Silence had followed them from Bad Wolf Bay. For the two days it took them to end up at the doorway of her flat, Rose and the Doctor-but-isn't hadn't actually spoken to one another. Not since he had whispered those three words in her ear at least.

That was her first clue that this man wasn't the same one flying through time and space in a blue police box, universes away. Her Doctor, the real Doctor, was incapable of staying quiet for two minutes let alone two days. Granted, he had talked plenty in that time span, to Jackie and even their Zepplin pilot, just not to her. Every time he looked like he was about to say something to her, the woman he supposedly burned up a star for, he'd closed his mouth as quickly as he'd opened it.

Definitely not a trait her Doctor had ever possessed. She had been sure they would have had to talk about his living situation. Would he stay with Jackie and Pete at the Estate, or with Rose at her flat? When the time came to make the decision however, the Doctor had just dutifully followed her out of the cab, seemingly not even considering another option.

So now they stood, Rose hanging her jacket on the coat rack and the Doctor-but-isn't still in the doorway, eyes flitting curiously around the room.

"You gonna stay there all night?" she questioned, miraculously managing a small smile.

He seemed surprised at her voice, glancing around as if to make sure she was speaking to him. It may have been silly, had she not been avoiding him for forty-eight hours.

"Right, yeah, sorry" he finally sniffed, stepping across the threshold. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his bright blue suit, which was in surprisingly good condition considering it was his only article of clothing, and he started rocking back and forth on his heels as if he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. The other Doctor never seemed out of place.

No. She had to stop this. She had done the same thing when her big-eared, blue-eyed Doctor had regenerated. Then again, this was a slightly different situation. She had to stop thinking so much about this, it was starting to make her head hurt.

"Do you want anything to eat? Not sure how much I have in the fridge but-"

"Rose." She slowly turned to meet the man behind her. It suddenly struck her how young he looked, blue suit and hair mussed in a somewhat unfamiliar way. Not to mention his eyes. They were the same dark brown as before, but these eyes didn't seem to carry the entire weight of the world in them. They seemed lighter. Those familiar –but-not eyes were staring unabashedly into her, and she couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine at the thought that they could see more than just her irises.

"Yes?" She hadn't realize she was holding her breath.

"I-"

Brrrring!

Rose was hit with a mixture of relief and frustration as her phone blared through the otherwise still room. "Hold that thought," she called, rushing into the kitchen a little too quickly, hearing a groan of frustration from the room she just left. That, at least, was a sound her Doctor had made often around her.

"Rose Tyler, who's speaking?"

"Rose! It's your mum, how are you settlin'?" Rose couldn't stop the roll of her eyes at Jackie's voice.

"You just saw us fifteen minutes ago, Mum."

"A lot can happen in fifteen minutes, Tony is proof of tha-"

"MUM!"

"I'm just saying."

"Well you don't need to worry about that anytime soon. We're fine, I think. We're gonna get some take-away, so I need the phone. I'll ring you tomorrow, yeah?"

"But Rose-" Click.

She ran an exasperated hand through her hair, before turning to go back to the Doctor-but-isn't, stopping short when she realized he was standing right behind her. "Give a girl a warning, will ya!" she gasped, clutching her heart dramatically.

A quick grin spread across his face, which made her heart ache, and she had to fight the conflicting urges to cry and laugh at how familiar it was.

"Well where would be the fun in that?" he quirked. They stood grinning at each other for a few moments before the smirk slipped off his face and he became serious again. "Listen, Rose, I-"

"What do you want for take-away?" she asked at the same time. Ignoring his obvious intent to have a talk, she walked over to the draw with all the take-away menus. "Chinese? Italian? There's a great Greek place down the street that delivers." Menus in hand, she turned back towards him to find a disappointed frown on his lips. She knew she was avoiding the inevitable, but she wasn't ready to talk about what happened, especially with him.

Instead of responding to her inquiries, he shrugged and pushed himself off the counter he was perched on, trudging out of the room.

Feeling slightly guilty but relieve she dodged the bullet again, Rose dialed the number for the Chinese place, ordering a bunch of different dishes, unsure of what her guest would prefer.

When she was done, she found him sprawled on the couch in her living room, long legs dangling over one armrest and arms folded under his head, eyes closed. She sat on the ground by his head. The urge to touch him, to make sure he was really there and she hadn't dreamed up the past few days, overwhelmed her, so she let her hand wander to his scalp and started playing with his hair. His eyes slipped open at the contact, and he turned his gaze to meet hers.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, not quite sure what part she was sorry about. Her inability to talk to him, his being stranded in this universe by, virtually, himself, and him being human. She was sorry for all of it, really.

"Don't be." His tone matched hers, and they stayed that way for a while, just staring at each other and her hand moving in his wild hair.

"I meant it, you know."

She didn't need to ask what he was talking about. The sound of his voice saying the words she had waited years to hear from him was still sending erratic shivers down her spine. "I know."

"Did you?"

Now she was confused. "Did I what?"

"Mean it. When you…after I told you."

Ah, the kiss.

"I don't know." She had meant it, every emotion she had poured into it, but for the Doctor. She wasn't convinced he was the same man she kissed. Another thing to be sorry for.

"Okay." She could see the hurt that clouded his eyes and had to avert her own. He turned his gaze to the ceiling.

"Will this ever get easier?" she asked, grasping her knees with her free arm and fighting the urge to cry again. She felt him shift, his hair leaving her reach and she had a moment of panic that he was leaving her, again. But, when she turned to look at him, she found him propped on his elbow staring intently at her.

"Yes." The certainty in his voice stunned her. They once again fell into silence, staring at each other. This time, however, the air was much more heated. She finally became aware of reaching for him, cupping his face and stroking his sideburns softly.

They were going to kiss again. Rose was sure of it the moment her hand made contact with his skin and the realization frightened and excited her. This wasn't like the other one though. That had been frenzied, desperate and needing. This time, she was leaning painstakingly slowly towards him. He remained perfectly still, only following her with his eyes, as if he was scared that if he moved she would run away. It may not have been a wholly unfounded fear.

She was finally close enough that she could feel his staggered breath on her lips, when the buzzer rang.

They both froze, until it persistently rang again.

"I should go get that," as she spoke her lips ghosted over his due to how close they were. She heard him gulp and felt him pull away, both of their eyes fluttering open. She jogged over to the buzzer and rang the delivery man in. That had been a close call. She wasn't sure she had been entirely ready for that.