#ninexrose

The Doctor was strolling down the beach at a lazy pace when all of a sudden he was holding a certain Rose Tyler in his arms.

 “I know you apes get tired of being in the sun too long easily,” he grouched, “but this is too much even for you, Rose. Couldn’t you have waited for a lie-down until we’ve reached the Tardis?”

 His reprimand was ruined by his smile, however, and lacked its usual gruffness about it.

 He could rarely stand being rude to Rose Tyler these days. While it was true that the impatient, sarcastic nature of his character didn’t disappear miraculously with Rose’s appearance in his life, it was also true that he was usually acting less snarky around her.

 Or he tried to.

 A slightly sad smile played on the Doctor’s lips. He was an insufferable, miserable bastard with a short tolerance span and a perchance to rudeness. Yet being with Rose made him want to be less so. Of course, he was a person with an established set of traits belonging to him in this regeneration, and no one would be able to change him at his core. Even the best have failed in this mission, the mighty Time Lords of Gallifrey, and the Doctor didn’t think that any human would be able to change his ways entirely.

 Rose, however, brought something special, entirely different, something very much needed in his life.

 She brought      hope.    

 Just when he thought that there was nothing for him in the Universe, that his lives’ journey was finally over and done with, she burst into his life unapologetically, bringing back positive emotions and bright colours in her wake.

 Bringing the desire to be kinder, more accommodating towards her and her human traits.

 Still, Rose was acting ridiculously tired all of a sudden despite lazing on the beach for several hours straight.

 The Doctor jostled Rose lightly in his arms, still holding her securely. She didn’t laugh, however. If anything, she let out a quiet      ‘oh’     and clutched his forearms.

 Now, he was worried.

 “Rose? You alright?”

 She hissed, as if in pain, and he moved to stand in front of her. The grimace of pain on her face made him concerned all the more. “Rose?”

 “Dunno, I’m dizzy all of a sudden, and my feet are killing me. What’s with the stinging? I don’t remember the sand being this hot, and I thought we were past the hottest hours already,” Rose mumbled, swaying a bit.

 The Doctor’s lips thinned in concentration. A calm, somewhat cold expression came over his face, making his features harsher, as he pulled out the sonic screwdriver to scan first Rose and then the sand.

 If he hadn’t been holding Rose to help her stay upright, the Doctor would have slapped his forehead dramatically at how forgetful he was.

 The overall atmosphere of the continent of the planet he’d taken Rose was quite inviting to humans. It was pleasantly hot and sunny for many hours a day, and the waters were calm and had a mix of minerals that added to the natural buoyancy of the body, allowing the tourists to float on their backs for hours at a time without needing a boat or an inflatable mattress.

 All of these reasons made Michillik Ti one of the most popular tourist attractions among the humanoids in the 40th century.

 The only catch was, however, that Rose’s 21st century body structure wasn’t resistant to some of the components of the alien soil.

 Especially when it mixed with the salt water residues on her skin.

 “You’re having a reaction to the mixture of the water and the components of the salt,” the Doctor explained, and Rose noticed his ears going slightly pink at the tops. She raised her eyebrows, surprised at his reaction, then closed her eyes when a new wave of dizziness hit her.

 She gulped, and her eyes went a bit cross at the unpleasant feeling of her balance being upset and the soles of her feet burning.

 The Doctor’s hands never left her upper arms as she breathed through the light-headedness.

 “Sorry,” the Doctor murmured, and Rose could tell that he was being sincere. “I should’ve checked for possible adverse reactions from your body.”

 Rose puffed her cheeks and exhaled slowly, closing her eyes and raising her eyebrows in expression of confusion.

 “Doctor!” she exclaimed, sinking her fingers deeper into the leather of his jacket. Honestly, how in the world didn’t he boil in all of those layers? She was wearing a blue-grey t-shirt and jean shorts over her slightly damp two-piece pink swimsuit, and she felt incredibly hot and sweaty despite spending a good portion of time in the sea. “Can you stop with the smart talk? I don’t get it, how’s this your fault and what exactly is happening?” Rose grumbled as she fought to stay upright.

 The Doctor sighed heavily.

 “The sonic says that you’re allergic to the components of the sand.”

 Rose moved her head back in confusion, “I was fine on my way to the sea?”

 “It’s an ocean. And you hadn’t just swum when we were going to the water,” the Doctor explained without missing a beat. If Rose hadn’t been feeling this off, she’d’ve rolled her eyes and thumped his upper arm at him correcting her. Who cared if it was a sea or an ocean? It was beautiful, full stop.

 It also had a texture of millions of gel beads swimming in the salty waters. Rose was so surprised the moment she jumped into the water, she actually squealed in shock.

 The Doctor’s replying laughter, even if it was at her expense, was a welcome sound. He laughed with no reserve, loudly, delighted at her yelps and her huge eyes upon touching the strange red waters. Rose didn’t hide her smile upon seeing the Doctor so happy, so free from sadness for a short moment; instead, she gave him a bright smile and performed a perfect hand-stand in shallow waters.

 He merely shook a head at her antics, still smiling softly.

 She was sure that if they weren’t alone on that beach, they would receive plenty of judging stares for their loud, silly behaviour.

 Rose also knew that they both would never care a fig about people’s criticism.

 “So, that means…” Rose offered the start to the explanation, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

 The Doctor caught the hint.

 “That means that the more you touch the sand, the worse you’ll feel,” he surmised with a tight smile.

 Rose let out a long ‘oh’ and nodded, biting her lower lip nervously.

 “Not your fault,” she murmured, distracted.

 She didn’t bring the shoes with her. The sand was hot but not unbearably so, and that was why she decided to leave her flip-flops behind. She was only going to end up carrying them in her hands anyway.

 Now, Rose was regretting her decision.

 “Well,” she swallowed, suddenly feeling parched and wishing for a bottle of ice-filled water, “we better hurry back.”

 And she turned slowly towards where the Tardis was parked a mile or so from where they were.

 It was going to be a long walk. Especially now that her feet were burning.

 She couldn’t stand a grimace that appeared on her face, but she stared in the distance resolutely, ready for a walk without complaining.

 Rose noticed the Doctor rolled his eyes suddenly. She tilted her head back in surprise at his illogical actions.

 “Wha’?” she asked, feeling the need to defend herself against his strange mood swings.

 The Doctor sighed in an exaggerated manner, then shook his head in mild irritation and told her:

 “Jump on.”

 And turned his back to her, bending his knees to accommodate her height.

 Rose froze in one place, flabbergasted.

 Was he for real?

 When the Doctor looked back and sent her a frustrated stare, Rose giggled, placing her hands over her mouth, then smiled widely, teasingly, and hurried to obey his instructions.

 The Doctor huffed an 'oof' and made a spectacle of crouching under her weight dramatically. Rose let out an insulted ‘oi!’ and settled more comfortably on his back, wrapping her legs around his midriff and hugging his neck.

 She most certainly didn’t shiver excitedly when she felt the Doctor’s arms going behind her knees to keep her from falling off his back.

 She still found it improbable and somewhat ridiculous that the Doctor offered her a piggyback ride back home.

 Rose wondered if it was a heatstroke-caused dream, and if she would soon wake up to find the Doctor shaking her into wakefulness.

 She pinched the inner part of her forearm, and winced slightly when it hurt.

 It wasn’t a dream.

 Then, Rose smiled warmly, realising that she was thinking the Tardis, not her mother’s apartment back in London, to be her home.

 “The Doctor, my hero!” she said in a sing-song voice, feeling her mood turning playful despite the dizziness that persisted.

 The Doctor straightened his back and muttered, “Don’t make a habit of it. You only get to get away with this because of your flimsy, fragile human body.”

 Rose only laughed. There was no bite in his words.

 He was being playful back.