"Rose, how mad were you?"
Laughing despite herself Rose looked up at him from the coupling she was holding together for him to repair. "Really, Doctor, what for?"
"Well, for leaving you in Pete's world with other humany me?"
"Really?" Rose repeated incredulously at his query.
"Yes, Rose, really? Why not really? I just want to understand you and how your mind really works. After all this time you still leave my sense of understanding in complete state of flux. How are you even human with your ability to be who you are?" The Doctor blustered about in frustration.
"Okay, wow. That was a mouthful of nonsensical words. How mad was I?" she repeats while looking him in the eyes. Slowly he nods at her affirming that this is something he really wants to know.
"Well, Doctor. Let's do some comparisons here. Was I as mad as the time you sent me away from Satellite Five? Or…hmm, how about the time you made me jump to Pete's world to save me?" The Doctor ducked his head in embarrassment at the memories.
"Doctor, there is something I have come to realize about you. You will always be trying to save me, yeah? What you have yet to realize is that your idea of saving me is not always sound." Rose sighed as she carefully put down the wires she was holding and replaced them with the Doctor's fidgeting hands. "How mad was I?" she asked waiting for him to look her in the eyes once again. "As mad as I would have been at myself."
The Doctor's brows drew together puzzled at this statement.
"You act on instinct, Doctor, love and instinct, similarly to how I do. You are far from perfect as are your instincts, as are mine. You did what you thought was best, as do we all. There are many times you are incorrect in your thinking and hurt those you love the most, but, because we love you, we forgive you. You wanna know why?"
"Why?" the Doctor barely managed to whisper out in response.
"Because we love you and we know that you do what you do out of the, often misguided but always noble, intentions of your hearts."
"But…but…"the Doctor began to bluster.
"Shhhh," Rose put a finger to the Doctor's lips. "Understand this then, Doctor. In that magnificently large and brilliant alien mind of yours, this is one thing you will most likely never understand. With the double hearts beating in your chest, you have an overwhelmingly large capacity to love even the most unlovable thing in the universe, and find even the ugliest things beautiful…excepting yourself. You only see yourself through the tainted lenses of self-hate whereas the rest of us see you through the glorious tinted lenses of love. Just. As. You. See. Us." Rose said accentuating each of her last words with a bump on the nose.
"So, to answer your question, how mad was I, really?" Rose raised her eyebrow at him archly before continuing, "So very mad. Madly in love with this insane alien whom I can never completely root out of my heart, nor would I want to."
With that Rose leaned in to give the Doctor a gentle and deeply passionate kiss to accentuate her point.
"Now," Rose said rather abruptly as she leaned back from the dazed time lord, "where were we? Isn't it time for a bit of an adventure? Let's get Sexy back in shape for traveling."
Rose picked up the wires she was holding and held them together giving the Doctor and expectant look. Finally having to nudge him with her knee to get his attention, he switched the setting of the screwdriver to one that was appropriate and absentmindedly buzzed the wires until a connection was made all the while looking at Rose with an expression of disbelief and confusion.