Chapter Two:

The next day, Rose Tyler woke up in her large bedroom in the Tyler Estate. Stretching, she got out of bed and went to pull one of John's sweatshirts over her head, but hesitated and withdrew her hand upon touching it. She sighed.

Today was going to be a hard day for her. After Owen's huge revelation to her the day before, Rose knew that she couldn't stay with the Doctor's duplicate any longer. As nice as it was without the complications of him running off at any sign of an alien invasion, she couldn't stay with him knowing that he would age while she didn't. There was nothing else she could do but break it off with him and reinstate her work on her cross dimensional technology. Staying with him wouldn't be fair to her, nor would it be fair to him.

The night before she had Owen call her family to pick her up from work as she didn't trust herself to drive home. In response to their concern, she simply told them that she had had a long day and was exhausted and just wanted the comfort of her family. Whether they believed her or not was an entirely different story. John had been especially concerned. She had meant to tell him everything last night, but couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she had him hold her while she slept until it was time for him to return to his own apartment. After coming to this world, John had wanted to learn to live domestically on his own, which is why he lived three blocks away in a nice apartment rather than in the Tyler estate.

Pulling on her dressing gown instead of the sweatshirt, the young woman made her way down the stairs and into the estate's large kitchen where her mother was frying eggs.

"Mornin' Mum," Rose said sleepily, wiping her eyes. Jackie turned around and smiled at her daughter.

"Good mornin' sweetheart. Did ya sleep well?" She inquired to which Rose nodded, sitting down. Jackie placed a plate of breakfast down in front of her before grabbing one for herself and joining her daughter at the kitchen table. Just as she sat down, Pete walked into the room, briefcase in hand. He placed the case down by the table, dropping a kiss to Jackie's cheek and took a seat as well. Rose's heart twisted slightly at the affectionate exchange between her parents. Why couldn't her life be as simple as theirs was now? As glad as she was that her mother was successfully given a second chance at happiness, Rose couldn't help but feel bitter at the prospect that she wasn't able to experience the same joy. She deserved it didn't she? She'd only saved the earth (as well as other worlds) more times than she could count. Why was she unable to have a happy ending as well?

Rose shook herself out of her thoughts. Thinking negatively wasn't going to get her anywhere in finding a way back to the Doctor. If she was going to do that, she would have to keep an open and optimistic mind.

"Somethin' troubling you, love?" Pete asked, placing a hand on Rose's shoulder. "You've hardly touched your food. It's not like you to pass up jam and toast." She offered a reassuring smile and picked up her fork, prodding some eggs.

"I'm fine dad, no need to worry." She told him, stuffing a bite of scrambled egg into her mouth in an attempt to prove her point.

"Good," Jackie stated as she stood up to take both her and Pete's now empty plates to the sink. "Because you have to work today. Plus, you have your special dinner with John tonight that you can't miss." Rose groaned inwardly. She forgot about her 'special dinner' that John arranged the week before.

"I'd never miss it! Besides, I have some important stuff I need to talk to him about." Rose said as she stood up and moved to the garbage can, throwing away the majority of her breakfast.

"Like what?" Jackie inquired, walking back over from her previous place at the kitchen sink.

"I'll tell ya later," Rose promised with a small smile. "I gotta go get ready for work now." Jackie nodded, but watched skeptically as her daughter turned and made her way back up to her room. There was something going on with Rose, Jackie could feel it.

The day went by extremely slowly as Rose forced herself through pile after pile of paperwork. There was no alien activity in the London area today, so she was stuck performing the less exciting tasks of a Torchwood employee. It also didn't help that she was dreading her dinner with John. She was terrified that what she had to do was going to break his heart and drive him to hate her, which was the last thing she wanted. All Rose really needed right now was a friend to help her through this difficult time. If John was unwilling to be that friend, her heart might just break in two.

Finally, the workday was done and Rose packed up her things, organizing them back into their proper places. With a heavy breath, she picked up her purse and keys and headed down to the parkade where her Torchwood issued black jeep was parked.

When she got home, Rose immediately went up to her room in order to have some time to herself to gather her thoughts before her dinner with John. As she sat on her bed, she thought through all the different things she could possibly say that wouldn't result in John getting hurt. She hoped that because he shared all his memories with the original Doctor, he'd understand her predicament. She stormed through countless conversations in her head before finally deciding to just come straight out with the truth. There was no sense faking pleasantries or trying to soften the blow, it was going to hurt either way.

"Rose!" Jackie called up from the bottom of the stairs. "Rose, you'd best be gettin' ready! John'll be 'ere to pick you up any time now!" Rose looked at the clock and saw that lots of time had passed as she contemplated her situation. It was now quarter after five, and John was coming to pick her up at five thirty.

"Yeah, I'm almost ready mum!" She called back, moving quickly to her closet and taking out a blue dress she had bought on a shopping trip with John, the week before. Hurriedly, she got dressed and applied her makeup. Just as she was finishing the final touches of her mascara, she heard the doorbell ring and Jackie run to answer it. With a deep sigh and one final look in the mirror, Rose composed herself and left to greet the human Time Lord.

"I'm just concerned for her is all, an' you know her better than anyone else, so if anybody can get through to her an' find out what's wrong, it's you." Jackie Tyler was saying as Rose descended the steps. "An' as much as I agree with you and support ya, I just don't think it's the best time to-"

"Eh-hem," John cut in, clearing his throat as he noticed Rose coming towards them. He offered the young woman a small smile as Jackie spun around in surprise.

"Oh, Rose! You look lovely darling! Now you listen 'ere, got it? I want you to go an' have a great time tonight! Forget about work for a bit an' just relax!" The older Tyler said as she pushed her daughter towards John and then both of them out the door. Rose couldn't help but giggle at her mother's antics despite the gravity of her current situation.

The couple walked the short distance from the main doors to John's car in silence; Rose not wanting to face the evening, and John not wanting to upset his girlfriend by saying something stupid. The silence was broken only by the sound of John opening the passenger door of his TARDIS blue BMW- the Tylers insisted he get a nice car, especially since he wasn't staying at the mansion- and Rose's polite thank you as she climbed in.

The duration of the ride was filled with John deciding to try and talk to Rose while she had other ideas and provided him only with grunts or one word answers. Eventually, the Doctor's duplicate gave up and drove the rest of the way to the restaurant without a word.

"Rose," John started upon pulling up to the restaurant. Rose ignored him and continued looking distantly out the window, so he tried again with more force. "Rose." Reluctantly, she looked up and met his eyes. John sighed. "Rose, I know something's bothering you, you've been acting incredibly distant since we came and picked you up from work last night. I'm not saying that you have to tell me what's wrong, but at least try and have a good time tonight, yeah? Promise me you'll try to forget about it for right now." He grabbed her hand and Rose instinctively wrapped her fingers around his. She knew that she really couldn't put off telling John about her dilemma, but for the moment she allowed herself to pretend that it was just another stressful bit of work related business- nothing that couldn't be fixed within a few days. With a nod she allowed John to come around the vehicle and help her out of it, lacing their hands together again before leading her towards the doors.

Inside the restaurant, they were immediately greeted by the maître de, who was quick to escort them to a small secluded table towards the back of the room. The table itself was well decorated, sporting a few candles and a vase of red roses as a centerpiece.

John and Rose sat down, the latter grabbing for the menu as soon as her bottom touched the chair. She hid behind the plastic coated paper and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. As much as she tried to tell herself that it wasn't a big deal, and that she could tell John later, Rose knew that keeping everything she had learned a secret from John was probably the worst thing she could do. With a sigh, she placed her menu back on the table and looked up to meet John's eyes, which were already focused on her with concern.

"Okay, look," the blonde woman said as she began massaging her temples. John looked at her expectantly but she was cut off as the waitress came to take their order. John quickly ordered the first thing on the menu before turning back to Rose, who was stalling as much as she could by taking her time with her decision.

"Rose!" John finally snapped after a minute and a half of her antics.

"Oh fine, I'll have the steak." She huffed, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms as the waitress took their menus and headed back towards the kitchen. John raised a brow and Rose sighed, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table. "Okay..." She started again, taking a deep breath and staring into the deep brown eyes in front of her. "I just- I don't want you to hate me is all. What I'm gonna tell you is, well, it's complicated, an' it's gonna complicate both of our lives a heck of a lot more." He nodded in understanding, urging her to continue.

With another large huff, Rose reached into her purse and pulled out the file that Owen had given her the previous night. She had spent the majority of the late evening and very early morning looking over the files as well as adding in little notes and records of her own. She now had a slightly better idea of what had happened that night on the Game Station and what it had done to her biology.

Placing it on the table, Rose slid the folder towards the hand that John had resting next to his set of silverware. He immediately took the think brown paper and opened it, peering at the records inside. He looked up at Rose with a confused look, his eyebrow raised and his lips set in a small pout. Rose choked momentarily from the feeling of guilt that arose from her stomach, but was quick to force it back down in order to explain.

"It's me," she stated with a sigh. "Last night at work, Owen brought me this file and explained how he's been keeping a close watch on me since I came to Torchwood- no John, nothing like that." She said in response to John's predatory glare. Once his gaze softened, she continued. "He noticed that over the five years I've been leading my team, my features haven't really changed and that I also seem to heal faster than average when I sustain an injury. So, he decided to do some medical tests."

The waitress returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses, placing the cups down before filling them each halfway with the blood red liquid. After a quick assurance that their food was on their way, the brunette woman hurried away and Rose continued with her explanation.

"Anyways, it turns out that upon running these tests, he found that my cells were locked in a sort of... Temporal stasis I think he said?" She grabbed at a page underneath the record John had turned to and placed in on top, providing the evidence to back up what she was saying. "Then, he decided to take a look at my DNA as well." She told him, pointing to a picture on another page on the table that showed the newly complicated visual of her DNA. John stared blankly at the paper and Rose knew his mind was working a mile a minute behind his eyes. He may not be a full Time Lord, but John still had the mind and memories of the Doctor and it wasn't long until he shot up out of his seat, running his hands through his messy hair and startling Rose, causing her to jump in surprise.

"You're not human." He stated as he began to pace in short quick circles, causing many eyes to turn to them from throughout the restaurant. "You're not human!" He shouted, turning to face Rose and slamming his hands down on the table. She flinched and shied away from the furious man, but was unable to break free from his intense gaze. "Gods, I'm so stupid! No, no I'm not. He's so stupid! He is, not me! Not me. He should have run tests! He should have made sure you were safe, but he didn't! The stupid, idiotic git!"

"John," Rose started cautiously, raising her hand towards the angry man as her eyes flickered nervously around the restaurant, taking in the looks the two of them were receiving from everyone around them.

"Don't." He hissed, moving away from her and back towards the wall. "Just don't."

Rose recoiled as though she had been hit and shrunk pathetically into her chair. She had really hoped that John would understand her situation and offer her the support she needed, but naturally things could never be so easy.

"Sir?" A tiny voice squeaked from behind Rose. John turned his gaze to the petite waitress furiously and she staggered back a few steps before speaking again. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You're disturbing the other guests..." She trailed off as John had already grabbed his coat and was flying towards the door. The waitress turned to Rose and offered her a comforting hand on the shoulder. "That was really harsh what he said there, about you not being human? I know it's not my place, and I only heard the one half of the conversation, but I doubt you deserved that kind of reaction." She offered. Rose gave her a grateful smile and stood up.

"No, he's right. I really am a terrible person. It's him that didn't deserve what I told him. But thank you." She gave the waitress a hefty tip before following John out of the restaurant. Upon exiting, she glanced around until she spotted him leaning against the car, his head in his hands. Cautiously, Rose approached him and after a moment's hesitation, placed a hand on his bicep.

"So what does this mean for us then?" He asked in a voice so broken that he truly sounded like the real Doctor. Rose frowned and removed her hand from John's arm.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, peering down at the asphalt.

John's expression turned to stone and he got into the driver's side of the vehicle. With a dejected sigh, Rose went around and slid into the passenger seat.

The car ride was made in silence once again, but this time nobody felt the desire to speak. By the time the blue sports car pulled up to the Tyler estate, John's knuckles were white on the steering wheel and Rose felt close to tears.

"John-"

"Out."

"John, please-"

"Out, Rose. Now."

With a hardly muffled sob, Rose stepped out of the car and started making her way to the front door.

"Oh, and Rose?" John called from his now open window. The young woman turned around hopefully, but her face dropped when John threw a small object at her. "You've taken everything else from me, you may as well have this." With that, he drove away, leaving Rose standing hurt in her driveway.

Hesitantly, she reached down and plucked the box from where it landed next to her. With shaky hands, she opened the small velvet box and choked on a sob when she saw the delicate blue diamond studded ring inside.

Feeling worse than she had when John left, Rose hurried inside and straight to her mother.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Jackie asked worriedly, standing up from her place on the couch next to Pete. Rose didn't answer, but instead flung herself into the older woman's arms and cried.

(A/N): Thanks for reading! Please drop a review and tell me what you think! See you next week!

~JL