#dt writes

Of course, Rose was also the first one on the scene. She had even gotten there before the Doctor. He was still in his lab back at UNIT because she was the one who volunteered to go get lunch from the little Chinese place they both liked.

Rose felt a little like a salmon swimming upstream as she made her way through the panicking crowds of Londoners trying to get away from the fire that erupted from the crashed ship. Pulling her phone out from her pocket, she swiftly dialed the number for UNIT’s emergency response team and opened the camera app. She was just in time to capture the alien as they climbed out of their wrecked ship. Giant wings unfurled as Rose fought against her fight or flight response. Dealing with a moth that was only a couple centimeters in size was one thing, but these wings were longer than she was tall! The wings fluttered emitting almost mesmerizing patterns of light that nearly blinded her. Rose did her best to keep her hands steady as she filmed as much as she could; but the moment the UNIT vehicles started showing up she hopped straight into the one that would take her back to base for debriefing while the team dealt with the rest.

It was the one time she actually looked forward to a debrief.

As always, it was dull. Rose gave all the details she could about her encounter to the Brigadier even showing her the video off her phone. Rose had expected the Doctor to pop into the meeting as his title of Scientific Advisor kind of necessitated his presence, but he hadn’t appeared. So, Rose had to sit through the hour long debrief all on her own.

Her phone buzzed when she walked out of the Brigadier’s office. A text message from the Doctor.

 Back in my lab x

Well, at least he knew how to actually work a phone.

--

The Doctor smirked at her from his position behind some kind of lighting panel he rigged up as Rose walked into the lab.

“They’re not going to hurt you, you know,” He said returning to sonicing a bulb that had refused to light, “they’re actually an incredibly peaceful race.”

“Is that why you’re building a giant bug zapper?” Rose refused to go near it.

“It’s not a bug zapper! It’s a communications device.” The Doctor whipped his head around to look at her, “That flashing you saw from their wings, that’s what the Luminara—that’s what they’re called in our old universe anyway—they use those flashes to communicate.” Rose felt a little better knowing he wasn’t building a machine of death (not that he would, but desperate times and all that), but she still hesitated a moment before walking over and kneeling next to him as he held out a bundle of wires and a wire stripper for her to take.

“Take three centimetres off the ends.” He instructed and Rose got to work. It was moments like this that transported her back to her time travelling with him back on the TARDIS. She could watch him tinker for hours as he babbled on about this or that. This time was no different; as they worked he talked about the Luminara, how the patterns on their large wings resembled the constellations that could be seen on their home planet but were unique to each individual and therefore acted as a way of identifying one another. He explained that they were herbivores and would rather eat a rose bush than Rose herself. She couldn’t help but laugh at that, but then he winked salaciously at her and said in a slightly lower register, “besides, I’m the only one that gets to gobble you up, Rose Tyler.”

Rose nearly dropped the tool in her hand. She didn’t often think of the differences between the human Doctor she now shared her life with and the Time Lord who returned to his original universe. In her mind they were one and the same. But the Time Lord was never this brazen in his flirtation. It had been nearly six months since they were together—properly intimately together—and he still found ways to make her insides feel all wibbly and leave her wanting to pin him to any flat surface available and take him right then and there. But she was patient, knowing that he fully intended to back up his words with action and never left her wanting. She subtly pressed her thighs together as memories of times he previously had her writhing under his ministrations until she broke apart on his tongue coming unbidden to the fore. She let out a shaky breath knowing she had to focus on the task at hand first. He chuckled again, and Rose knew the attempt to hide her arousal had failed.

Now wasn’t the time nor was it the place but damn him. Rose looked over at him, his smug grin still stuck on his face, his hair sticking out in all directions from where he was running his hands through it while he worked; it was taking all her restraint to not launch herself at him after all.

“You git!” She smacked him playfully on the arm, “We have a job to do first.”

“Killjoy.” He sighed before standing up and walking over to his workbench.

With Herculean effort, she turned her attention back to stripping the wires in her hand as she twisted her entire body away from him lest the Doctor try and distract her again.

“All done stripping for me?” Rose jumped at the sound of his voice so close to her ear. Where did he learn to be so stealthy? He was across the room a second ago, but now she could feel his chest pressing into her back as he rested his chin on her shoulder. He gently pulled the wires out of her hand and inspected them, “Good work, but you’re still fully clothed.”

“Hold on, wha—” her question turned into more of a moan as he began to plant open mouth kisses onto the side of her neck. She was just about to speak up about the fact that they had to finish the communications device, but it was hard to talk with his mouth sealed over hers and his tongue teasing every corner of her mouth it could reach. The angle was a bit awkward, but Rose felt his hands on her guiding her to turn until she was facing him and straddling his lap.

She sucked in a breath as his lips left hers and started to make a trail down from her neck to her chest. The Doctor let out a sound that he completely denied was a purr as Rose sank her fingers into his hair. She gave into the urge to scratch at his scalp with her nails, but then the logical part of her brain kicked back in. She tightened her grip on his hair and lifted his head out of the home it was making between her breasts. The Doctor smirked, and tried bringing his mouth back to hers, but Rose leaned back enough so he couldn’t. He pouted, and oh did she just want to nibble on that bottom lip. Still…

“Doctor.” She tried to sound stern, but she squeaked as he squeezed her bum and lifted his hips to meet hers; it was incredibly obvious what his intentions were, she could feel it through two sets of jeans.

“Yes, my love?” He successfully leaned in and planted the sweetest of kisses to her lips. Rose’s resolve nearly crumbled right there.

“Don’t you think we should—” another kiss, “deal with the Luma-whatsit—moth thing—first?”

“Already done.” The Doctor responded with a smile as his fingers had begun inching their way under Rose’s shirt on a mission to undo her bra.

“Yeah, but we really need to—” then his words sunk in. “Hold on. You already dealt with it?”

The Doctor brought his hands out from under her shirt and shrugged. He suddenly looked a bit shy.

“Yeah, while you were in the debrief. I saw the camera footage you got, and it took me only a few minutes to get the panel rigged up.”

“Seriously?” The Doctor nodded..

“I know you hate bugs.” He stated simply.

Rose wasn’t sure whether she wanted to kiss him or smack him.

“And all of this?” Rose gestured between them.

Where was Rose? She wasn’t usually up before he was, or at the very least she told him when she had to leave early for work or an appointment, in which case he’d usually get up as well. Inspecting her side of the bed, he found that the sheets had gone cold. The Doctor searched around to see if Rose left some sort of a note, but there was nothing. Then he spotted the clothes she had left out for herself the night before still laid across her dressing table chair. Something else must have gotten her out of bed then.

He flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He wasn’t even awake for five whole minutes and already he was having a terrible day. Okay, fine, he was exaggerating. Slightly.

“Clingy” was how Jackie described him. Maybe she was right – a thought that irritated him to his very core – he was a lot happier whenever Rose was nearby.

The fact of the matter was that the Doctor was most decidedly not a morning person. Not anymore, at least; as a Time Lord he seemed to have boundless energy. He more than likely had the Metacrisis to thank for him being a huge grump in the morning. The influx of all that Human DNA he received during the Metacrisis ensured he got a healthy dose of traits from one Donna Noble. She was always an incoherent mess for at least an hour or so after she woke up. He once committed the cardinal sin of attempting to have a conversation with her before her first cup of coffee. A cup of coffee that was almost thrown in his face because he was “too bloody cheery” or some nonsense. The Doctor wasn’t that grumpy upon waking up, especially since he actually found sleep incredibly enjoyable. Getting all snuggled and warm in bed was lovely, not to mention the cuddles he got to share with Rose. Cuddles that often transformed into something much, much more pleasant.

He never got to do that sort of thing with her before. He could even overlook how sticky and sweaty they got whilst doing… it. It was the pinnacle of the human experience, if he could say so himself. And when Rose reached her pinnacle, well, there wasn’t a more beautiful sight in any universe. They got so full of endorphins and oxytocin afterwards, so they always just end up falling asleep in what felt like a heap of happy goo.

And sometimes the mornings were a wonderful repeat of the evenings before, and they could have a nice lie-in afterwards. And then they’d go help each other wash off all the ‘okay now it’s starting to feel unpleasant’ stickiness and get completely distracted while in the shower.

But this wasn’t one of those mornings. This is one of those mornings where the Doctor had to go and be what people liked to call ‘a productive member of society’. And if he remembered correctly, today was the day he was scheduled to have a long, tedious meeting with the UNIT commanders regarding ‘health and safety’. Was it his fault the only way to see if it was true Rawilto alloy was to lick it? Well, there were other ways, but they were far too time consuming for his liking and required a lot more paperwork. Besides, he barely even got poisoned, so he didn’t see what the big fuss was all about. He didn’t make one of the junior lab assistants lick it, no matter how entertaining that would have been to watch. Plus, the Doctor was UNIT’s Scientific Advisor, not those boneheads! Didn’t he technically outrank them somehow, even if he wasn’t part of the military?

With a groan, the Doctor decided it was probably time to get up. His mind was far too loud for sleep now.

“Rose?” He called out as he slid out of bed. He unsuccessfully tried to put on a pair of slippers, only to realise they were Rose’s. He groped around for his own that somehow got kicked under the bed. That’s also when he noticed that he hadn’t gotten any response. Perhaps she just didn’t hear him. He walked out into the hallway. “You still here, love?”

His ears perked up to the sound of shuffling behind the door to their loo. He knocked.

“Hello?” He called out again.

“Go ‘way.” The Doctor blinked. That certainly wasn’t the response he expected.

“Are you alright in there?”

“Yep. Fine. Nothin’ wrong.” Worry stabbed at the Doctor’s heart. He knew Rose’s voice well enough that something was definitely wrong. She wasn’t really the type to say she was ‘fine’ when she really wasn’t; they’d made a deal that she would never do it if he also stopped that nasty habit. He reached for the doorknob, fully aware of how much of a breach of privacy it was, but they also didn’t tend to hide much from each other anyways. She’d walked right in on him so many times when she was getting ready in the mornings and what not, and he’d done the same with her. So, it was truly a surprise when he found the door was locked.

“I said go away.” Rose called out.

“But I got to wee,” he lied. Sort of, “and I don’t think I can make it to the downstairs loo.”

Silence stretched for several seconds. The finally, he heard the lock click open and Rose slowly opened the door. She looked a mess. Her skin was pale, except for around her eyes which were red and puffy. She clutched something to her chest, but he didn’t register that yet as when he caught sight of the toilet his body reminded him just how full his bladder was. He nudged past Rose as he quickly stepped up to the bowl to relieve himself. By now, Rose had usually made some kind of sly remark about how he was just a normal bloke in the morning and playfully riling him up before he laughed. But her silence this morning was deafening. He quickly finished up his business and refocused on the item in Rose’s hands. The Doctor tried to make out what it was, some kind of white plastic stick.

“Rose?” He asked carefully, his heart skipping a few beats. “What have you got there?” He asked, his brain already making a connection between women behind locked bathroom doors and small white plastic sticks. But he was not able to fully believe it. Ever so slowly, Rose handed him the object. Two blue lines filled his vision as the world around him seemed to go a bit wobbly.

The next thing he knew, Rose was hovering over him and shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at the hallway carpet. Now that wasn’t right.

“Doctor!” Rose nudged at his shoulder again. He carefully rolled himself over and Rose helped him sit up against the wall.

“You’re pregnant.” He stated numbly giving voice to what his brain had been screaming at him ever since he saw the pregnancy test in her hands. Rose shrugged.

“That’s what the test says.” Rose sounded just as numb, “But you know they’re not 100% accurate.” The Doctor wasn’t sure which one of them she was trying to convince.

“I thought we couldn’t…” he trailed off. He’d done tests on himself shortly after arriving in this universe trying to see just how his body formed during the Metacrisis. He was a good deal more Human than Time Lord. He could even go so far to say he was not unlike the Gallifreyans before the discovery of the Untempered Schism. Still his DNA was different enough from Rose’s that reproduction was nearly impossible.

He had to start learning how to avoid that word at all costs.

“How?” He asked numbly. Rose let out a breathless laugh.

“When a man and a woman love each other very much…”

“I got that bit, thanks.” The Doctor rubbed at his eyes.

“What are we going to do?” Rose asked in a small voice. She had sat down beside him on the floor, her legs tucked into her chest and chin resting on her knees. She looked so small and so childlike in that moment. He wanted to reach out to comfort her, but he wasn’t completely sure if that was what she needed at the moment. The Doctor scratched at the back of his neck, if only to give his hands something to do, and let out a noisy breath of air.

“You’re the one that’s pregnant.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Rose was right, as she so often was. He was all for bodily autonomy; whatever Rose wanted to do it would be the final decision. But was a family something she wanted. A family with him? Would the pregnancy even be safe for Rose? Could he help her if something went wrong? What if she died and the baby lived? Could he handle being a father all on his own? Did he even want a family? Was he ready to let himself be open and vulnerable once more? He failed at being a father the first time around, would he fail again? What if his family was ripped from him, tearing his heart out with them? Would he be able to endure it? And if he said no to wanting a family and Rose ultimately terminated the pregnancy would she resent him? Would she kick him out of her life, breaking his heart into a million pieces? Could he survive any of these scenarios?

“I need a coffee.” He jumped up onto unsteady legs and started bounding towards the kitchen. The urge to run further than the kitchen washed over him. He wanted to run as far away as possible, but he resisted. He wasn’t that man anymore, no matter what that sinister little voice at the back of his head tried to tell him. He wouldn’t – couldn’t – leave Rose. Not now, not ever. He forced his feet to a halt, nearly toppling over again.

“You coming?” He asked, hoping she couldn’t hear the tremble in his voice. The Doctor turned and saw Rose getting up on her feet.

“I could definitely use a coffee.” Rose sighed, then she paused. “Can I drink coffee while I’m…” She couldn’t seem to finish her sentence. She merely pointed to her belly instead.

“Well, one 8-ounce cup wouldn’t hurt. Or 4-ounces of coffee flavoured ice-cream or frozen yogurt, or 12-ounces of cola. Just stay away from those new Vitex energy drinks. Those things can…”

“Okay, I get it! Go easy on the coffee.” Rose patted him on the shoulder as she passed. “Blimey, it’s been a while since you’ve gone on one of those sorts of rambles." The Doctor scratched at the back of his neck.

“I suppose I’m just sort of… well… nervous.” His mouth shut with an audible click as Rose’s eyes went wide with shock.

“I can’t believe you just said that.” She smiled at him. The Doctor blinked several times; had there been a Weeping Angel in the room he would have been taken in moments.

“Me neither.” He let out a breathless chuckle, “I guess Donna was a better influence on me than I thought she was.”

“You’ve definitely come a long way.” Rose gently cupped his cheek and drew him into a kiss he readily accepted, but it ended far to soon for his liking.

“Now I believe you promised me coffee.” She grinned at him.

“You better wash your hands after handling that stick you weed all over.” The Doctor scrunched his nose at it, then remembering one of those hands was just touching his cheek he wiped his face against his shoulder. He loved Rose to bits, but he didn’t exactly want any traces of urine on his face either. Rose just shook her head fondly at him, then grinned wickedly.

“The wee wee stick?” Rose laughed as she held the wee little stick up and waved it at him, the entire situation making her a little hysterical. He made a gentle grab at her wrist and pushed her hand lightly back down to her side to get the offending item out of his face. He swallowed down the laugh that was threatening to escape him.

Ignoring all the protests her body made, Rose sped up her movements. The water had soaked through their clothes making them heavy. Rose was grateful the Doctor wasn’t wearing his large wool overcoat today. Still, he seemed to be wearing at least three shirts under his suit jacket. A laser bolt whipped past her head singeing her hair on it’s way past. She kept going.

As Rose rounded yet another corner, she heard the tell-tale creak of the TARDIS doors opening behind her. Rose summoned up every last bit of her energy and dragged the Doctor’s wet, limp body through the wooden police box doors that she kicked closed on her way past. Her arms felt like they were about to give out; the Doctor was deceptively heavy despite how skinny he was. Images of last Christmas flew through her mind as she gently laid the Doctor down onto the metal grating and collapsed in a wet heap beside him.

Thoughts started racing through Rose’s mind. Did he succumb to another healing coma? Was he about to start regenerating on her?  Her hands were still shaking when she pressed her fingers against his neck.

A cold sense of dread came over her.

She couldn’t find either of his pulses.

The urge to panic was strong, but Rose somehow fought it. She gripped the grating below her and took a second to ground herself. She was inside the TARDIS. She was safe. The TARDIS had equipment she could use to help him. Rose grabbed the small first aid kit that was in a small cubby under the main console. There had to be something in there to help him.

Rose growled in frustration when all she found were bandages of varying sizes and other medical implements that would be of no discernible help at the moment. She stared into the box for a moment, her mind racing furiously. Could she somehow fashion the metal tongue depressors into one of those things doctors used to shock a person back to life?

The sonic! Surely that thing had a setting that could shock him! Wait, no. The Doctor burned the thing out frying the ship controls and it was now a twisted bit of metal and ceramic. The TARDIS would need another hour or more to construct a new one.

CPR! She knew how to do that. Might be somewhat different for someone with two hearts, but Rose had no other choice. She gasped in as much air into her lungs as she could and was just leaning over to start mouth to mouth resuscitation.

The air all left her in a rush and a cry of alarm when she spotted movement beside her. She turned her head to look and was stunned to see the Doctor standing here. Except this wasn’t another Doctor, but a hologram.

Her stomach dropped. This couldn’t be happening. Not again. The Doctor wasn’t dead! He couldn’t be! Rose wasn’t sure she could listen to a good-bye message from this Doctor too!

“This is Emergency Programme Five,” The hologram intoned.

“Okay, not the same Programme,” Rose muttered, unsure how she felt about it.

“Now Rose, listen to me as I haven’t got much time. If this message has been activated, I must have been shot with Vargol energy. Even a glancing blow can be fatal to a Time Lord. But the TARDIS is indicating I’m not quite dead yet so there’s still a chance of saving me. I’m willing to bet you grabbed the white med kit,” Rose glanced at the box she grabbed which was indeed the one the holographic Doctor was talking about, “unfortunately there’s nothing in there that can save me right now. And the TARDIS isn't detecting my sonic screwdriver either."

Rose bit back a scream of frustration. Even in holographic form he was still Captain Bloody Obvious.

“Now, I know that isn’t very encouraging news, but it’s not a critique on your ability to save me. What you need is the red box.”

Rose startled when a smaller red med box that she’d never seen before dropped from underneath the console with a loud bang.

“Quickly grab the device inside the box and follow the simple instructions.” The hologram took a deep breath in and continued in a much softer voice, “You’ve got this Rose. I believe in you. There’s no one else in the universe I trust more than you.” The hologram gave her an encouraging smile.

Bolstered by the praise, Rose snatched up the box and opened it, finding what appeared to be an Epi-Pen inside. Rose had seen one of these before when one of her workmates accidentally bit into a peanut butter sandwich and had a terrible reaction and had to be whisked away to hospital. The markings on the device were all written in interconnected circles and lines that Rose recognized as the Doctor’s native language, but the accompanying diagrams were simple to follow. She yanked off the green safety cap and jabbed the mauve end into the Doctor’s thigh.

The next several seconds felt like hours to Rose. She heard the hiss of the medication flowing out of the device and the click of the needle retracting. More seconds ticked by without any change.

“Don’t you dare do this to me, Doctor!” Rose sobbed, the earlier panic resurfacing again.

The Doctor suddenly sat bolt upright gasping for breath. Rose tossed the medical device away and quickly steadied him.

"Shh, it's okay." Rose soothed, easing his head onto her lap. The Doctor’s eyes darted around wildly, his pupils blown wide open. Rose just held him while he tried to get his bearings, gently carding her fingers through his hair. Eventually his breathing evened out and his eyes slipped closed. He lay still for a moment.

Most of the adrenaline in Rose's body had receded, but she still had enough energy to lightly thump the Doctor’s chest. He flinched.

"Oi! What was that for?" His voice was a bit raspy.

"You scared me. I nearly lost you. If it hadn’t been for Emergency Programme Five I…”

The Doctor’s eyes slipped closed again.

“Five? Oh, that’s a nasty one.” he shuddered, and Rose wasn’t sure if it was him remembering the recording he made for the programme or the medicine she just gave him. She ran her fingers through his hair once more in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. The Doctor sighed and leaned into her touch. “It’s not as bad as Emergency Programme Sixteen, though. That one is if --”

“Doctor, stop talking.” Rose interrupted, “I thought you just died on me. I don’t need to know how many other ways…” the words got lodged in her throat as Rose suddenly started to choke back tears. The Doctor slowly sat himself up and pulled her into his arms.

“No, no, no, no, no! Rose, you didn’t let me finish.” She pulled out of the hug, looking at him incredulously. Was this moron even listening to her? Did that Vag… whatever energy scramble what little brain cells he had left? The git even had a smile on his face as he struggled to his feet and started to work the console. Another hologram popped into view.

“This is Emergency Programme Sixteen. Alright, first of all, don’t panic! Okay, maybe panic a little, as this is truly an emergency. Rose, we are completely and utterly buggered and the situation is completely dire. We’re out of milk.”

Rose just stared at the flickering hologram that stood there with a wide-eyed, panicked expression on its face.

“How the hell is that a life or death situation?” Rose asked as she got to her feet and stomped over to the flesh and blood Doctor, just barely resisting the urge to knock him unconscious once more.

“Well… last time we ran out you gave me this, this glare that I thought would make me regenerate on the spot! You, Rose Tyler, are scarier than your mother when there’s no milk for your tea or cereal.” The Doctor shuddered again and this time it seemed to catch him off guard. As Rose took a closer look at him she could tell just how much he was leaning on the console for balance, but he was still smiling at her. It wasn’t his full megawatt smile, she could still see the pain behind his eyes. Still, Rose smiled back.

“You knobhead,” she shook her head at him affectionately. “Are you alright, though?”

The Doctor opened his mouth and closed it again. Rose suspected his usual “I’m always alright” was just at the tip of his tongue; but he seemed to swallow that down.

“I will be,” he answered softly, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder before taking her hand, “That was a much closer call than normal. Vargol energy it, uh…” he trailed off. Suddenly looking down at the console and started pressing buttons and turning knobs that Rose knew didn’t do much besides keep his hands occupied while he was deep in thought.

“Would you have regenerated?” The Doctor stilled at Rose’s question. Silence stretched on for several seconds as he seemed to struggle for words once again.

“No.”

The single syllable filled Rose with dread as the reality of the situation fully hit her.

“What if that energy hit me?” The question was out of her mouth before she could think twice. The Doctor looked at her gravely.

“It would have instantly killed you.”

Rose had experienced many near misses in her time travelling with the Doctor. But somehow this one, knowing that this adventure could have ended with one or both of them dying… it hit her harder than she expected. Perhaps it was because the Doctor had died once already since she met him but came back as the man standing in front of her. He seemed so indestructible. Now she knew for sure he wasn’t. There were things out there that could kill him for good.

Rose desperately tried to keep her composure but the extreme jumble of emotions flowing through her made that impossible. She wasn’t even sure if she was about to start laughing or burst into tears.

She wasn’t sure who moved first, but she suddenly found herself wrapped in a tight hug. The Doctor clung to her as tightly as she clung to him. Hearing the Doctor’s hearts beating under her ear began to calm her. She felt him press his lips to her hair over and over again. Rose tilted her head to look up at him, but her eyes fluttered closed when he kissed her forehead, her cheeks and nose, then finally her lips.

That was different.

Good different.

The kiss was quick and light just like all the others the Doctor peppered across her face, but he kept his forehead pressed to hers, his lips just mere millimeters away from hers. Rose closed the distance again catching his bottom lip between hers. This spurred him into action and a moment later Rose found herself lifted up onto the console as he began to kiss her in earnest. She couldn’t stop the low moan she made when the tip of his tongue traced across the seam of her lips and she opened her mouth eagerly for him. The fantasies Rose had about snogging the Doctor all paled in comparison to the real thing. His clever tongue teased and explored every corner of the inside of her mouth. If she wasn’t already sitting she was sure her legs would have given out by now.

But it all abruptly ended as the Doctor shuddered violently once more. Rose locked her arms and legs around him to help keep him steady.

“Sorry,” he panted in her ear, “side effect of the shot you gave me.”

“We’re also still soaking wet,” Rose giggled.

“Thanks to your quick thinking,” he winked at her. “We should still probably get out of these wet clothes,” This time it was Rose who shuddered as one of the Doctor’s hands had wormed its way under her t-shirt and brushed his fingers over the bare skin of her lower back.

“Need help with that?” Rose leaned back and gave him that tongue touched grin. But her concern was also genuine as the Doctor continued to tremble in her arms.

“I’m going to need to sleep for a few hours to fully recover,” the Doctor smiled self-deprecatingly, “so I imagine it’s not going to be as sexy as you’re thinking.” He playfully tilted his pelvis into hers, and Rose didn’t feel anything that resembled arousal on his part. Still, Rose’s jaw dropped. The Doctor seemed to sober up a bit and looked at her with the same expression she saw on the hologram he summoned earlier.

“I didn’t mean to… the shot you gave me must’ve lowered my inhibitions a bit! I mean I normally stop myself from acting on or saying these sorts of things, no matter how much I want… cos I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself from feeling... I hope I didn’t overstep any boundaries you had in place or any--” The Doctor was rambling, his face getting redder by the second. Rose silenced him by pressing her lips to his.

“I’ve wanted this too.” she smiled at him.

“Really?” His voice was still several octaves higher than normal.

“So you think I would have gone through all this trouble to save your life if you didn’t mean something to me?”

“Well, you do have a track record of being wonderfully resourceful and heroic. And you have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve met before. Well, metaphorically at least. I once knew this --”

Rose employed her new favourite method of shutting him up again.

“Don’t get me wrong, Rose, you coming to my rescue, saving me from the brink of permanent death,” the Doctor pressed his lips to hers in the sweetest kiss Rose ever had in her life, “it just makes me realise just how much I…” words failed him again.

“I love you, too.” Rose supplied the words the Doctor couldn’t seem to find and he smiled gratefully at her before kissing her again. Another shudder ripped through him.

“Right, time to get you to bed.” Rose pushed at his shoulders to get him to back up a step and she hopped off the console.

“Better get the TARDIS into the Vortex first.” The Doctor reached for the controls, but Rose could see he was slower and more clumsy than usual. Rose felt a hum at the back of her mind, one that she knew came from the TARDIS. Rose found herself reaching for the controls herself and within moments they were whisked away into the Vortex. The Doctor stared at her in awe.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“Me neither,” Rose pressed her hand against the glass casing of the Time Rotor and the Doctor smiled in understanding.

“Right, bed!” Rose pointed at the Doctor.

“Are you going to tuck me in?” He smirked at her.

“If I have to,” Rose affected a exasperated sigh as she took the Doctor by the arm and started leading him deeper into the ship. Before long they came upon a door that Rose had only seen a handful of times but never actually entered: the Doctor’s bedroom. The large wooden door opened for them. The room was massive, but it looked like the Doctor only really used a small portion of it. There was what looked like a desk, but it was hard to tell because it was covered in books and loose papers and cobbled together gadgets. A couple of his ties and one of his oxfords were haphazardly tossed over the back of the chair. Rose giggled at the sight of his wardrobe where five identical brown suits were hung up alongside different shirts. And was that a blue one? Oh, she had to see him in that!

Rose thought she might have to rifle through the drawers to find him some pyjamas, but her eyes landed on the bed. Resting on top of the deep blue duvet were two sets of matching silk pyjamas next to a pile of soft looking towels. The TARDIS’s hum entered Rose’s mind once more, this time sounding quite amused with Herself.

This wouldn’t be the first time her and the Doctor ever had to share a sleeping space. Usually though it was on some far flung planet or prison cell. There was the odd occasion where he did stay in her room sitting atop her duvet until she fell asleep, but he was always gone when Rose woke up.

But the idea of sharing the Doctor’s bed felt the most intimate. This was his personal space where guests were rarely invited. Even Rose had never been in here and she was his best mate - perhaps even more.

Rose tried to quiet down the butterflies as she stepped up onto the raised platform the bed was on. She just barely caught the Doctor as he tripped up the step and got him sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed.

“Jokes aside, Rose, I do really need your help,” The Doctor sighed sounding completely spent, “I’m about to lapse into a healing coma. It’ll probably last around twelve hours or so.”

“Right, better get you comfy then.” Rose knelt down and started working on undoing the laces of his trainers as he grabbed one of the towels and started on drying his hair. With his shoes and socks done, Rose helped him struggle out of his jacket and shirts.

“Seriously, why so many shirts?” she groaned. The Doctor shrugged.

“Couldn’t decide on which one to wear, so just put them all on.” Rose shook her head fondly at him as she helped him into his pyjama top. Thankfully it had buttons so it was easy to slip his arms through and do it up.

Now for the tricky bit. The Doctor even looked a bit red in the face at the prospect of him getting changed out of his trousers and pants.

“Are they soaked right through?” Rose asked timidly.

“‘Fraid so,” the Doctor nodded, “right down to my undercrackers. Hold on, maybe…” He grabbed the towel he’d been drying his hair with and draped it across his lap covering nearly down to his knees. He undid the clasp and zip and with great care and effort pulled the whole lot down past his bum while keeping the towel in place. “Okay, now grab the cuffs and pull.” Rose followed his instructions while he clung onto the towel, hoping everything would come off in one go. Rose had to bite down a laugh when she saw that he had been wearing banana print undies. She tossed them into the corner where the rest of his clothes ended up.

“Reminds me of when mum and I had to dress you after you regenerated,” Rose sighed, “never knew old you was a boxers man until then.” The Doctor chuckled but Rose saw the flush blossoming on his cheeks and down his neck.

“Often thought about my underoos, then?”

“Jack and I sometimes speculated when you weren’t around. He thought you would wear thongs.”

“Course he did…” The Doctor shuddered again.

Right, no more procrastinating. Rose grabbed the pyjama bottoms and bunched them up like she did when she put on stockings. She carefully got his feet through and started pulling them up. The Doctor met her halfway and together they finished getting him dressed, although Rose averted her eyes out of courtesy when they got to his hips.

Another shudder ripped through the Doctor’s body and Rose could tell he was just moments away from collapsing on her. She quickly walked to the head of the bed and turned down the covers and got the pillows in place before returning to where the Doctor was sitting.

“Up you get.” She offered him her hands and the he stood up on wobbly legs. He shuffled the short distance and flopped onto the bed and Rose helped get his feet under the covers before pulling them up to just under his chin.

“There you are. All snug as a bug.” Rose couldn’t help but ruffle his hair and the Doctor smiled up at her.

“Will you stay?” He asked. The question cracked Rose’s chest right open. He sounded so vulnerable. How could she say no, especially given everything that happened that day. Plus, Rose was exhausted and the Doctor’s bed could easily fit the both of them with plenty of room to spare and the TARDIS had laid out a set of pyjamas for her as well. Rose leaned over and kissed the Doctor’s forehead.

“I’ll be right back.”

Rose located the Doctor’s en-suite and quickly dried her hair and changed into the wonderfully soft pyjamas. She also laughed when she saw a package of makeup remover wipes sitting amongst the myriad of hair products scattered on the countertop. Most of her makeup had washed away already, but it still felt refreshing on her face. Rose then noticed a brand new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste sitting next to the sink. The Doctor once told her because of something different about the enamel on his teeth that he actually never needed to brush them.

There was only reason it was in here then. Rose patted the wall and she heard the TARDIS hum contentedly in her mind.

“Thanks.” Rose knew she probably didn’t need to say it out loud, but she’d developed a habit of speaking to Her. Sometimes she wondered what kind of voice the TARDIS would have if the Time Lords had given Her one.

Rose finished up her bedtime routine also borrowing one of the Doctor’s many hair brushes (and oh, she was definitely swiping this brush from him) and tying her hair into a loose ponytail before returning to the Doctor. She expected him to be asleep  by now, but he cracked his eyes open as she approached.

As soon as she was under the covers the Doctor wrapped his arms around her. Hugging him was always wonderful, but in this setting, in his bed…

“Thanks for today.” His voice was slightly slurred with exhaustion, but Rose could hear the sincerity in his voice. He touched the side of her face and shuffled a bit closer and kissed her softly.

“Anytime.” Rose smiled at him, but he was already fast asleep. The sound of the Doctor’s steady breathing lulled her to sleep not long after.

An untold number of hours later, Rose was woken up from a sound sleep by the Doctor’s urgent voice.

That wasn’t to say he didn’t want to convince Rose not to go, but he also understood that her role was crucial to this mission succeeding. She was by far the best negotiator UNIT had and the Doctor was convinced she stopped a good handful of wars from breaking out. Still, on the morning of her departure, he gave her the tightest hug possible and told her to do the Earth proud. And after a kiss that was far too short in his opinion, Rose was deployed on her mission.  

Being alone, however, was not something he was particularly good at. He found himself accepting Jackie’s invitation to dinner one night, but all her fretting didn’t help his state of mind one bit. Jackie strangely didn’t seem to be worried about Rose’s safety since she had with her Jake and Amy – who just happened to be Dr. Williams’ wife who had recently replaced Mickey on the team. It was the Doctor Jackie fretted over. He was barraged by questions about how he was doing, and Jackie kept insisting on taking his temperature and forcing chicken noodle soup down his throat due to a flu that wasn’t even affecting him.

In short: he was certain Jackie was going to mother him to death if he hadn’t gotten out of there.

He went back to the flat after that, but without Rose there it was an extremely lonely place. It was too quiet without her voice, or the sounds of her pottering around. He tried to sleep in their bed, but it felt entirely too empty and cold. Her scent lingered on the sheets, but that only punctuated the fact that she wasn’t there to hold him. The idea of changing the linins crossed his mind, but they were already quite fresh, and he knew his keen senses would still detect her imprint.

Besides, he still didn’t need to sleep as much as a bog-standard human. He could just nap in his armchair in the lounge until Rose returned.

His one little bit of solace was the growing piece of TARDIS coral he had planted in an old fish tank he found in a junkyard off of Totters Lane – a place that held so much nostalgia in his heart and one he was amazed to find existing in this parallel world. The coral was still too young for proper telepathic communication, but it’s hum in the back of his mind helped keep some of the loneliness at bay. He kept himself busy caring for the coral, thoroughly cleaning the tank, and adjusting the pH of the soil for optimum growth. The Doctor would ramble on, regardless if the coral understood his words or not. He talked about how TARDISes were grown back on Gallifrey, the exact molecular makeup of the soil he was spreading into the bottom of the tank, and how the coral would find nourishment in the plant matter he spread on top of the soil. Hours went by without him noticing and if it weren’t for the reminder app Rose had installed on his phone he wouldn’t have remembered to eat regularly since he was so engrossed with working on the coral. He couldn’t help but smile fondly at the contents of the fridge when he finally stopped for a break. Rose had stocked it up with his favourites before she left.

That tiny little gesture meant more to him than he expected. He found it was all the little seemingly inconsequential things they did for each other that made the most impact on their relationship. While eating, he began to think up ways he could reciprocate Rose’s kindness in this matter.

After another terribly restless night, he had finally received a call from Pete that Rose’s zeppelin had landed with everyone all safe and sound. Still, his anxiousness wouldn’t be eliminated until he saw her again.

The debriefing seemed to be taking forever as did the total radio silence during the mission. He’d been sitting in their car waiting for her for nearly two hours now. There was nothing stopping him from walking right into UNIT HQ and meeting her outside the conference room, but he wanted to surprise her by driving her home. He had parked in a spot where Rose would be able to see him right away.

The minutes ticked by slowly. The Doctor had already gone through all the radio stations five times over trying to find something to listen to that was somewhat calming. He was thinking of cracking open the book he brought with him, but as soon as he went to reach for it there was a flash of something red in his peripheral vision. Quickly looking over, he saw Amy exiting the building, her long ginger hair glinting in the morning sun. The Doctor’s heartbeat picked up. If Amy was here, then surely…

His heart leapt as Rose emerged next followed by Jake and the Doctor couldn’t help but mirror Rose’s wide smile as she and Amy seemed to be in the middle of an animated conversation. But then, the Doctor realised he had a problem on his hands: Rose was walking in the complete opposite direction he had expected her too! Perhaps Jake or Amy had offered her a ride home. It was certainly possible as the Doctor had originally dropped Rose off, and she didn’t have a car there to drive.

There was only one thing for it. He honked the horn. Four little beeps. None of them paid attention and kept walking. Desperately he leaned on the horn.

That got their attention. There seemed to be some confusion amongst them as to where the noise had come from. Then Amy locked eyes with him and sighed dramatically.

“Shoulda known it was you, ya numpty!” She called out, her Scottish brough coming out stronger than normal. Jake also turned and laughed, nudging Rose in the right direction.

Rose’s face broke out into the widest grin the Doctor had ever seen. After a rushed farewell to her friends, she sprinted to the car and leapt into the passenger’s seat. The angle was quite awkward, but Rose wasted no time in throwing her arms around the Doctor and holding him tight.

“Did you miss me?” She asked, breathlessly.

“Nah.” The Doctor laughed.

“You’re such a liar!” Rose chuckled smacking his shoulder before pulling back a bit to see the cheeky grin on his face.

“Yup!” He nodded before pulling her back towards him and kissing her soundly on the lips. The feeling of her soft, warm lips moulding around his chased all his anxiety away. Rose responded enthusiastically turning his somewhat chaste kiss into a full-blown snog. The Doctor, forgetting they were in the front seat of a relatively small car, started encouraging Rose to move to sit on his lap, but in so doing accidentally leaned on the horn once more. They broke apart with a gasp and a hearty laugh when they remembered where they were.

The laughter of two other people broke into their little bubble, and they turned to see Amy and Jake standing nearby. Jake let out a loud wolf whistle while Amy made mock gagging sounds and cried for them to get a room.

“What do you think? Shall we get a room?” Rose asked, her voice pitched low in a way that stirred something deep in the Doctor’s gut. He leaned back over and nudged his nose against hers.

“Well, this car is sort of roomy if you ignore the fact tha—”

Rose cut him off the best way she knew how by sealing her lips over his. The Doctor cried out in surprise when she reached over and relined his seat as far back as it would go but giggled in delight when she did the same with hers.

“Anyone could walk by you know.” The Doctor laughed, not making any move to stop Rose from unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt and getting a head start on giving him a love bite.

“Don’t care,” she sighed, “I just missed you so much.” This time, the Doctor did gently halt her movements. Rose grunted in protest but moved so she could look at him properly.

The Doctor said nothing for a long moment as he reached out and smoothed Rose’s hair from her face.

“I missed you too,” he murmured bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing her knuckles gently. “Let’s go home.” Rose nodded before she reluctantly sat up and fixed her seat. The Doctor however stayed reclined.

“Unless you want to ravish me right here and now in this rather public car park. You know I never realised you were such an exhibitionist.” He smirked at her. Rose once again reached for his seat controls and sat him up.

“Care for the grand tour?” Rose asked, unable to bear the awkward silence anymore. It was rare for him to be so quiet for so long. He was probably soaking up everything around him. A small smile broke across the Doctor’s face.

“Might as well. I don’t fancy getting lost in such a large place with its labyrinth of hallways.” He adjusted the large duffle bag hanging from his shoulder containing all his worldly goods; a couple changes of clothes purchased for him in Norway and a handful of toiletries including a blue toothbrush and an alarming number of hair products. Rose took a good long look at him. He seemed so calm. She didn’t expect him to be. The Doctor never liked being in one place for awfully long, a trait Rose shared with him. Now he didn’t have a TARDIS to carry them through space and time, and there was no guarantee the bit of coral he received from the other Doctor would even grow. That made Rose wonder.

“You’re really okay with all of this?” She asked, her voice sounding smaller than she wanted it to.

“Absolutely,” The Doctor nodded, “As large and as lovely as the Manor was, I’d much rather the peace and quiet with you. Even if there isn’t enough room in here to swing a cat – and someone really ought to call the RSPCA or whatever this universe calls it if that happens – I’m happy. Genuinely happy.” He smiled softly down at her, “I haven’t had a place to properly call home in centuries.” 

Rose was slightly taken aback by that.

“What about the TARDIS?” The Doctor’s smile waned slightly at her question. He tugged on his ear anxiously.

“I miss the Old Girl deeply. Not having Her in my head feels…” His hand migrated to the back of his neck and he scratched at it before clearing his throat and shoving his hands in his pockets, “anyway, ‘home’ for me was really starting to be ‘wherever Rose is’. So here you are, and if you’ll have me…” he trailed off again, that same fragile expression crossing his face that he had back on that Norwegian beach. Without even realising she had even told her body to start moving, Rose found herself throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tight. The duffel bag fell to the floor with a dull thud and the Doctor returned the fierce hug.

“I’m never letting you go again,” Rose whispered into the side of his neck. The Doctor shivered at the feel of her breath against his skin and squeezed her tighter, “I promised you I’d be with you forever and I meant it, I still mean it.” She felt more than heard the Doctor’s contented hum as he softly kissed her temple, and then her cheek. The Doctor loosened his hold on her but before Rose could mourn the loss of his warm embrace, he framed her face with his hands and pressed his lips to hers.

Heat pooled in her belly, despite the chaste way he kissed her. But it only remained that way for the span of a few heartbeats. Soon the tip of his tongue was probing at the seam of her lips and there was no stopping their acceleration from there. Rose’s brain had gone blissfully blank as he went on kissing her. Before she knew it, he had her pressed up against the wall with his hips keeping her pinned in place as he continued to plunder her mouth. Her lungs began to burn with the need for air and she tugged sharply at his hair which she had been mindlessly running her fingers through. Their lips broke away from each other with a gasp and a loud, wet pop. Rose petted his hair far more gently this time as they both fought to control their breathing. He looked deliciously rumpled, his hair was an absolute mess and he gazed down at her with half-lidded eyes.

“I guess I can add ‘loss of respiratory bypass’ to the list of things that’s different about me.” the Doctor chuckled breathlessly, his voice an octave deeper and more gravelly than normal. He leant his forehead against hers. “But then, you, Rose Tyler, have always been able to take my breath away.”

“You’re such a sap!” Rose groaned as she rolled her eyes.

“You love me anyways.” He chuckled, punctuating the sentence with a quick peck to her lips. It was at that moment Rose had the sudden realisation that she hadn’t yet said those three little big words to him since they arrived in this universe. It wasn’t that she doubted her feelings for him, her brain was still trying to come to terms that the Doctor split himself into two separate people, but they were still the same person. She missed the Doctor so much, but he was also the one holding her right now. How could she say those words to one of them while the other had to go on without her?

But Rose also couldn’t deny how this new, new, new Doctor had captured her heart like none before him. He was actually able to voice how he felt and didn’t hold back when it came to physical affection even if she hadn’t voiced her feelings for him. For goodness sake, the man just backed her up against the wall and snogged her senseless like she always wanted him to do! Rose’s heart overflowed with absolute love for him. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently, pouring every single ounce of love she felt for him into it. The Doctor just melted into the kiss and Rose could feel herself smiling into it.

“I love you too, my Doctor.” She sighed happily. His returning smile was the brightest she’d ever seen, and his eyes sparkled with genuine happiness. He looked so much younger and freer in that moment and Rose couldn’t help but kiss him again.

“Now, my love, I believe you promised me the grand tour of our home. Hm!” He giggled high in his throat, “My love. Ooh, I do like the sound of that. My love. Yup, definitely calling you that from here on out.” The Doctor winked at Rose before he stepped back and offered her the crook of his arm which she readily took. Her heart fluttered at his words, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the endearment he was clearly very keen on or the fact he called this tiny flat their home. Rose bit her lip as she tried to figure out where to start their little tour. From where they stood near the front door, they could see the kitchen and living room quite clearly. Rose guided him towards the kitchen first.

“Here we have the most modern of kitchens. Note the state-of-the-art appliances,” Rose drawled, gesturing towards her basic toaster and microwave that wouldn’t seem out of place in cheap, student housing, “and a fridge brimming with all the foodstuffs you need.” She opened the door to reveal a half loaf of stale bread, milk that had already gone off and some dubious slices of pizza sitting on a paper plate.

“Incredibly gourmet,” The Doctor noted with a chuckle, but she saw the shock in his eyes. Rose figured he had an idea of what she’d gone through all those years without him, but to actually see the evidence was another thing all together. She closed the fridge door, deciding not to open the freezer and let him see the pints of chocolate ice cream in there. But knowing him, he’d find them eventually and indulge his insane sweet tooth.

“Yeah, I never really ate here.” Rose admitted with a shrug. The more she thought about food the more she realised just how hungry she was. Now that she had begun eating proper meals again, her body once again started alerting her to its hunger. Looking back on it, Rose was horrified just how much she got by on so little food and sleep. At one point not too long ago, she could have gotten a blood test and the results probably would have determined her blood had transformed into pure liquid caffeine. It was a wonder she was never sent to the hospital.

“Looks like we’re going to have to go shopping.” The Doctor stated in a voice that was far happier than Rose would have expected.

“You? Grocery shopping?” Rose looked at him incredulously.

“That’s one of your funny human traditions isn’t it? I mean, you could always have things delivered to you, so you’d theoretically never, ever have to leave your house again. But there’s just something about the act of hunting and gathering that calls to the primitive part of your brains. Sure, now all you get are things like frozen fish fingers and custard and maybe the occasional vegetable, but it’s the principle of the thing.” Even though he was thoroughly insulting her species, Rose couldn’t help but laugh. She missed the Doctor’s little tirades against the human race. There was always something oddly comforting about it as she always saw his fondness for her kind.

“Well, it’s going to have to be delivery today for tea tonight, I’m afraid. I’m not up going hunting right now. But speaking of tea – the drink this time – we will need to get milk for tomorrow unless you’ve suddenly started taking yours black or have suddenly built up an immunity to spoiled milk,” she cajoled, catching the curious gleam in the Doctor’s eye as he glanced at the fridge, “which I highly advise you to not check out. I still get occasional flashbacks of Mickey getting sick all over the kitchen floor after drinking spoiled milk on a dare, and I will not allow something like that to happen again. There’s a newsagent’s just at the corner we can go to.” Rose blinked as her words caught up with her. Could it really be so easy to have such a domestic life with the Doctor, a man who once had such a disdain for such things. But of course, he’d have a way to keep things interesting.

“Or…” The Doctor started rummaging around the pocket of his blue suit jacket, he muttered to himself as he dug around deeper until he practically had his entire arm into the bigger on the inside pocket. Rose idly wondered how much he actually carried around with him at all times. He laughed in triumph when he pulled out what looked like a large bottle full of glue with strange colourful writing on the label, “We can use this! Concentrated milk drops. Just one tiny drop is enough for a great cup of tea! Well, technically it’s not ‘milk’ as you know it. By that I mean it didn’t come from an Earth cow. Well… it sort of resembles a cow at any rate. Kind of. If you reeeaaaaallly squint. But it still tastes a lot like milk. Donna couldn’t tell the difference and she was picky about the milk she used.” Rose felt a stab in her heart at the mention of Donna, especially at the wistful way the Doctor said her name. He weighed the bottle of the pseudo-dairy product in his hand seemingly lost in thought. Rose gently took it from him and offered him a warm smile and he nodded in understanding.

“Do I need to put this in the fridge?” Rose asked, hoping that if she just stayed casual about his mention of Donna it would help keep him calm. The Doctor shook his head.

“Nah, the bottle… it uh… keeps it cold.” He sighed as he rubbed at his eye. Rose put the bottle on the counter next to her tin of tea bags (the one thing that was always kept full in her kitchen) and leaned against it. The Doctor seemed to be lost in thought. Rose couldn’t blame him; she saw for herself just how close he and Donna were. And she was so thankful that he had friends like Donna and Martha who kept him going when she was separated from him. Rose only wished she could have gotten to know them better herself.

Rose reached into her jacket pocket and carefully pulled out a tiny souvenir she received from Donna from their celebration on the TARDIS. It was a polaroid of everyone: her, her mum, Mickey, Sarah-Jane, Martha, Donna, Jack and both Doctors. They were all smiling and hamming it up for the camera. She laughed at the memory of the camera falling off it’s precarious perch on top of one of the coral struts right after the photo was taken.

Without comment Rose hung it up on her fridge alongside a few photos of her family and Mickey. The Doctor came close and hugged her from behind.

“She never wanted us to forget.” Rose heard the catch in the Doctor’s voice. On their way back from Norway, the Doctor explained what his other self had to do in order to save Donna’s life. The Metacrisis would have burned her brain up if he hadn’t taken away her memories. Rose was simply happy Donna had a good family to go back to, even if her mother was a bit intense. Rose’s only regret was not getting to know Wilf better. He was a kind, gentle soul who was willing to stand up to the Daleks, even if all he had was a paint gun. Rose covered the Doctor’s hands with hers and gave them a gentle squeeze.

“And we never will.” She vowed. The Doctor let out a shaky breath and kissed her temple before releasing her. A rumble in her stomach brought her back to the here and now.

“Hungry?” The Doctor asked. Rose wasn’t the least bit surprised he heard her stomach. He once told her long ago he had to tune out a lot of ambient noises as his hearing was that keen, but of course he could hear every little sound she made when he wanted to. Apparently that ability wasn’t lost in the Metacrisis along with one of his hearts.

“Starving!” She reached over and grabbed a small pile of takeout menus and started to study them, discarding the pizza one immediately as the sight in her fridge put her off it for the time being. “What are you hungry for?”

“Well…” She glanced back up at him, seeing if he was going to finish that sentence, but the smirk on his face along with the mischievous glint in his eye made her belly swoop. It took all her willpower not to launch herself at him right then and there. They had always flirted in the past, but this was a whole new level! Just how much self-restraint did he have back then? Rose pointedly cleared her throat and whacked him on the shoulder with the takeout menus.

“I meant food. Are you going to be like this now?” Rose chuckled.

“Like what?” Just like that the Doctor’s face transformed into a total mask of innocence that she didn’t buy for one second.

“Like such a bloke!”

“Well, last I checked I’m still a bloke. The halted regeneration and Metacrisis didn’t change that.” He shrugged.

“Hold on,” Rose blinked at him, “are you really gonna tell me that you could’ve regenerated into a woman?”

“Does that bother you?”

“No, not at all… just I wasn’t expecting that. Were you ever…?” Rose tried to imagine what the Doctor would have been like had he been a woman. The Doctor would still be attractive to her, of that she was certain.

“As far as I remember I was always male. Memory does get patchy in a few places though. You have to understand that gender for Time Lords was never a big deal anyway, especially when looming became all the rage. Just a tiny genetic sample was all that was needed, and it could all be rearranged so a result was a healthy Time Tot.”

“Time Tot?” The laugh that Rose let out could never be described as dignified, but the Doctor stared indignantly at her.

“So, the whole genderfluid thing you’re not really phased by, but when I tell you what we called our children? Rose Tyler, I have never been so insulted in my entire life!” He finally smiled to let her know he was joking, and for several minutes they stood in that tiny kitchen laughing until they could barely breathe.

            After finally recollecting themselves, the Doctor swiped the takeout menus out of Rose’s hands. “Right! Food!” Was it Rose’s imagination or was he squinting? He subtly tried to adjust the distance of the menus from his eyes, but in the end muttered something under his breath about ‘rubbish human eyesight’ and pulled his glasses out of his pocket. To Rose’s horror, she found herself biting back a whimper. She had long ago designated those glasses his ‘sexy specs’ but those added to his mussed-up hair due to their snog a few minutes ago did some really interesting things to her insides. It took her a moment to realise the Doctor was speaking again.

            “Uh, what?” Rose asked dumbly when he finished talking, inwardly kicking herself for her inattentiveness. The Doctor shot her a knowing smile.

Damn.

            “I asked if you’re alright with Chinese. There are a couple dishes here that never existed back in our universe that I’d love to try.” He waved the menu in front of her face, a menu she had actually meant to throw out because it was all written in Chinese and she couldn’t understand it.

            “Sure, I’ll give it a go,” She shrugged, “but you’re gonna have to order, because I have no clue how to read any of that.” Rose passed him her mobile. He dialed the number and excitedly spoke to whomever was on the other end - and realised that she’d have no idea what she was going to be eating until it arrived, as he was speaking perfect Mandarin. Rose always knew he could speak millions of languages, but to actually hear him do it was a new one for her. The TARDIS had always translated for her and that included everything he said. But already there were a handful of times she heard him speaking a different language since their arrival in this universe. He spoke Norwegian with the hotel staff, and she heard him talking in his sleep in this strange, lilting language that she suspected was actually Gallifreyan.

Besides, the type of food really didn’t matter to her. Unfamiliar food didn’t put her off like it used to, and she sometimes still craved some of the alien dishes she was introduced to back when she was travelling through time and space.  

After a couple of minutes, he hung up and tossed the phone back to her.

“They’ll have it here in about forty-five minutes. Plenty of time to finish our grand tour.” He removed his glasses and put them back into his pocket before wiggling his fingers at her. She grabbed his hand eagerly and pulled him out of the kitchen. The living room was pretty self-explanatory: sofa, telly, coffee table that also doubled as her desk and dinner table. Rose quickly cleaned up the stacks of paper so they’d have room to eat when the food arrived. The loo was next. The Doctor opened up his duffel bag and tossed all of his toiletries on the countertop next to the sink much to Rose’s chagrin. She made sure they were all stacked neatly and even grabbed him his own cup to keep his toothbrush in. The sight of her stuff next to his just felt so right, like finally the pieces of her life that had been blown to bits were all coming back together.

“Right, spare room next.” Rose announced leading the way. She opened the door to a small and simple bedroom. Just a twin bed covered in steel grey linens and a small desk. “I never really used this room much. Mickey and Jake would sometimes crash here though when they were too tired to travel all the way back home after a long day.”

“So, you and Mickey never…?” The Doctor shrugged, trying to sound casual. Rose could tell he was doing his best to reign in his jealousy. Not that he really had anything to be jealous of in Rose's mind.

“No, we never got back together,” Rose answered honestly, “once the dimension cannon project started in full swing, we just drifted further apart. We were still friends but… it was never the same.”

“I’m sorry.” The Doctor squeezed her shoulder gently, and Rose allowed the small comfort. "He did good in the end though. And I'll tell you one thing: I think he and Martha Jones might ought to have a little chat sometime. It may just be that bit of Donna’s personality in me, but I can just tell. He'll be just fine."

"Yeah, they could bond over embarrassing stories about you." Rose poked him right in the chest as she flashed him her signature tongue touched smile.

"I dread to think." The Doctor shuddered, then he asked, “What about Jake?”

Rose laughed at his question.

“I’m not his type, really not his type.” The Doctor looked genuinely confused.

“But you’re good enough friends that he crashes here sometimes.”

“Yup, that’s true. He’s become one of my closest friends here actually. Still, let’s just say you’re more his type.” Rose winked at him.

“Ah.” The Doctor finally seemed to cotton on. “So, he likes tall, dark and handsome blokes more than sweet, pink and yellow ladies.”

“Exactly!”

“Well, I suppose I can congratulate his taste in men." He preened, "So, is this where I’ll be sleeping?” The Doctor stepped further into the room and went to place his duffel bag onto the bed, but Rose swiftly grabbed it from him. Was he being serious? After the way he kissed her only a few minutes ago Rose thought he’d be more clued into the sleeping arrangements. Or maybe he wasn’t ready for that step yet. They shared a bed in Norway and for the one night they spent in the manor. He had held her in his arms as they fell asleep, and Rose had never felt more content in her life. But she wouldn’t force this decision on him.

“There’s still one more room left on our tour, remember?” She smiled up at him, shouldering his bag which was somehow heavier than she expected. What did he put in there? Rocks? As she stepped up to her bedroom door and reached for the doorknob, Rose felt as if a million butterflies had suddenly taken up residence in her belly. Pushing through her sudden nerves she opened the door.

There wasn’t anything special about her bedroom. The queen-sized bed did take up most of the room along with her small dressing table and wardrobe, but she did try to liven it up a little by stringing a few fairy lights above her bed. She would sometimes pretend they were stars on nights she had a hard time sleeping, and imagined the Doctor was lying next to her telling her stories about the stars above.

Now she didn’t need to imagine his presence anymore if he wanted to share. Rose wanted that more than anything.

“Cozy!” The Doctor grinned, “And that bed looks a lot more comfortable.” There it was again, that coy glint in his eye that made him look far less innocent than he sounded.

“And room enough for two.” Rose bit her lip, hoping he was on the same wavelength as her.

“Is there? Let’s see.” In one swift move that took Rose completely off guard, the Doctor had swept her up in his arms and he tossed her onto the mattress and he lept in after her. Suddenly he was hovering over her on his hands and knees, his face mere inches from hers. His wide, toothy grin filled her vision.

“Hello.” He practically purred, his voice pitched low.

“Hello.” Rose laughed, nearly going cross-eyed trying to see his face clearly since it was so close, but they quickly closed on their own accord as he kissed her. Once again, Rose buried her hands in his hair and let herself get lost within him. He took his time, exploring every corner of her mouth he could find, only pausing to gasp in a breath here and there. Rose couldn’t help but shiver as he drew the tip of his tongue over the ridges of the roof of her mouth. She felt more than heard his chuckle as he deliberately repeated the action just a tad bit slower and this time Rose couldn’t stop the quiet moan that forced its way up her throat.

“Like that, do you?” The Doctor smiled against her lips, “Let’s see where else you like.” He pressed a line of kisses down her jaw before moving onto her neck. Her whole body shuddered as he latched onto the pulse point just below her right ear. His teeth bit into the sensitive flesh just hard enough to sting and he laved his tongue over the same spot to sooth her skin. Heat flooded throughout Rose’s body, suddenly needing more. There were too many layers between them that needed to go. Her hands flew down to the buttons on his jacket and she fumbled for a few seconds before she got it open. She slipped her hands under his shirt and ran her fingertips over his spine. He released her neck with a gasp.

“You’re still colder than me,” Rose noted absently moving her hands over the planes of his back.

“Still, warmer than I was. My blood runs only marginally hotter than it did. Although, maybe it’s about to get hotter.” He grunted, kissing a line down to her clavicle. “Still, I love your warm hands. Feels so nice.”

Rose found a small, raised bit of skin between his shoulder blades, “Ooh, here’s that legendary mole.” She used her nail to draw a circle around it causing him to shudder.

“You mean Cole?”

“You named it?” Rose’s laugh turned into more of a moan as he licked a line from her clavicle to her chin with the tip of his tongue.

“Do not mock Cole the Mole.” He chuckled, nipping at her bottom lip. Rose drew another circle around his mole.

“Anything else of yours have a name?” She smirked at him.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he replied darkly, “Need to get these out of the way first.”

 In a flash, he sat up and removed his jacket and t-shirt. Rose’s hands moved over the newly revealed skin and through his sparse chest hair. He wasn’t as scrawny as he appeared. He had some honest lean muscle on him. His abdominal muscles jumped slightly as she ran her fingers lower and through the wispy hairs just below his navel that disappeared underneath the waistband of his trousers.

“Rose,” The Doctor only managed her name before she hooked her leg over his and used that leverage to roll him onto his back. It was a self-defense move she learned during her training at Torchwood, but she was happy she found a much more pleasant use for it. Clearly stunned by the sudden change of position, he stared dumbly up at her. Rose just chuckled and then grabbed his face and kissed him for all he was worth. The Doctor willingly gave up control to her, merely encouraging her to get closer by pressing his hands gently on her lower back. Before long she too moved onto his neck, causing him to cry out when she nibbled at his Adam’s apple. She explored everywhere she could, focusing on the join between his neck and shoulder. He scrabbled at the zipper on her jacket as if he’d never seen such a thing before. She gently batted his hands away and opened her jacket herself tossing it onto the floor in the general direction of his clothes.

“Shirt too,” he gasped, evidently trying to sound stern, but he couldn’t quite do it. The effect she was having on him was starting to be obvious. She sat back against him, rocking her hips slightly teasing him with the slightest bit of friction. 

“Ngk!” It wasn’t a word in any language Rose was familiar with, but the Doctor clearly got his meaning across as his hands flew to her hips to keep her steady as his breathing became ragged.

 Rose made a show of removing her t-shirt and throwing it aside. His eyes went wide, and his jaw went slack.

“And this is just my frumpy day-to-day bra.” Rose laughed. “Wait until you see some of the lacier ones I have.”

“As lovely as that sounds, I don’t wanna wait.” The Doctor ground out, as his fingers began working the clasp and swore as it fought against his efforts. He crowed in triumph as he finally worked it out and he tossed the offending garment away, replacing the bra’s cups with his own hands. Now it was Rose’s breathing turning ragged and she couldn’t help but rock against him some more as he gently squeezed her chest.

“You’re so beautiful.” He sighed happily. Rose felt her cheeks warm at the compliment. She’d been told that by so many men, but they never sounded as sincere as the Doctor did in this very moment.

“You’re not so bad yourself, you know.” She ran her fingers through his hair and smiled down at him. He arched into her touch. Of course he loved having his hair played with.

Rose gasped in surprise as the Doctor pulled the same maneuver on her and flipped their positions. Once again, she found herself on her back, one of his hands now replaced with his mouth. He suckled one breast, then the other while his fingers teased its twin with featherlight touches. Rose gasped loudly as he brought his teeth into play as he grasped her breast in his hand more firmly, squeezing and rolling. Bolts of pleasure shot from her chest down to her core.

His free hand, which had been caressing her side began migrating lower. Finally it had made its way to the button of her jeans and he worked them open.

“Please,” Rose whined, not wanting to wait any more. They had hardly begun, and he was already driving her wild. The Doctor kissed her sternum as his fingers drifted lower. Lower.

Ding-dong.

The Doctor startled and jumped away from Rose like he just received an electric shock. He ruffled his hair sheepishly as they just stared at one another.

“That’ll be the food then,” He scooped up his shirt off the floor and pulled it on, “be right back, love.” He knelt over her and kissed her gently before bolting for the front door. Rose just lay there for a moment, her body still humming with endorphins even though he barely touched her. If he were any other man, she would have been incredibly insulted if he worked her up like that and then ran off. But he wasn’t any other man; he was every bit her Doctor. Besides, he wasn’t running away because it was getting too intense, hell - she was surprised how far along they actually went! And it wasn’t awkward in the least. Their easygoing banter and laughter was the same as ever, just punctuated with searing kisses and sensual touches.

Was this what their relationship was heading for all along? He never made a move like this back on the TARDIS - Rome being the one exception to the rule, but it was never spoken of again. Hugs and handholding seemed to be his limit, but there were also those lingering looks he’d shoot her when he thought she wasn’t looking.

Unbidden, her mind drifted to thoughts of the other Doctor that returned to the Prime Universe. Was what she was doing now a betrayal to him? Rose sighed deeply. He would want her to be happy, right? She pushed the guilt that was threatening to overcome her away. Part of her knew that she would never be one-hundred percent over the Doctor that left her behind, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from loving the one she was with.

She made a silent wish that the other Doctor would find his happiness someday and that he’d find friends who supported him like Martha and Donna did when he was hurting the most. Perhaps even fall in love again if he met another special someone.

They were the same Doctor but now fundamentally different people.

Rose reluctantly sat up and saw her purse sitting on her dresser and sighed. The Doctor had no money of his own yet to pay the delivery bloke. She figured she had better catch up to him before he tried to pay with alien crystals or something.

“Wait, you’re gonna need money!” Rose called after him as she quickly did up her jeans and pulled her own shirt back on without bothering with her bra. She jogged after him and tossed him her purse, “How much is this going to cost, anyways?”

“Oh, about twenty-five quid or so. You guys use pound sterling here, right?” The Doctor asked sorting through the money. Rose nodded.

“Yeah, we do.” The delivery guy threw a curious look at Rose. She pointed at the Doctor while he wasn’t looking and mouthed ‘He’s from Scotland’ which she belatedly realised made things even more confusing since he spoke with a distinct Estuary accent. The delivery bloke just shrugged and accepted the money from the Doctor. Rose rolled her eyes seeing that he had tipped very graciously, but it was fine. Pete had given her a quite generously sized bank account when she arrived. Rose didn’t use it much as she felt more accomplished earning her own keep, but if she was now living with the Doctor things could start getting pricey.

“Dinner is served!” He announced, bringing the bags of food over to the coffee table and plopping himself down on the sofa. He pulled box after box of food from the bag, so much that Rose imagined they’d have leftovers if the Doctor had also lost his seemingly bottomless stomach.

“Now, where to start?” He rubbed his hands together as he focused on the boxes in front of him almost as much as he did her exposed body only moments before.

“You did say there were different dishes here.” Rose said as she sat herself next to him. The Doctor quickly reached for a box and opened it as if he was a child on Christmas morning. He peered inside and his smile completely vanished.

“What? This is just pork fried rice!” He lamented, “Maybe they just have a different word for ‘pork’ then…”

“You mean, you didn’t even know what you were ordering?” Rose snickered at him as he reached for another box and pouted even more as he just found chicken dumplings inside.

“There were some differences in dialect. They seemed like pretty minor differences to me.” He admitted sheepishly, “I’m usually quicker on the uptake.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Rose had already snatched a fork out of the bag and grabbed herself a chicken dumpling right from under his nose, “I’m still not used to the traffic lights being blue here - I keep saying ‘green’! I tell you, Mickey gloated so much when he first noticed them.”

“I remember him mentioning that.” The Doctor smiled as he started digging into a box of chow mein. He hummed in appreciation as he took the first bite.

“Good?” Rose giggled.

“Sho goo!” He sighed around a mouthful of food. Rose playfully scoffed at his complete lack of table manners. He plucked up a rather large mouthful with his chopsticks (of course he was using them, the show off) and held it out towards her. “Go on, Rose. Try some!” She leaned forward, trying to stifle her giggles as he fed her. Her eyes went wide as flavours hit her tongue. The Doctor wasn’t lying; it was absolutely delicious!

They ate in relative silence as they were both hungrier than they thought. Bits of food were shared between them, and Rose nearly choked laughing as the Doctor attempted to reenact the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp with a fried noodle. The noodle unfortunately snapped in half as Rose tried to get her side in her mouth, but it didn’t matter; the Doctor still got the kiss he was after.

Eventually they made it through the entire meal of the very same Chinese food that existed in the Prime Universe just with slightly different names. They weren’t going to have leftovers after all. Rose felt stuffed to the brim and she leaned back onto the sofa in satisfaction.

“Best meal I had in ages.” She sighed.

“Ah, but we still haven’t gotten to the best part.” The Doctor dug through the bag until he found his prize. With a flourish, he presented Rose with two fortune cookies. Rose only deliberated for a moment before snatching one. Together they unwrapped their cookies and snapped them open to reveal the strips of paper inside, the Doctor grimacing slightly as he popped a piece of cookie in his mouth and started chewing.

“Still tastes like slightly sweetened cardboard. But that’s tradidition innit?”

Rose read her fortune and couldn’t help but smile. She knew they were just generic fortunes that could be interpreted in multiple ways. Still, this one was just perfect given her current situation.

“‘You will have a long life with someone you hold dear’,” Rose read as she smiled up at the Doctor, “I did promise you forever didn’t I?” Her smile slipped when she realised the Doctor was just staring at his fortune.

“‘The howl of the wolf has led you home.’” He said in awe, “Rose… you… no… what?” He was at a complete loss for words. Rose took the small strip of paper from his fingers; a shiver went down her spine as she read the text for herself. Okay, so not so generic fortunes then. Scarily spot on, in fact.

“So this was always meant to happen,” She breathed as a brief gold-tinged memory swept through her mind of timelines, universes and other impossible things, “I wonder how long a life we’re going to have together if I, I mean Bad Wolf, arranged all of this.”

“Let’s see then.” The Doctor leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. Rose could tell by the slight furrow of his brow that he was in deep concentration. She knew that he had the innate ability to see the flow of time itself. Usually he tried to keep it all in the back of his mind so he could actually concentrate on the here and now, but every once in a while he took a peek to see how certain things all tied together.

“It’s all a bit fuzzy,” he muttered, “seeing one’s own timeline was something that was really discouraged back on Gallifrey and therefore I’ve learned to ignore it for the most part. I’d go insane otherwise. But…” He opened his eyes again, “no. Couldn’t be…” He jumped up from the couch and ran back into the bedroom. Moments later he returned with his suit jacket in his hands as he frantically searched the pockets.

“Come on, I know I grabbed it. HA!” Rose blinked at the very familiar object in his hand. It was the one thing he never went anywhere without.

“You swiped the sonic?” She half gasped half laughed. 

“OI!” He cried, sounding a bit like a certain red-headed companion of his, “It’s my sonic screwdriver too, you know. Don’t worry, he has a spare.” He waved it off, then shrugged, “Somewhere. Maybe. The TARDIS will just give him another one probably if he’s lucky. Either that or he’ll just turn back into Mr. Cricket-Celery Man who could save the universe with a kettle and some string. Some of my best work actually. Now…” Rose didn’t have time to process whatever insanity he was rambling about as the Doctor crouched on the floor in front of her. She could feel the tiny vibrations just under her skin from the sonic as he scanned her from head to toe. Rose was never sure just how he could figure out what his favourite little tool was telling him, but she watched the awe and disbelief as it crossed his face.

“No way,” He breathed, most likely to himself. He turned the sonic onto himself and ran the same scan. “Oh this is brilliant!”

“Rose Tyler, you beautiful human being,” Rose smiled at his praise, “when you became the Bad Wolf, it apparently changed you somehow. I thought I sensed it when you arrived, but the whole Dalek thing kind of grabbed my attention and I couldn’t focus on that properly until now.”

“Changed me how?” Rose was having a hard time wrapping her head around what the Doctor was implying.

“Your lifespan, Rose. It looks like you’re going to live for centuries. Your aging process has slowed exponentially.”

“But you said you’ll grow old at the same time as me and never regenerate.” The Doctor raised his eyebrow, waiting for her to piece it all together, “Oh.”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yup.” He popped the ‘p’ ostentatiously. Rose tackled him in a hug causing him to land a bit ungracefully onto the floor. Thankfully there was a plush area rug below him to soften his fall, “You and I, Rose, are going to live a long, long time. Well, barring accidents, I suppose.” Rose pinched his side as hard as she could causing him to and yelp.

“Don’t you dare jinx this, Doctor!” She warned.

“Well, I do remember describing you as ‘jeopardy friendly’ before.” He chuckled. 

“Oi, how many times did I have to save your arse?” Rose pushed at his shoulder playfully.

“Oh, at least once. Maybe twice.” The Doctor shrugged. He reached up and tucked a strand of Rose’s hair behind her ear, his face softening, “Honestly Rose, you’ve saved me in so many different ways. I don’t think you realise how much you saved my life, and I’m not just talking about pulling me out of the line of fire.”

The Doctor sat up and crossed his legs beneath him and Rose mirrored his position. But he didn’t look up at her, he just kept his eyes on the carpet.

“I wasn’t planning on leaving that rooftop after we first met.” he said quietly. Rose’s chest suddenly felt hollow. That was a night that she would remember for the rest of her life. She surely would have died in that department store basement if the Doctor hadn’t grabbed her hand and told her to run. Rose’s mind raced, but she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

“The war had left me a shell of who I was. There was even a period of time where I didn’t even call myself ‘the Doctor’ thinking that would distance me from my actions. It obviously didn’t work. I was mortally wounded in the final battle, I hadn’t even seen my new face until I caught it in the mirror of your flat. And the only reason I was there was because you brought a spark back into my life. You asked questions and got my curiosity going again. I had to get to the bottom of the mystery. Rose you have no idea how happy I was to see your face through that cat flap.” The memory brought a smile back to his face and Rose’s chest once again filled with warmth.

“You did a good job of hiding it then.” She reached out and took his hand. His fingers automatically curled around hers.

“It was absolutely love at first sight, even if I was too thick to see it right away.” He finally looked up at her. He brought his hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. That small action re-ignited the flame from earlier. Within seconds Rose was practically in his lap while his lips moved languorously against hers. Rose gasped in surprise as he untangled his legs out from beneath him and stood up with her in his arms.

“You’re stronger than you look.” Rose giggled as the Doctor began to carry her bridal style towards the bedroom.

“Rose Tyler, I am positively rippling with strong, manly muscles.” he preened before he unceremoniously dropped Rose onto the mattress.