Thanks for reccing this! Rose/Claude intrigues me because he's so very different from the Doctor. The Doctor may occasionally disparage humans (Nine more than Ten, of course), but ultimately, he believes in them and likes them. Claude's just bitter. He got betrayed by someone he liked, someone who, according to Tim Kring, made him a part of his family. Now he can't believe anyone acts out of anything but self-interest. As for Rose here, she's lost her innocent belief that love can last forever. Acting out what she wishes she'd done with the Doctor with his lookalike--who's nothing like him past his face--is just one way of dealing with that. It keeps the demons at bay for one more day. Yet if anyone can crack Claude's shell, she can. And if she does, she might just rediscover part of herself that she's lost. Right now, the relationship isn't anywhere near functional, but . . . who knows?