Depression

Rose sat beside Joshua on their new love seat, their hands clasped together. They had been silent the entire trip home and to be honest, she was completely drained. But she knew that he wanted to talk to her. From his reaction at Torchwood, it couldn't be good. She could feel her hope draining from her until she felt hollow.

They sat silently for almost ten minutes before he started talking. He didn't sugar coat, like she expected. He kept his tone flat, like he was lecturing. He was completely honest in his assessment. He explained to her the differences in her physiology from his own. He told her how she could never have children with him and her only chance would probably be the Doctor. He explained how she didn't age and would outlive him. She didn't say a word to him as he talked and she had closed herself off mentally. The barriers she erected in his mind made him sick and he almost begged her to let him back in but he didn't. He'd give her the time she needed.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

A few days passed and she still hadn't opened back up to him. She stayed at Torchwood late and left early each morning. It was close to Christmas and she still kept to herself. He honestly didn't know what to do. He wanted to give her space but he was hurting too. They had tried so hard for two years to create a family and he was just as devastated as she about what they had found. After failing with the TARDIS coral, and now this, he didn't know how he would be able to go on without her with him. He slipped into his own depression.

When he did finally get to see her again, she'd lost weight. He could tell she wasn't eating, nor sleeping but he didn't know how to remedy that. Not when he was going through his own mourning. And that's what it was, a mourning. He decided that he would let it take it's course and hope they would be better afterwards.

He stopped letting himself wallow and instead put his every effort into making Rose happy. She wouldn't have any of it. She plead with him to leave her be and he felt his world slowly start to fall apart.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

The catalyst was the night he planned a nice meal for the two of them. She needed to eat and he hope that doing something slightly romantic, like setting the table with a centerpiece of candles and flowers, she would finally crack.

Instead, she came home, immediately looked at it, and fumed.

"I don't understand how you can keep going on like nothing has happened."

"Because one of us has to, Rose."

"I don't accept that. You can't pretend that you aren't upset."

"I am upset. Much more than you probably know. You would know, if you would lower your bloody shields and let me in!"

"What? So you can get in my head? No thank you. I'm miserable enough without dding you to it right now."

"No Rose. So I could help heal you."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. He didn't know where all the anger was coming from. Her eyes flashed in anger. Instead of the anger he was expecting, Rose's entire body glowed gold for a moment. He became alarmed. Her eyes had glowed before, and he was even used to that. But never her body. He had a moment to blink before she disappeared in a flash of gold.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Joshua was frantic. Rose had just disappeared before his eyes and he wasn't sure why or where she had gone. He scrambled to the bedroom and fumbled for his phone. The first he called, the only one who might know what to do, was Pete Tyler.

"Listen, Pete. Rose has disappeared. There was a flash of gold, like with Bad Wolf, and then she was gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

"She fucking disappeared in front of me, Pete! It was like she used a Vortex Manipulator. A device to travel through time. She was angry at me Pete. All I wanted to do was help her. And now I don't know where she is."

"Where you fighting?"

"Yeah. I don't even know why. She's been so cold since we found out we would never have children. I don't know what to do."

"Just, come to the mansion. She usually makes her way there after she has been upset. I'll phone Jackie and let her know what happened."

"I'm not sure she'll take the news well, Pete. And I don't really feel like dealing with an angry Jackie Tyler."

"Believe it or not, she's more than come to terms with her daughter disappearing. Not literally, but she's come to terms with Rose leaving."

"If you're sure..."

"I am. Come up to the mansion and we'll put our heads together and see what we can do."