”I only got one life, Rose Tyler… I could spend it with you. If you want.”

SUMMARY: The Doctor’s acting strange the night they return from Krop Tor. Rose worries perhaps he regrets the boundaries they had so nearly crossed, but perhaps it’s something else entirely.

TAGS: post-the Satan Pit, hurt/comfort, Rose takes care of a sick Doctor, romance, yearning, all the usual

Read on AO3: magic trick

“Is there anything I can do to at least make you more comfortable?” she cautioned with a plea in her tone. He nudged his head slightly to the side, as if to lean closer to hear her.

“M’alright,” he mumbled drowsily. “But thanks.”

For a few minutes, they lay in silence — although Rose’s thoughts seemed so loud she was certain he could hear them. She watched as his chest rose and sank, slow and steady breathing, and she craned her neck just a little to see his eyes still closed, but his brow less pinched. He was at least drifting off, and she hoped his unfathomable little Time Lord regenerative physiology was working wonders.

She carefully reached back out to his hair, without really thinking, and began to stroke the ends even more softly than before. He, again, groaned in protest beneath her.