They had eaten breakfast in almost complete silence. Rose didn't feel like to speaking to him just yet. She knew that she had to forgive him, and she thought maybe some of her hesitance was because she knew that she was wrong too.

She hadn't meant to kiss him like that. It wasn't that she didn't really want to do it- that was far from the truth- but she knew that he wasn't into that sort of thing. Sometimes he looked at her like she was a woman, a woman he could be interested in, but she should know better.

He was a Time Lord; he had a position to uphold, even if he acted like a rebel. He was better than her, and he had made it known. Why in the universe would he waste his time on one silly little Human?

She couldn't expect a different reaction from the one she got, and instead of remembering that she fought back.

"Will you come with me, Rose," the Doctor asked softly.

The way he said her name made her shiver a little when she was only human, now with that wolf inside her she was ready to jump him all over again. It would probably be best to stay away from him, but she didn't want to do that.

She wanted to be close, and her wolf wanted her to be closer.

He was looking at her, his eyes not masking the worry. He knew that she was hurt; he just didn't know it was just as much about her own stupidity as it was his.

He had done the right thing, really.

They needed the TARDIS. There was no way she could live with this change if she had to be hands off with the Doctor. She would tear herself apart piece by piece in agony.

"Sure," she finally said, avoiding eye contact.

The only advice they received on the way out the door was from Abera. "Don't leave town."

The Doctor nodded, and he and Rose stepped out into the daylight. It was as warm as it had been yesterday, and she felt an odd need to pant. She wasn't going to dignify that need with a response. She did remind that little wolf voice that humans had sweat glands and that it could buzz off.

She heard a low growl, but really, what could it do? A few less than pleasant images flashed in her mind, and she backed off.

Stupid wolf.

"Do you want to go separate ways," the Doctor asked, standing closer to her than she thought was necessary. He smelled warm and sweet and she thought she might be drooling a little.

And since when did he ask her opinion on that sort of thing. He was the boss. It was always 'go there, Rose. I'll meet you later'

"Whatever you think," she said, ignoring him as much as possible. She was also trying hard to breathe only through her mouth. She risked a glance at his face and hated how he looked so collected.

Stupid Time Lord.

If he used the words superior biology she thought she might bite him. Hard.

"Rose, look at me," he instructed. And thought his tone was soft, his voice left no room for argument. She lifted her eyes. "I'm sorry, all right."

She looked away. "Me too."

He reached out for her chin, and she was surprised by the heat in his normally cool hand. He smiled at her and for a moment she was able to forget they both had a parasitic wolf in them. She stuck a mental tongue out at her wolf, and smiled back at him.

They could have been anywhere. Somewhere safe, somewhere where she was about to be sold to slavery and if he smiled like that she forgot there was anything else around them.

"Look," he told her. "We are both under a little strain. It's all forgiven."

She frowned now. He apparently hated the kiss so much he was upset with her about it as well. She knew it wasn't wanted but she hadn't realized that he thought so lowly of her that he would be angry about it.

"I'll go look around that half of the town," she told him, and walked away.

DW

He was an idiot. One of the best brains in this entire universe and all he could do was say stupid stuff.

Rose didn't need to be sorry, but he hadn't wanted to discuss last night, so what did he do? Made her feel like he hated that kiss so much she needed to be sorry.

She was just starting to come around too.

He watched her walk away, and thought about following her, but decided maybe she might want this time to herself. And with the two of them looking, their odds of finding the TARDIS quickly went up.

That was assuming that it was even in this town still, if he was trying to hide it, he would have put it outside of the city limits. With a ban on travel it would seem like a sure way to keep it from them.

Still, he could hope they were a little more simple minded than that.

He entered a bakery; the smell of fresh bread hit his nose. It smelled wonderful and even though he had just eaten he bought a version of a dinner roll.

He asked some questions, believed that the owner really didn't have a clue…about much…and left.

Maybe he should have gotten one for Rose, but then again it would have been cold by the time he got to her. He didn't think cold bread was going to help him seem like less of an idiot.

He checked alleyways as he finished his food. Maybe he should just do what she was wanting. What would it really hurt?

He shook his head. The wolf was becoming stronger, because that thought hadn't been prompted by his own mind. He tried to explain to the wolf that things weren't as easy as that.

It tried to claim that now she wouldn't die, and he wouldn't. They had forever.

He thought it was going to be a long forever if he wanted to have his way with Rose every time he saw her. Or thought about her, or smelled her…well anything to do with Rose led to dangerous thoughts.

So what would it hurt? His hearts. If something happened, if she was lost to him, he didn't know how he would survive.

If he fell, if he let himself let her all the way in, then he didn't know how he would ever be able to go on without her.

Even if he didn't take the wolves out of them, they could still be separated.

There was a blatant suggestion about just staying here, but he only laughed.

He didn't sit still.

He couldn't sit still. Even if Rose was around the stillness only made him remember.

He saw faces he hadn't actually seen in so long. Heard the screams of people he never wanted to see die, and instead of facing it, he ran. What else could he do?

He thought he might drown if he tried to swim in the ocean of his loss, and he couldn't do it.

He was scared.

So scared.

Just like he was scared of hurting his Rose. He was terrified of showing her the darker parts of him, and it wasn't just because he didn't want to ruin her innocence. He was afraid she would leave him if she really saw, so he hid from her.

Making love to Rose Tyler, and it would be love he knew, wouldn't help him hide.

It would make his weakness and faults visible; let them shine in all their glory.

He mentally shook away those thoughts, and entered a flower shop.

There was an older woman behind the counter, putting together a vase full of beautiful white flowers. He couldn't imagine how much business she could get but then again if travel wasn't banned this place might be crowded.

He walked to the counter.

"Hello, love," the woman greeted him with a wide smile.

He wasn't sure if it was the flowers or her who smelled a bit like honey, but it was nice.

"Hello," he responded easily. He laid on the charm. He asked the same questions that he had asked the baker but she seemed to know what he was talking about.

"A box you say," she hadn't stopped playing with the arrangement since he had entered. Her wrinkled hands busy.

He wondered what her wolf was like. He bet she felt younger than her years with it inside of her. Probably like a teenager. He knew that he did.

"Yes, a blue box. "

Her pale blue eyes looked towards the ceiling. "I saw something like that, maybe a day ago."

"Really," this was great news. "Where?"

"They put it outside of town," the woman told him. She couldn't understand the importance, he knew.

"Why?" He swallowed hard. Why did he always have to break the law to accomplish anything?

"I didn't ask, honey," she told him. "It's yours?"

He nodded, already thinking about how to get to it. "Mine and my friends."

"Your mate?"

The Doctor was tired of arguing. What did it matter what they thought? "Yes, my mate."

The woman nodded. "Here," she added a single red flower to the arrangement of white. It was a species of rose. "Take these. Give them to her."

Flowers…well that was a better apology than cold bread. He tried to pay her, wondering if she had been making this for him the whole time.

She shook her head. "No, please. It's free."

He thanked her and left the building. For a moment he forgot the plan. He forgot everything but making Rose smile again. Nothing else seemed to matter in that moment.