Remarkably, the Doctor was healing at an astonishing rate. No one knew exactly what to expect from his recovery, but it appeared that while he would age and be unable to regenerate, he did still have some regenerative ability in this body. He explained to Rose that it must be his part Gallifreyan DNA that was allowing him to heal at such a shocking speed. He didn't seem particularly surprised, and perhaps that is why he hadn't seemed very worried or shaken up about his injuries either. While she was relieved that he was doing so well, his nonchalant attitude about what had happened was starting to really bother her. They hadn't yet discussed his decision that had led up to his injuries but she was starting to worry that when they did, he would throw this in her face with regards to not needing to protect himself like everyone else. She tried not to think about it too much, right now she just wanted to focus on getting him well enough to take him back home to their flat. Between all the visits from of his lab coworkers, Donna, and Jackie and Tony, Rose didn't have to try very hard to distract him from that particular conversation, though she could tell that he was curious and somewhat anxious to get the truth out of her.

Two days later, his wounds had healed enough to allow him to be discharged. His superficial burns and abrasions were completely gone. His incisions had closed up satisfactorily and though he would more than likely have scars, they looked weeks old rather than forty-eight hours post-op. The Torchwood surgeons were used to seeing many unusual things, but they were still amazed.

On the ride home, they kept their conversation light, joking about and discussing mostly minutiae. The Doctor could feel the tension she was trying so very hard to hide and some anxiety of his own began to build. His memories of the mission were still pretty hit and miss, though fragments had started to return. He remembered her being angry at him for getting her kicked off the team as well as random flashes of inside the warehouse and then finding a few of the prelim team members, but that was it. He knew something else must have occurred and while he had tried asking others about it, they had not been forthcoming either, whether by some agreement with Rose or just not wanting to get involved. He thought he got close with Donna, but after a moment of indecision, she just folded her arms, scowled at him and advised that he ready himself to have his skinny little butt chewed out. Then she rolled her eyes, called him a git and walked away, leaving him to stew in frustration.

When they got back to the flat, Rose suggested he go shower and change while she made them a quick bite to eat. Again she had that look in her eyes that broached no argument, and while her tone was light and not confrontational in any way, he felt like he was being sent to time out and quite frankly, he was growing tired of this whole thing. Not even trying to hide his eye roll he muttered, "Yes, mum…" and brushed past her.

Rose narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth, an equally snippy remark on the tip of her tongue, but at the very last moment she took a steadying breath and just let the moment pass. She was hoping to at least get through dinner before the real unpleasantries began. When she heard the door to his room shut loudly she clenched her fists. This was going to awful. She could tell he knew it too, even though he had no idea what it was all even about. He had to be frustrated with her silence on the matter. Rose closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. Then she shook it off and marched into the kitchen to get started on dinner.

In his room, the Doctor had sat heavily on his bed and just stared at his hands in his lap. He hated knowing he had angered Rose but what he hated even more was being passive aggressively punished for something he didn't even remember doing! It was ridiculous! He should have just continued to press her on it back at the infirmary, they were adults, they shouldn't have to tip toe around one another. He shook his head and gave a bitter chuckle at his last thought. Who was he kidding? Tip toeing around major issues was what he and Rose did best.

The gentle hum of the TARDIS coral soothed his mind and he smiled at her welcoming him home. He got up and knelt by her tank, where she lay exactly how he had left her a few days ago. Now that her plasmic shell had been successfully shatterfried, she was under his makeshift dimensional stabilizer. He had been having a hard time getting the foldback harmonic properly tuned to thirty six point three but had finally managed it during the hours Rose had spent sleeping that weekend. One of the first things Rose had asked him about when he was well enough to talk was what she needed to do with the coral and was relieved to hear than she was perfectly fine just the way she was. Even so, after being away from her for a few days, the Doctor took a few minutes to scan her and make sure that everything was working properly. When he was satisfied with the readings he was getting on his sonic, he got up and headed for the shower.

Standing under the hot water, he was surprised at how much blood was apparently still stuck to him and his hair, and set to work lathering himself up enough times until the bubbles at his feet were white instead of pink. He was glad Rose wasn't there to witness it, although his stomach sank when he realized just how much worse what she had seen must have been. Turning off the tap, he quickly toweled himself off and got dressed.

Dinner was quiet and awkward. Neither of them was really all that hungry, but now that they were home and it was time to finally get it all out in the open, nobody wanted to be the one to get the ball rolling. Instead, they ate in relative silence staring at their plates and pushing food around, chancing quick glances at each other here and there. Rose was the first to give up. She grabbed her plate and took it to the sink then walked out to the front room and sat on the couch, staring out the glass wall. The Doctor followed suit about a minute later. He didn't sit down, however, choosing instead to stay standing, one of his hands extended out to her.

"Rose…" he pled quietly.

Without meeting his gaze, she looked up at his hand for a moment and then sighed. She reached out and took it, then heaved herself up off the couch and wrapped her other arm around his waist, leaning her forehead against his chest. Immediately, the hand that wasn't holding hers came up and rested tenderly on the back of her head as he dropped a kiss on her crown.

"Rose… please, what happened? Why are you so upset with me?" His voice was soft but urgent.

For a moment Rose just stood there, completely still and silent, and he was about to try once more when all of a sudden he felt the hand that was around his waist clench the fabric of his t-shirt. She took a deep breath and without lifting her head spoke into his chest.

"You almost… you could have died, Doctor."

Closing his eyes, he hugged her tightly and then whispered in her ear, "But I'm fine, Rose. I'm all better now, everything's alright."

She could feel the anger starting to bubble up in earnest now, everything she had kept just barely contained beneath the surface over the last two days. She couldn't even look him in the face, so she pulled away from his embrace and turned around, hugging herself instead, trying to keep her composure.

"That's not the point, Doctor… You. Could. Have. DIED."

Shaking his head, he took a step forward and placed a hand on each of her upper arms.

"I know that Rose, and I'm sorry… but I'm part human now, of course I can die… I thought that —"

Rose spun around, effectively breaking contact with him and finally looked him in the eyes. The rage in her glare stunned him and he took a step back.

"Then ACT like it for once!"

Confused and so very tired of not knowing, he ran both his hands through his hair and yelled right back.

"WHAT did I do, Rose? I can't remember so just do us a favor and spit it out, will you? This little game of yours is getting ridiculous!"

Rose wanted to pummel him.

"Game? GAME? Well, excuse me then Doctor, for not wanting to have this conversation while you were laid up in bed with tubes and wires coming out of you every which way, your head cracked open and guts practically falling out! I'm sorry, how very childish of me!"

Throwing his hands up in the air, he rolled his eyes and spun in a circle for her.
"Well, as you can see, no more tubes or wires and look, guts all back in place! Happy now?" Voice dripping with sarcasm, he lifted up his shirt and patted his stomach, a satisfied smirk blooming.

Before he even had a chance to put his shirt back down, Rose crossed the few feet between them and smacked the leer right off his face.

"Don't you DARE mock me! You have NO idea what I've been through these past few days!"

The color drained out of his face and in an instant, Rose witnessed his warm brown eyes turn cold and ugly, reminiscent of those that often stared back at her in his fits of rage when he was all black leather and big ears.

"What you've been through, really? I thought just a second ago I was the one who almost died." He was no longer yelling, but his voice had gone flat and hard. It caused a shiver to race up Rose's spine.

"Yes you did, and you know why? All because of your stupid PRIDE Doctor!"

Crossing his arms over his chest, he said nothing. His only acknowledgement was an eyebrow lifting and a cruel smirk tugging at his lips, as he scoffed quietly.

Rose was incensed. She hated when he shut down, nothing made her want to shake him harder than when he did that. He knew how much it upset her and even now he dared. Oddly enough, the quieter he got, the louder it caused her to become. It was all she could do to keep herself from physically lashing out at him.

"We had NO idea what was in there, just that it had probably already taken out the whole Prelim team and you couldn't be BOTHERED to take precautions to protect yourself! I begged you to take a gun, set it to stun even, you didn't have to use it, just TAKE it in case! But nooooo, you're too good for that aren't you, Doctor? You couldn't possibly be that barbaric, like us stupid apes! So you took it and right before entering the warehouse you turned to look at me and then tossed it. You DEFIED me!"

This revelation took even the Doctor by surprise momentarily. Nevertheless, the sight of Rose shaking her finger in his face stomped down any remorse before it could even surface.

"Defiance implies authority, Rose! I don't have to answer to you. I do what I like."

The sneer on his face was her undoing.

"I was your COMMANDING OFFICER! When you come along on missions you DO answer to me!"

"Oh well don't worry, that won't ever be happening again… MA'AM." He finished it off with a mock salute before spinning on his heels and stalking off to his room.

Completely unhinged now, Rose stormed after him.

"You're damn right that's never happening again! Pete will see to it, you'll never step foot outside those labs again on Torchwood business after I'm through!"

His only reply was slamming the door so hard in her face that the whole frame shook.

Rose stood there stunned for a second, chest heaving and fists clenched so hard her knuckles felt like they would break through her skin any second. Then she retreated to her room, slamming the door behind her as well.

Back in his room, the Doctor was quickly throwing on one of his suits. He felt caged, the walls of this tiny flat closing in on him. He needed to get out. He didn't know where he would go or what he would do, but right now he needed to put some space between himself and that ridiculous woman in the room across the hall. Knowing she would more than likely chase after him, screeching the entire way, he sat on his bed for a while, head in his hands as he tried to calm down.

A few minutes later he heard the telltale squeaks of her shower faucet handles, followed by the steady stream of water. He waited just a few minutes longer before quietly slipping out of the flat, office keys and wallet in hand. Perhaps he did have somewhere to go after all. She would know to look for him there but even Rose wouldn't dare confront him and make a scene in front of their colleagues. He took perverse pleasure in knowing how very much that would infuriate her. This would be the last time she ever tried to dictate his life, he'd make sure of it.

Rose cried herself hoarse beneath the scorching water. She had known things would probably get ugly, but never in a million years could she have guessed at the cruelty with which he had treated her. Granted, she hadn't been very nice herself, but the contempt in his words and actions had floored her. He had reminded her so much of her first Doctor, of his hardness and condescension, but coming from his current face, it had cut her to the core. He had been nothing but patient and gentle with her from the moment they had been left behind on that forsaken beach, and she had forgotten the anger and vindictiveness he was capable of. It had been so very long since she had had to face that side of him.

"That's me, when we first met. And you made me better. Now you can do the same for him."

Knowing that she would never be able to sleep after what had just occurred, she decided to try approaching him again, this time with less anger and demands and a bit more compassion. She still believed she had every right to be upset with him for what he did, but she knew she needed to go about it differently if they were ever going to be able to reach a compromise.

She dried herself off, quickly put on her pajamas, and softly padded out her door and across the hall. For a moment she stood outside his door, summoning her courage, then looking upwards and silently pleading for strength, she raised a hand and softly knocked on his door.

"Doctor? Please… may I come in?"

No answer.

Taking a slow deep breath, she leaned her head against the door, her palm opened and flat against it.

"Please… I just… I'm sorry. Please Doctor, talk to me?"

Again, no answer.

Knowing that no good would come of her barging into his room, she resigned herself to a sleepless night and headed back to bed. Perhaps he just needed to cool down. Surely things would go better in the morning.

A few miles away, the Doctor was getting out of a cab and walking into Torchwood Tower. He quickly made his way down to the labs and let himself into his office. His abdomen was aching and after a few minutes of sitting uncomfortably at his desk, he shrugged out of his suit coat and folded it neatly into a pillow. Gingerly lowering himself down to the floor, he cleared a space and laid back, his hands clenched at his side, staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath. His anger had slowly begun to abate on his way there and what little was left was quickly starting to be overshadowed by guilt and grief. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see were Rose's, red and swollen, as he slammed the door in her face. Tears began to leak out of the corner of his own eyes now and roll into his ears, cold and uncomfortable. This was going to be a very long night.