Wow, it's been so long since I've written anything. But, my new obsession with Doctor Who has inspired me to write, again. This is an idea I've been bouncing around in my brain for the last few weeks, and I've finally made time to write it, though I should be sleeping. I've got a wonderful eight a.m. class tomorrow. . . .

This is my first Doctor Who fic, so please be kind. I'm hoping I got the characters right, but the 10th Doctor's character is pretty difficult to write correctly without making him seem unrealistic. But, anyway. I'm not sure about the ending. It just kind of kept going. . . . I tried to stop it, really I did. But it didn't seem right, and it still doesn't really. But I figured, oh well. It can't be perfect.

Set after The Satin Pit, so spoilers for up to that episode.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Doctor Who. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be writing fan fiction if I did. . . .

Rose awoke to peace. Strange, she thought. No smells that reminded her almost exactly of the time Mickey had blown up his computer. No shouts or exclamations of glee or surprise or alarm. No being thrown out of bed unceremoniously by a Tardis that isn't being flown properly. Nothing.

She opened her eyes warily, wondering if she was indeed still on the Tardis, or if it had all been a dream, as she sometimes worried. Mornings like this had been scarce – or rather, nonexistent – since she had left home to travel nearly two years ago.

But, no. There was still the low humming that the sentient ship always made when she was content. The soft, gold glow emanating from the walls. The slight rocking that happened when the Tardis was simply sitting in a point in space, not moving. But it was strangely quiet. Too quiet.

Rose sat up in her bed. . . . Wait, that was wrong. This wasn't her bed. Her bed had magenta sheets. These were . . . blue. Blue sheets. But that meant. . . . No. It couldn't be possible. . . .

At that moment, Rose was made aware of another anomaly of this strange, strange morning (if it was, indeed morning; it was so hard to tell on the Tardis).

"Oh. My. God," she breathed, as she pulled up the sheets – the blue sheets – to cover her bare chest. "But . . . that's impossible," she said, staring blankly at the blue sheets – the blue sheets; they were blue – covering her equally bare bottom half.

She scanned the room and, judging by the clothes strewn about, it really wasn't impossible.

She clapped a hand to her now hanging-open mouth. "We. . . ." She glanced at the other half of the bed. Empty. Well, of course it was. He was a surprisingly light sleeper. "How. . . ?"

The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon.

Oh, yes. The beast's words that still resonated inside her. It was because of them.

On any other night she wouldn't hesitate. She would barge right into his room, no knocking, nothing to announce her presence. But tonight was different. She stared at his door, her hand raised, ready to knock. She took a deep breath and gave it three short raps.

Within seconds, the door was whipped open, revealing him in his blue pinstriped suit – what, did he sleep in it, too? – his brown hair as tousled as ever. "Rose?" he said, looking her up and down, concern evident on his face. "Everything alright?"

She felt suddenly self-conscious in the tank top and shorts she wore to bed. She tugged at the hem of her shirt, biting her lip. "I. . . . It's just. What he said. About me." She looked away. "And, well. . . . No, it's not even that, it's. . . ." She looked back up into his brown eyes which were studying her, worrying about her. "I thought I was never gonna see you again."

His face broke into a smile that encompassed his whole face, crinkling his eyes. "Oh, Rose," he said as he pulled her into his arms. "Sorry, you're not gonna get rid of me that easy."

She smiled, burying her face in his neck, breathing in the delicious scent of him. "Yeah, course not."

"We've been separated before, though. And how many times have we found each other again?"

Her smile faded. "I know. But it was different this time. It was more . . . real."

He let out a breath and closed his eyes. He understood. He felt the same way. Despite how many times they had been separated, how many times they had faced certain death, and come out stronger than ever, this time had been different. If he hadn't found the Tardis, seemingly by pure chance, it would have been the end of both of them. "But we made it through. Like we always do."

"Like we always will," she said, pulling away. She began turning to leave, to return to her room, but hesitated. "Doctor?"

"Yes?" he said, his hearts beginning to race.

"Can I. . . ." She turned back towards him and took his hand in hers. She took a deep breath, her heart beating so furiously she knew he must be able to hear it, easily. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

The Doctor stood rigidly facing the Tardis's main console. He had come out here to busy himself, maybe start working on the wiring to the washing machine. It really was getting out of hand, having to travel back to the Powell estate any time Rose ran out of clean clothes, especially with an enormous wardrobe on board just waiting for her perusal, but that she refused to use for some unknown, Rose-like reason.

It was these thoughts of Rose, though, that had him standing there as if frozen. It was a mistake, he told himself. A terrible, awful, stupid, amazing mistake. A terribly wonderful, awfully superb, stupidly brilliant, amazing mistake.

He loved Rose, of course he did. He had known it since their first trip together, when he had found her trapped in a room with the sun shields being lowered and realized that he wished it was someone – anyone – other than her trapped in that room. But he was too old for her, with a daft old face, and more baggage than should be possible. He didn't deserve her, and she deserved someone so much better than him.

He tried pushing her away, holding her at a distance. At first, he'd thought it was working, when she brought Adam along with them. Oh, to be sure, the Doctor had hated Adam, but at least he was closer to Rose's age, less volatile, less damaged. But when she left Adam behind without a second glance, he began to suspect that his strategy of pushing her away might not be working as well as he wanted it to.

Then, when they'd met Captain Jack Harkness, he knew for sure that by pushing her away, he had only made her cling more tightly to him. "He's like you, only with dating and dancing." Jack was a substitute Doctor. The Doctor Rose suspected he could be to her if he stopped being so stubborn and saw what was right in front of his eyes, waiting with open arms. He'd given in a bit, danced with her like she longed for him to do. But the next day, it had been back to business. It nearly broke his hearts when he saw the look of disappointment in her eyes when he barely responded to her touches.

Then he had kissed her, on Satellite Five. He didn't know if she remembered, and if she did, he could always explain it away as being the only way she would let her defenses down enough for him to release her from the Time Vortex. But either way, it was ruined by his regeneration, a huge moment stolen from both of them by the physiology of a Time Lord. Stupid.

But suddenly, he had changed. He was young, or young enough, at least, to not draw attention from people who saw them together and thought that she was too young, or him too old. And he was good-looking, in a way he hadn't been before. And it was harder to say no to Rose. Harder to stop himself from responding animalistically when Rose – or Cassandra, as he found out later – kissed him on New Earth. And it was that response that made him pull away again.

He shielded first behind Sarah Jane, his old and dear friend. Then he brought Mickey on board, despite the protests from Rose that he had pretended not to see. Finally, it was Reinette who he hid behind, trying to push Rose away, to protect her from himself. But it hadn't worked. By doing that, he only succeeded in hurting her, anyway, and himself in the process. Honestly, there was nothing stupider that he could have done. By trying to protect her, he hurt her anyway.

So he stopped. He accepted his feelings, and hers. He stopped pushing her away, and she came back willingly, eagerly. They weren't together in that way, not yet, but they were so close. They touched more often than necessary, their hands practically glued together. When they weren't holding hands, it wasn't often that they weren't connected in some other way, whether it be through a hug, a hand on a shoulder, or just standing so close they were touching. It began to feel unnatural when she wasn't by his side, as though a part of him were missing. His lungs constricted, his hearts pounded, and he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to stroke her hair or run his hand down her arm, just to remind himself that she was still there.

And then they'd landed on the impossible planet, the planet orbiting around a black hole without being sucked in. And everything had changed.

Rose made her way through the halls of the Tardis, donned now in her tank top and shorts from last night. She didn't know where he was, but she could guess that the Tardis was leading her to him, based on the humming coming from the walls that was getting steadily louder. Rose paused at the end of the corridor and peeked into the room beyond. The main console. Of course he would be here.

Rose laid a hand on the wall of the corridor, murmuring her thanks and felt a tingle run through her body from the contact. The Tardis had always liked her, but since she had looked into the Heart and absorbed the Time Vortex, she felt a deeper connection to her, almost sister-like. Rose smiled at that. She had always wanted a sister. But she had never imagined she would find one in a sentient time machine.

Rose took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and walked into the room, stopping a few feet away from the console. The Doctor's back was to her, and he appeared to be lost in very deep thought. Rose didn't need three guesses to figure out what it was about. . . .

She cleared her throat. "Doctor-" she began.

His back tightened at his name, and he swung around, plastering a smile onto his face. "Rose!" he exclaimed with what he thought was his usual exuberance. "Well, now, where do you want to go today? We could always try Falmaria! They've got trees there that actually control the weather. When they're pleased, sun! When they're sad, rain, obviously. Ooh, you don't want to see when they're mad though." He turned, dancing around the Tardis's console, pulling levers and flipping switches. "Or, we could go to Amtar, home of the universe's largest ocean. Actually, the entire planet is the ocean. Oh, but they've got brilliant underwater cities hidden in undersea caves with pockets of air. They're beautiful, you'd love it there. They've actually got real live mermaids. Or, there's always the lost city of Atlantis, before it sank into the depths of the ocean and was lost."

Rose had been trying to interrupt, to get a word in to say that she didn't want to go anywhere, not at that moment. She wanted to talk to him, to actually sit down and have a real conversation with him, one that didn't involve whatever nefarious plot they found themselves in. But at the mention of Atlantis she felt her jaw drop and she couldn't help asking, "Atlantis? It's real?"

He grinned. "Oh, yes! Brilliant city, brilliant people. Technology advanced way ahead of their time. Which is to be expected, I suppose, as they were aliens," he added thoughtfully.

She gaped at him, her mouth hanging open in surprise. "You're telling me that Atlantis was real, and it was an alien city?"

"Well, yeah. They-"

"Wait. Stop," she said, shaking her head to get her mind back on track. "Doctor, I think we need to talk about . . . well . . . you know. Last night."

He froze, a pained expression on his face. "Rose-"

"Just, hang on a moment. Let me talk for once." She took a deep breath. "You're gonna say it was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened. But, Doctor, last night was. . . ." Rose drifted off as she approached him slowly, as if he were a wild animal about to bolt any second. "It was . . . the best night of my life." She smiled, not her usual, all-encompassing grin, but a softer, more content smile. "You don't know how long I've waited for you. For us."

"Rose," the Doctor said, his hearts thudding. "I. . . . I can't"

Rose shook her head. "You say that, but you don't mean it. You think you don't deserve this, but you do. You're the best person I've ever met and there's no one who deserves happiness more than you do. You've sacrificed so much for this universe, more than I, or anyone, will ever know. Why not take something for yourself for once?"

"Rose. . . ."

She stopped in front of him, her brown eyes looking into his, as she reached up and stroked his cheek. "I've only known you for a little more than a year, but this has been the best year and a half of my life. I've never felt more at home than I do on the Tardis. I've never felt more alive than I do when we're facing down some evil alien who wants to take over or destroy the universe." Her free hand reached down and she entwined her fingers with his. "I've never felt more complete than when I'm holding your hand." Tears sprang in her eyes as she looked into his unreadable eyes. "And maybe you don't feel the same way. And that's okay. I'm just glad I had that night with you. I-"

"Rose," the Doctor interrupted, unable to bear the look of sadness on her face. "Rose. . . ." He stopped, struggling to find the words to say. This was a peculiar feeling for him. He had such a gob, that words usually were effortless. But this was different. He wasn't trying to distract someone, or buy time, or try to extract a master plot from an unwilling villain. He was actually trying to say something, something that meant something. Something that meant everything.

"When I took your hand in that basement, I thought I was saving your life, but I was wrong. I was saving my own. You. . . ." He paused, smiling down at her as a tear broke free and ran down her cheek. He reached up with his free hand and wiped it away, stroking her cheek. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You saved me, when I was in the darkest place I've ever been. You have no idea how much I needed you. Or how much I still do." Rose smiled at him, tears falling from her eyes now in earnest. "I love you, Rose Tyler. With all my hearts."

She smiled. "Well, that's not fair. I've only got one to offer you." A light laugh escaped her lips.

"Trust me," he said, "it's more than enough."

Rose reached up, wrapping her arms around the Doctor's neck as his lips met hers. Her eyes fluttered closed and she sighed softly, her body melting into his. His hand slid into her hair, tangling in her thick locks as his other hand slid down her back pulling her closer to him. The kiss deepened, their mouths fervently attacking the other's as emotions that had built up for years finally escaped in one burst of passion.

When they broke apart, they were both breathing heavily, still wrapped in each other's arms.

Rose broke the silence, saying the first thing that came to her mind: "You taste like . . . chips."

The Doctor was silent for a few minutes, and Rose feared she had ruined everything with that one sentence, but then the Doctor pulled away and she could see a smile on his face as he began to laugh. "Chips?" he gasped, between chuckles. "We just shared the greatest kiss in the universe – and that is not an exaggeration – and all you can say is that I taste like chips? Chips, of all things!"

"Shut up!" she said, shoving him away in mock anger. The Doctor could see her eyes twinkling as she fought back laughter. "You do! What, is your toothpaste chip flavored, or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Rose! The only place you can buy chip-flavored toothpaste is in Earth's 56th century. The year 5543, to be exact, and they only made it for one month before finding out it corroded the teeth. Very badly. Not that that stopped people from using it right away. Until they found that it also corroded the tongue. . . . Now that would be weird, wouldn't it? A corroded tongue. Wonder what that would be like. . . . D'you think you would still be able to taste things?"

Rose stared up at him. "Are you serious? Chip-flavored toothpaste?"

"What, you think I'm making it up?"

"Well, yeah!" Rose exclaimed. "Alright, I think we've found our next stop, Doctor."

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no."

"Why not?" she asked, looking disappointed.

"Well, now, I can't have you going and ruining your tongue. It's not just your tongue anymore. It's mine, too. I don't want to kiss someone with a corroded tongue, whatever that means."

Rose grinned. "Well, alright then. But if we're not going to the year 5543 to check out this toothpaste, then I think you owe it to me to take me to get some chips. After all, it's your fault I'm craving them."

The Doctor sighed dramatically, then started punching in the coordinates for Earth, 21st century. "All right. One trip. But we're not going to see your mother. This'll just be you and me going for some chips to satisfy your craving. Or, we could try satisfying it another way," he said capturing her lips with his.

Rose smiled, leaning into the kiss, then pulled away, laughing. "Nice try. 21st century chip shop, now."