Turning to yet another bag of clothing, the Doctor sighed. This was so tedious. He wondered if Geoffrey had played a cruel joke on him by sending them home with twice as much clothing as what he had actually picked out. It seemed that the more he put away, the more there was left to hang up, fold, or shove in a drawer somewhere. He hadn't even gotten started on what they'd picked up at the chemist! Plopping down on the bed he pinched the bridge of his nose, willing himself to calm down. It was just stuff, he told himself. Stuff that could be put away later if he didn't feel like doing it all right now. Not the end of the world… so why was he so worked up all of a sudden?

The truth of the matter, however, was that as tiresome as unpacking was, what really had the Doctor in this foul mood was not clothing… it was a certain someone who was probably crying up in the loft and wishing she were somewhere else… with someone else.

He probably shouldn't have kissed her, he berated himself. Now he had just mucked things up! Everything had been going rather decently up until then. She had seemed quite at ease with him most of the day… well, after the initial awkwardness this morning but that was Jackie's fault, not his. They had settled into their normal banter, Rose carrying on much as she always had. There was an additional flirtatious energy that was new for them, true, but welcomed on his part nevertheless.

When she responded so keenly to his kiss up in the loft, he had been surprised but certainly not put out. For those few minutes, it was just him and Rose, finally able to convey what they had wanted to for so long. But then the moment had been broken, an interruption giving the memory of the other Doctor just enough time to insert itself like an unwanted third wheel.

The Doctor got up and wandered to the window, looking out at this new London, its sky punctuated with zeppelins. He wondered how long he would have to be the patient, long-suffering new man in her life. Would his memory always haunt her? Shaking his head, he laughed bitterly. He never thought it would be possible to be jealous of himself, but there was a first time for everything, he supposed… even for one as old as he.

He wasn't sure living here was the best idea at the moment. Perhaps they had been too hasty in coming back to the flat so soon together. As much as he had always scoffed at the inferiority of human hormones, there was much to be said for their power, particularly when one's thoughts and feelings were as complicated as his and Rose's. Neither of them was ready for anything more intimate than what they currently shared, that was obvious. A simple kiss had just proved to be too much. The spaciousness and safety of the Tyler residence was starting to sound more and more appealing. Perhaps Jackie would know what to do… The Doctor chuckled softly as he contemplated going to Rose's mum for advice. What was his life coming to?

Just then a soft knock intruded on his thoughts. The door creaked open and Rose's head peeked through.

"May I come in?" her voice was timid, unsure.

Continuing to look out the window, the Doctor replied, "Of course, Rose."

Surveying the chaos of empty bags, clothes half hung up and drawers opened haphazardly, Rose let herself in and began to help. "So… unpacking is bit of a pain, isn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose…never had to worry about this before."

Rose paused, hanger in one hand, shirt in another. His voice sounded… off. Was he cross with her? His comment as he had left her upstairs earlier was certainly a bit of a reproach, but it had not been said unkindly. She could tell he had been upset but she thought it was on her behalf more than anything else.

Her knee jerk reaction to his less than warm reception was anger, but she stopped herself before saying something she would regret. Reminding herself of how gentle and cautious he had been with her for the past two days, she acknowledged that it must not have been easy… particularly with everything else he had to deal with. She needed to be more conscious of the fact that she wasn't the only one having a hard time with their current situation.

Putting down the shirt and hanger she cleared a spot on his bed and sat down.

"Doctor… I'm sorry."

He said nothing, didn't even bother to look at her.

Rose tried to stay calm. She knew she was being difficult, yes, but he couldn't possibly be that angry with her… it had been TWO days! What did he expect her to do, pretend he didn't exist? Yes, she knew they were the same, and yes she wanted to make things work, but just because he was there with her didn't mean the other Doctor had just ceased to exist. Of course she had to come to grips with that but after loving the man for the past six years of her life, how could anyone expect her to just get over it in two days?

Choosing her words carefully, she tried again.

"Doctor, please talk to me… You're angry, I get it, but-"

He spun around suddenly, his expression icy. "Angry? I'm not-"he started to say, a bit more forcefully than he had intended. Lowering his voice some, he tried again. "I'm not angry, Rose."

Already on the defensive, Rose Tyler began to lose what little control she had managed to summon since entering the room.

"Really, oh well, you could have fooled me, Doctor…" she trailed off, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

Shaking his head, the Doctor turned his back on her again, resolute on staring out the window instead. "Rose, I'm not angry… I'm just… this is frustrating," he finished quietly.

Losing all rational thought, Rose threw her hands up in the air. "What's frustrating Doctor? The fact that I'm not ready to jump in bed with you? Is that it? Because can I just remind you, we've been here two-"

The Doctor turned back around now, eyes wide, his expression completed defeated.

"Rose Tyler, do you honestly think so little of me?"

Before she had a chance to process what had just slipped out of her mouth, the Doctor started to walk past her, headed for the door.

Rose panicked.

"Wait! Wait, I'm sorry!" she caught him by the arm just before he was out of reach. He stopped but did not turn to face her.

Standing up, she quickly placed herself in his path, trying to catch his gaze. Face turning red, she shook her head wildly, bringing a hand up to her forehead. "I didn't mean that, Doctor! Of course I don't think that of you… I'm sorry, I- that was… absurd."

Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Rose… maybe I should just stay with your parents for a while, yeah? This is clearly making you uncomfortable. I don't want you to ever feel like you… owe me anything, just because I'm here now."

Rose's face blanched. She couldn't believe the turn this conversation had taken. How could she have accused him of such a thing? She wished the ground would just open up and swallow her whole.

"You don't though… what happened upstairs, I didn't… Doctor, I know you weren't trying to…" She took a deep breath and let out a shaky laugh. "This is frustrating, isn't it?" She gave him a small smile, hoping he would at least give her a chance to explain herself.

The Doctor's expression softened a bit. He could see how hard this was for her, and how terrified she was of him walking out that door. He hadn't actually intended on not coming back, but given what had just happened two days ago, he understood why she thought he wouldn't.

Rose reached for his hand. "Stay?" she managed to get out just barely above a whisper.

Squeezing her hand gently, he nodded and turned to sit back down on his bed. He pulled her down beside him where they sat in silence for a few moments, both staring down at their laps not quite knowing how to proceed.

The Doctor spoke first, wanting to clear something up. "Rose, what I said to you upstairs… I think you may have misunderstood me."

Thankfully, she didn't try to contradict him. He continued.

"I know this is hard for you. I understand that it must be incredibly difficult to make sense of the fact that I'm here but he's still out there somewhere. We're the same, yes, but physically there are still two of us, so I know that's difficult for you."

Rose bowed her head, her silence confirming that what he was saying was true.

"But when I asked you to not take too long, I didn't mean I expect you to be alright with everything right now. I just… I guess what I meant to say was that I'm afraid of years going by with us still tiptoeing around one another because he is still out there."

Rose looked up then, relief plainly visible on her face.

"I don't want that either, Doctor… I just- I'm not quite sure how to do this."

He smiled then. "That makes two of us, Rose Tyler."

"Well… I guess we'll just have to make it up as we go along then, yeah? We've always been good at that, you and I." replied Rose, as she playfully bumped him with her shoulder, a grin making its way across her face.

The Doctor laughed. Suddenly, his stomach growled quite loudly which in turn made Rose laugh.

"How about we order in some take-out and I help you finish putting all this stuff away? Then we can figure out which one of all those hair products will work best for you, sound like a plan?"

He nodded enthusiastically, starting to search for his bag of hair gels.

"After we get all this clothes sorted, Doctor! Come on, get to it mister, I'm going to place the takeout order and I'll be right back, yeah?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and then doing his best creepy little child impression asked," Are you my mummy?"

Stopping at the door, Rose whipped around and tossed a package at him that had been lying on top of the dresser, unopened. As his laughter followed her down the hallway, Rose smiled to herself. Boxers, she knew it.