what to do." She took a look around her, but the street was deserted. It was too late at night to expect anyone to be in any of the shops, and Rose could not leave the Doctor alone while she ran to get help. She pressed her face to his chest, arms curling around his neck to hug him tightly. "You'd better not die," she whispered to him, a tear running down her cheek and soaking into the front of his suit.

Woopee. Oh wait, not woopee, only one chapter left :( still, I'll hopefully get this one out quickly and then there'll be more fic - that really is a "woopee!" review if you want to, hope you liked it :)