Rose walked from the corridor into the console room and stopped dead in her tracks. The Doctor was sitting in the captain's seat with his feet propped up on the console, but his head was resting back against the seat and his eyes were closed like he was sleeping.

She smiled at his peaceful appearance, but knew he probably wasn't sleeping. Approaching slowly, Rose still made noise on the grilled flooring and expected him to look up at her at any moment. He didn't, and she almost made it to him when she stopped in surprise. Rose had never seen the Doctor sleep before.

His hands were clasped comfortably upon his lap. Rose's eyes followed the long length of his pinstriped legs to where his ankles were crossed and his converses were securely hooked on the console. The thought of shoving them off and catching him off guard made her grin impishly, but in the end she knew it probably wouldn't end up being very funny.

The Doctor sighed in his sleep and Rose looked back to his face. He had rolled his head away from her, exposing the expanse of his throat. She should leave him be, Rose decided, since if he actually was sleeping, he needed it. Quietly as she could, Rose made to turn around and walk out of the console room, but then the Doctor moaned softly in his sleep. She checked his face, what she could see of it, but she couldn't tell if he had moved at all.

What if he was having a nightmare? Rose knew the Doctor had been through war, and it could be coming back to haunt him. Maybe it would be better if she woke him after all?

Not sure what to do, Rose waited expectantly. Maybe the nightmare wouldn't get worse and he would be fine, and she could leave him be. She would wait a minute, and if she needed to, the Doctor's trusty companion would come to his rescue and save him from the monsters.

"Rose," the Doctor spoke softly.

Rose startled a little, but it was quickly replaced by relief that he was awake. "Yeah?" she replied. "Yeah, Doctor, I'm here. I thought maybe you…"

After he breathed slowly in, Rose was interrupted as the Doctor purred out a pleased humming sound that travelled down her spine and froze her to the spot.

He did it all the time when he was happy, Rose knew, sometimes behind a beaming smile and sometimes not. In fact, just the other day, with the mint chocolate-chip and banana ice cream combination that she thought was strange, he had made a similar sound. He had really liked the ice cream, and in the situation and polite company, the hum of pleasure had fit and Rose had given it just enough thought to remember it had happened.

This one, Rose was positively sure, was decidedly more than politely pleased, and apparently, it involved her.

She really should leave, surely, to give the Doctor his privacy, even though he was sat in the middle of the console room, shouldn't she? It was his ship, after all. Instead, Rose found herself gravitating towards him, almost as if transfixed. After all, it was about her, wasn't it? Didn't it make sense he would want her there, if...he was having good dreams?

Rose came close enough to rest a hand gently on the cushion next to him, her mind still awhirl with deliberation. He may be enjoying his dream that involved her, but that didn't mean he'd be happy to see her hovering over him. Hold on...his eyes were open, and he was turning his head towards her…

The captain's chair creaked noisily as the Doctor jumped and his feet slipped off the console. He only just caught himself from sliding off the chair with the heels of his hands, his eyes wide and staring into hers leaving no doubt that he was now fully awake.

"Rose? Wh-what are you...don't scare me like that!"

Rose hadn't moved away, finding herself still staring back at him in an unusual boldness. "Doctor, since when do you sleep?"

The Doctor frowned and blinked blearily about the room. "Oh, I dunno, since I was born? I'm not a Cyberman, you know."

"What were you dreaming about?"

His eyes connected with hers briefly before he glanced away and shrugged. "It's quite common to not remember one's dreams, isn't it? Who knows." Rose leaned a bit closer over him, which clearly captured his attention and his eyes locked to hers where they belonged.

"Mm, but with a mind like yours and you just waking up from it, surely you remember. I was in it, wasn't I?"

The Doctor's eyes were as big as saucers, and he wouldn't blink. "Why, wh-what did I say?" When Rose didn't reply, her eyes were drawn to his prominent Adam's apple as he swallowed nervously. "Rose? Tell me?"

Rose shrugged. "Just my name."

There was a pause before the Doctor let out his breath and his eyes darted to the side. "Well…" He then squinted them in thought. "I recall something about ice cream. I'm sure you were there. That must be it."

Rose narrowed her eyes. How did he know she also had just been thinking about ice cream? "I'm pretty sure whatever it was, it was better than ice cream." She leaned in closer, unsure as to what gave her such courage to do so. "Give it up, Doctor. You can't fool me."

Perhaps in reaction to her forwardness, the Doctor seemed to come to a decision as the nervousness in his face seemed to solidify into resolution. His eyes darted to her mouth before settling on her eyes in challenge.

"I dreamed you kissed me."

Rose hadn't expected him to actually say, and for a moment, she just stayed still. "Oh."

Her response drew the Doctor's eyes to her mouth again. "It was very nice. In fact...I think I shall return the favour." And with that, his palms were sliding beneath her ears and his fingers drew her towards him.

The first thing Rose registered was the softness of his lips followed by a delightful electric thrill down her back. She reached out blindly, found his tie, and anchored her grip around it while holding herself up against the seat with her other hand. The cool pressure of the Doctor's kiss didn't relent, and it was amazing and wonderful until from outside someone rapped loudly on the door of the TARDIS.

Her eyes shot open to find the Doctor standing expectantly at her bedroom door, the knuckles of one hand hovering over the wood, and he held a tray of tea in the other.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. You feeling any better?"

Rose was propped up in bed against her pillows, her pink duvet littered with white wads of tissue. She was still reeling over how vivid her dream had been. Attempting keep the colour from rushing to her face, Rose experimented with a breath in through her nose and found it still stuffed up. Clearing her dry throat and finding it a bit sore, she croaked, "Ub, not sure."

The Doctor strode towards the bed. "Ooh, you poor thing. Well I brought you hot tea since yours has been cold for a while." He picked up the cold cup and set it on the tray before placing the tray on Rose's bedside table. As he went on, he began plucking up the tissue wads she had discarded across her bed and dropped them into the wastebasket. "I didn't want to wake you, but you've been sleeping for ever and thought you needed some tea. Need to keep those liquids going through you, you know."

"Doctor, you really shouldn't touch those," Rose insisted, her lack of nasal clarity making her voice come out funny. "I don't wanna get you sick."

"Nah, no need to worry about that." The Doctor sat himself on the edge of her bed. "Superior biology, the common cold is too common for me."

"Must be nice," Rose said miserably, finding the comment not particularly flattering.

"Oh, it can be. Like right now, I can be here to take care of you instead of locking your room down on quarantine." The Doctor smiled kindly at her, the crinkles appearing at the corner of his eyes, and Rose couldn't be offended anymore.

Rose shifted to get a bit more comfortable. "Speaking of biology, how come I never see you sleep?"

"I do, just not as much as you do," he replied simply.

"Do you dream?"

The corner of the Doctor's mouth stretched back in a half smile. "Doesn't everyone?"

"Usually good dreams, I hope."

His face relaxed for a moment, but then he was smiling softly at Rose, his eyes twinkling in the dim lamplight. "Lately, yes."

Rose felt herself begin to blush again and scolded herself. It was just her own dream, he hadn't really dreamed of her. At least, she didn't think he possibly did until after what happened next.

"Think you could stomach some soup?"

Rose looked over at the hot tea waiting on her bedside table, warm and inviting, and tried to sniffle. "Ub, yeah, I think it could agree with me."

The Doctor smiled. "Good, I'll make you some." He nodded and looked pointedly towards the duvet on the other side of her. "But first, I got you something."

Confused, Rose followed his eyes. She lifted the fluffy folded end, and tucked under the sheet peeked the top of a red, heart-shaped box of chocolates. Rose's jaw dropped in surprise as she slowly slid the box out of the bed. The thought of the Doctor hiding it there while she slept made her shiver. "Wow, is it Valentine's Day?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. "Apparently I landed the TARDIS on February fourteenth, or just before. It's all they had." He grinned sheepishly, but then his eyes began to dart nervously as she peered doubtfully at him. "I mean, my first idea was to go Yanduri Four for their chocolate renowned throughout their galaxy, or there were half a dozen other places at the top of the list, but with you being ill and all…" He dropped his hand to his lap and shrugged. "Well, I would think you would want home, so I settled on Earth."

Rose bit her lip as her eyes teared up, being careful to still allow herself to breathe.

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Rose? You all right? If you don't like it, I can find you something else, really it's fine…"

"No, no, Doctor, it's...it's really sweet." She blinked at the tears rapidly and reached out to put a reassuring hand on his knee. "Thank you."

He grinned widely in relief. "Ah, well, good." The Doctor nodded to himself and looked at her steaming cup of tea, and Rose turned her attention to admiring the heart-shaped box. After a moment, he began pulling at his ear and asked rather tentatively, "So, um, you know, since it sort of fits the occasion, apparently…"

Rose looked to the Doctor, who was fidgeting and studying her carefully. She frowned at him as he hesitated. "What?"

The Doctor grinned and shrugged, seeming to abandon seriousness for frivolity. "You know. Would you be my Valentine?"

Rose stared back at him for a moment, her eyebrows raised, and a slow smile spread over her face. She glanced down shyly and tried to bite her lip again, but she really needed to breathe. "Ub, yes?"

The Doctor grinned again. "Brilliant! Well! That's good." He nodded to himself again. Right, soup." He slapped his thighs with finality before standing up. "I'll be back. Don't let your tea get cold again."

With that, the Doctor left the room, leaving Rose to her stunned thoughts. She could scarcely believe what had just happened. It wasn't quite what had happened in her dreams, mind you, but it was certainly a start. What exactly did asking her to be his Valentine mean to him? And why did she have to be sick? Rose looked over his gift to her fondly. It really was too bad she wouldn't be able to smell the chocolates properly. Opening the box, she removed the paper cover, and on top of the chocolates was a hand-written note from the Doctor.

After reading it over quickly, Rose read it again. She felt the colour drain from her face, and her heart began to pound in her chest. What had that man done while she was asleep?

Dropping the open box and throwing back the duvet, Rose slid out of bed to ask him just that. As she got up, the box shifted to a tilted perch at the edge of the bed, and as she whirled her dressing gown over her pajamas, the wind picked up the paper note.

Rose padded off down the hall at a quickened pace calling after the Doctor, and the paper note settled gently to the floor.

Get well soon,

And when you do,

I'll make your dreams come true.

~Your Doctor xoxo