Author's Notes: Here's chapter 2 in which the Doctor (with Jack's directions) finally manages to catch up to Rose and invite her out for a hot chocolate. Meanwhile our Captain is off on his own for a bit of exploration in the marketplace of this strange planet. Things do not go entirely as planned.

After pointing the Doctor in the direction of a cosy chocolate bar, "Come on, Doc, we know both you and Rose have a sweet tooth," Jack decided to bug off and let the two of them sort out their issues on their own for once. He pulled the military-style coat closer around himself and started jogging towards the marketplace.

If he was lucky his purple skinned mechanic didn't close shop yet. Well, he could make him do that now; he certainly didn't seem opposed to some dancing when they last spoke. First Jack had to find him though - which proved to be more difficult than he had first anticipated. When he reached the first few stalls - grey-skinned aliens with metallic looking trunks selling thin little packets that looked suspiciously like mood patches - he heard shouting. It was coming from the other side of the marketplace where the entertainment tents were set up. As he ran towards the source of the cacophony he remembered that roasting people was a form of entertainment on Yolg'izlik. Albeit they only did it to criminals - who were already sentenced to death, according to the planet's customs - Jack didn't find it a sufficient excuse for burning people alive.

He quickened his pace as the yelling grew louder and managed to get to the first tents just in time to see one of them go up in flames. He was about to shout for someone to bring him water while he went in to look for survivors when the people around him started to clap. For a moment he could do nothing but gawp and turn his head from side to side as the crowd cheered. But then he saw it too: two Yirelin in their native orange colours were dancing on the top of the tent. The ex-Time Agent broke into a grin and joined in the whooping and cheering.

The Yirelin were a hybrid race - Eneverian lizard and Manganese bat on one side, Salamander and Merlinite crystal on the other. Quite fascinating history, that. Jack didn't know all the particulars, but the fact that a life form was one-quarter made up of solid rock and could burst into flame at will meant he was definitely going to find out more. One look at the fire-lizards though and he shook his head slightly. Perhaps it was better to leave the explaining to the Doc after all. He wouldn't want to get a third-degree burn while dancing… Best see if they were compatible first. Still, pretty interesting show.

Jack did wonder how the Yirelin got here in the first place. They were not natives - Yolg'izlik had many strange visitors, but the natives were made up of three distinct species: Madrelans, who looked much like giant purple rose bushes (they were sentient and quite friendly, but the translation took ages and they usually chose to keep to themselves, avoiding towns and most humanoid life forms), the Tethannis who were green and furry (an arachnid race who possessed basic abilities of shapeshifting), and the Cardalians who looked fairly humanoid structure-wise, but had a few extra limbs and no nose (they breathed through gill-like slits on the side of their face and stomachs and had no need for the said orifice).

None of the natives were even close to the fire-lizards, nor to any of its ancestors. And Jack was pretty sure that the Yirelin classified as a highly dangerous (although without malintent) race - which were not allowed into Yolg'izlik. True, it was easy to slip past the guards - all you needed was a permit, and since each species had its own unique seals and documentation it was child's play faking one. But surely, the fire-lizards were out of place to even the locals.

Jack was still thinking hard about the Yirelin and how they shouldn't be here when he heard a friendly voice call out, "Captain!"

He turned on his heal and smiled his most charming smile when he realized it was his purple mechanic.

"Well, hello there, Rict. I was just looking for you! Hoped you weren't too busy and could be convinced to close shop for a while." He wiggled his eyebrows and laughed affectionately when the mechanic's cheeks turned to an even darker purple. "Come on, now. You can hold my hand." He winked and offered said hand to the other man, who took it after a moment's hesitation.

They walked out of the square, the mechanic slowly relaxing and Jack already enjoying himself enormously. He was just about to launch into a story in which he was running from a four-tusked alien in a somewhat naked state (again), when he felt his legs give out. He dropped to his knees and was about to ask for help when he saw Rict's face smiling above him. He lifted his hand up to his neck with no small amount of effort and brushed his fingers along the edge of a flat, round object. So they were selling mood patches on the outskirts of the market! Damn the Yirelin for distracting him from investigating those stalls further!

"You… tricked me…" He was slipping away, into sleep or death, he didn't know, but the edges of his vision were going black. "You… never… wanted… that… dance…"

Jack's last thought before giving into the darkness was, "How funny, I didn't even get to tell Rose and the Doctor that the chocolate place sells aphrodisiacs too".

Where in the name of Rassilon was she? It was a small town, she couldn't have disappeared. Again. Unless something happened to her. Again. The Doctor quickened his steps, but kept a sharp lookout for anything pink and yellow. Rose Tyler was way too jeopardy-friendly for his liking and he was going to tell her the minute he found her. Or maybe not…

He scowled and increased his pace even more as he remembered how they parted before she ran up the hill. It was a stupid row, really. All 'cause of domestics, of course. One minute they were chatting happily away about Woman Wept and she was marvelling at its impossible ice formations, the next they were shouting about reindeers and Christmas lights and whatnot.

She wanted to decorate the Tardis. Which she could have done, of course, on her own free will: all her room, the library, the hallways, the bathrooms (as long as it wasn't his own), hell he didn't even mind the kitchen, but no; she had to come up with the plan to put a blasted Christmas tree in the console room of all places! The console room!

Because, "Doctor, that's where we are most often. It's practically where we live. You're always there, tinkerin', Jack's in love with the interface and the chairs are comfy".

That last part was a lie - the chairs were anything but comfortable and both of them knew it, but it seemed that was the best excuse she could come up with all of a sudden. Which made the Doctor even more angry for some reason. Some reason he was reluctant to admit to even now. He really should just let it go. If Jack could see through him so easily maybe it was time.

He smiled wryly and broke into a jog - it seemed like everybody could see it except Rose. Or she didn't care. The Doctor didn't know which answer terrified him more - her being oblivious (in which case he was clearly doing something very very wrong), or her not giving much thought to his predicament. Maybe both scared him equally. Fantastic. Just what he needed in the middle of a blizzard, stuck on Yolg'izlik. Why on earth did he bring them here? Out of all the places they could have come… And he had to choose the Lonely Planet. With a name like that, something was bound to go wrong.

He lost all train of thought as he crashed into something small but solid and fell backwards to the snow-covered ground. He swore in Gallifreyan and was about to ask what the deuce the person on the other side of the street corner was doing when he realized that he managed to run straight into the person he was looking for. For her part, Rose didn't seem too cheerful about sitting on the cold, wet ground, and even less so when she realized it was the Doctor who knocked her flat on her bum.

"There you are!" He said incredulously. "I was looking all over for you!"

"Yes, well, didn't take you that long to find me." She got up, dusting herself off as best she could while keeping her eyes away from the Doctor's face.

"Yeah, but Rose, I was worried."

That made her look up. The Doctor flinched when he saw the anger burning in her eyes.

"Serves you right! You can be worried and clueless for once instead of the "stupid little ape" on the ship."

When he looked suitably chastised and didn't try to correct or contradict her, the tension in her shoulders eased a bit.

"You can see I'm unhurt, you now know where I am, so if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go see Jack."

Apparently they still weren't on friendly terms. The Doctor sighed and fought not to lose his temper again. He grabbed for her jacket sleeve and stopped her in her tracks just as she was passing him.

"What?"

"Rose, look, I'm sorry." She stopped trying to yank her arm away. "I behaved like a moron and clearly upset you enough that you felt the need to brave a blizzard and ended up in danger. Because of me. I'm sorry I put you through this."

He let go of her sleeve and ran his hand through his closely cropped hair. Rose focused intently on his face, seeming to study every flicker of his expression, no doubt looking for truthfulness. Better do this the hard way then.

The Doctor looked her straight in the eye and said, "There are things I want to talk to you about. Important things. Things I'm not necessarily good at. Things that…" He gulped and looked down again for a moment, "that I need help with."

In that moment he looked so much like a frightened child - blue eyes wide and pleading, hands spread out at his sides, lips forming words that weren't coming - that Rose decided to keep her anger for another time and place. She shook her head slightly, crossed the distance between them in three measured steps and hugged the Doctor tight.

After a moment his breath whooshed out of him and he attempted a shaky laugh, putting his arms around her shoulders and waist. Both of them took great comfort in the embrace and stayed like that for quite a while. The sun was on its way down and the skies were clearing as the snowstorm retreated by the time they released each other.

The Doctor had a strange look in his eyes, one Rose weren't quite sure she'd seen before and couldn't decide what to make of it. After a moment of silence heavy with unspoken things, he asked in a hopeful voice, "So… There's this chocolate place we could go to."

The boyish awkwardness was back and Rose couldn't help her grin spreading across her face, her tongue slipping between her teeth as the Doctor swung his arms a little.

"I mean… only if you want…" he was stammering now, "but we could… you know… talk. There." His voice seemed to give out and the last words were barely more than a whisper, "About things…"

She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips in a mock-thoughtful way. Then her brilliant smile was back and it blinded the Doctor completely.

"I'd love to." She took his hand and his hearts sang from the joy of it. "In case you haven't noticed, Doctor," her tone was teasing now, back to the Rose Tyler she was a few weeks ago, with just the two of them, aboard the Tardis, "I have a sweet tooth."

Grinning, they started walking towards the chocolate shop, their entwined hands swinging between them, a spring back in their steps, and the happiness audible in their voices.

Author's Notes: Okay, this story has officially escaped me and thus I cannot be held accountable for what may or may not happen in coming chapters. All I can say is Jack's still enjoying his spot in the limelight enormously and the Doctor and Rose are going to find themselves in a bit of trouble very soon.