A/N:

Hello! Since tomorrow is the perfect day to write romance fanfic, I thought I'd apply it to my favourite Doctor Who couple, with some added sci-fi and a dash of angst. This fic will be multi-chaptered, so I'll be uploading the consecutive chapters over the next few days. I hope you enjoy, and have a great Valentine's Day yourselves!

Genesis 016-V, 7214 AD

By the Doctor's request, he and Rose were currently situated on one of the rare space stations gravitating around Earth that the Doctor had not yet made a personal visit to. The sole purpose of the station was to monitor the atmosphere, and scan for any asteroids or meteors that could pose a potential threat to the surface of the planet, so it wasn't massively exciting for the two adventurers. However, that was soon about to change.

"It's funny," The Doctor began as he strolled hyperactively through the corridors, Rose following a split-second behind. "This is definitely a manned craft, yet we haven't heard a peep from the crew. It's only a small station as well, you think we'd have found them before now." He frowned.

"Maybe you're just being impatient." Rose teased, raising her eyebrows when the Doctor glanced at her wearing a hurt expression.

"I'm not impatient! Just… enthusiastic." The Doctor attempted to defend himself.

"Right." Rose agreed sarcastically. Before her friend had the chance to act offended, she smiled and skipped next to him, excitably looping her arm around his so they had no choice but to walk in step with each other. "Oh come on, Doctor! Stuff doesn't just happen straight away all the time, you know. Sometimes, we have to wait for adventure to come to us instead of looking for it."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm just not used to working that way. Hang on…" Trailing off distractedly, the Doctor reluctantly detached himself from Rose as he headed towards a monitor that had just caught his eye. There were a few various screens that showed different aspects of the station; there was a fuel meter, a temperature gauge, a map displaying corridors and rooms. Whipping out his reading glasses from his jacket pocket, the Doctor fiddled about with a few buttons until he found what he was looking for.

"Aha!" He pointed a thin finger at the screen. "Here we are – this map uses thermal imprints from people aboard the station to show us where they're located. See those two orange blips, there? That's you and me. The other dots represent other people here." The Doctor grinned goofily at Rose as she studied the screen.

But Rose wasn't smiling. "How come the other dots aren't moving?"

"Well, they're probably just stood still, like us. I suppose that would explain why we haven't passed them yet." Although his eagerness remained, the Doctor's smile dropped slightly when he saw that Rose wasn't as impressed as he thought she would be.

"If this works on body temperature, is that why our dots and the stationary ones are orange?"

"Yep!" The Doctor answered cheerily, pleased that his companion was taking an interest.

"Then what are those blue dots?"

Returning to the screen, the Doctor instantly noticed three blue dots, just as Rose said, moving steadily down the corridor towards them. The two travellers glanced at each other, concern apparent in their eyes. A moment later, the sound of footsteps clanging emptily on the metal floor began approaching them from just around the corner.

Hastily folding his glasses and tucking them away, the Doctor turned towards the advancing life forms. He stepped in front of his companion to protect her if the cold-blooded creatures turned out to be hostile, like a shield of sorts. They didn't have to wait long before the owners of the footsteps were revealed.

From around the corner marched a small group of reptilian-like creatures. They had blue, slimy, scaly skin that made Rose shiver just by looking at them. They didn't appear to have any eyes or ears or noses, instead only a mouth-shaped crack that ran horizontally right across the middle of their faces. The back of their heads were adorned with five short tentacles that ended in curved horns, almost like an incredibly odd hairstyle. Their limbs and body structure was similar to that of humans, and they walked in the same fashion too. In terms of clothes, they wore a shiny silver wetsuit-type outfit, but no shoes. One other feature stood out, especially for the Doctor – they were armed.

"'Ello!" The Doctor's first instinct was to try talking to the creatures. "Now, I really hope you haven't come to fight, because we have no weapons, and quite frankly it wouldn't be very nice, would it? We're not part of the crew, we're just travellers, and we mean you no harm. So, how about you tell us what you're doing here, and we'll just have a nice, civilised chat, with no nasty guns or threats, eh? How about that?"

At this point, the creatures had stopped walking, and were stood about a metre away from the Doctor and Rose. They showed no signs of violence, but they also didn't put away their guns. Instead of making any effort to communicate, the creatures stood opposite the new people silently.

The Doctor continued his attempt at conversation. "Okay, so you're not the chatty type. That's alright! That's absolutely fine, we can just stand here and stare at each other if you want. Won't exactly get us anywhere, but it's a start. You know what? While you're stood there doing nothing, I'm just going to reach into my pocket, and-"

As soon as the Doctor moved his hand inside his jacket, the creatures tensed their fingers on the gun triggers. Rose spotted this first, and warned her friend. "Doctor…"

"Don't worry, this isn't a weapon. I promised we're not going to hurt you, remember? This is just a little device that will decide whether or not our species are friend-compatible." The creatures seemed to trust the Doctor, clearly judging his words by the tone of his voice, as they allowed him to get his device. "I'm really glad they didn't understand that…" He muttered under his breath as he brought out his sonic screwdriver.

Directing it towards the creatures, the Doctor pressed the button and moved the screwdriver up and down as it analysed their DNA and identified its species. Bringing the device close to his face, the Doctor read the data and discovered what the creatures were.

"Get ready, Rose." The Doctor whispered to his companion, then raised his voice to address the creatures. "Sorry, but I don't really think we're going to get along."

Whirling around at the speed of light, the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand urgently. "Run!"

Rose didn't have to think twice. Feet slapping against the metal floor, the two friends sprinted down the corridor as if their lives depended on it (which they most certainly did), away from the newly advancing creatures. Calculating distance and location from his mental map, the Doctor guided Rose through the space station and back to the TARDIS, striving for safety.

"What are they?" Rose yelled as they ran.

"Kantrofarri!" The Doctor shouted back bluntly.

"What?" Rose was even more confused than when she didn't know the name of the creatures.

"Kantro- It doesn't matter! I'll explain when we get back to the TARDIS!"

Twisting and weaving through the seemingly infinite corridors, the pair blundered through their desperate escape. Although it was probably hindering their speed and running capability, they refused to let go of each other's hands in a representation of how they were in this together. The Kantrofarri creatures were surprisingly apt at keeping up with them, remaining only a few metres behind through the duration of the chase. However, it wasn't enough for them to completely catch up.

Just when it seemed that Rose and the Doctor were completely lost, they rounded a corner and spotted the TARDIS tucked away in an alcove. The wonderfully familiar machine stood tall and proud before them, welcoming them back.

"Oh, there she is! Isn't she beautiful?" The Doctor beamed, patting the wooden box lovingly as he extricated the Yale key from inside his jacket. As he fiddled with inserting it into the lock, the Kantrofarri came back into sight, rapidly approaching them with guns trained steadily on them.

"Doctor!" Rose urged, her gaze anxiously flicking between the creatures and the Doctor attempting to open the TARDIS door.

"I know, I know, I'm just-" The Kantrofarri began firing their guns the second the Doctor finally opened the door. "There we go!"

Ducking frantically, Rose leapt into the TARDIS a moment before the Doctor did, since he naturally gestured for her to enter first. Slamming the door shut, the Doctor didn't spare any time as he immediately strode over to the console. Returning the TARDIS key to his pocket, he removed his sonic screwdriver in the same fluid movement and buzzed the monitor with it, causing the screen to instantly fill with information on the creatures that had been chasing them.

"Blimey, that was close!" Rose breathed, laughing nervously but clearly extremely relieved that they escaped unharmed. "What did you say those things were?"

"Kantrofarri – well, not the actual Kantrofarri. They were some sort of relatives, further along the evolutionary chart than the ones I'm familiar with. In more common terms, they're known as dream crabs. Dream crabs are predatory creatures that feed off humanoid brain manner by placing people in a telepathically induced dream state while they drill into the skull and liquefy the contents for consumption." The Doctor explained while he scrutinised the console screen displaying further information on the creatures.

"So, not very friendly, then." Rose commented accurately, stepping around the console so she could watch the monitor alongside her friend.

"There's a few things I don't get about the ones we just met. From what I knew, Kantrofarri were just crab-sized, small enough to ambush their victims from above and attach onto their faces while they consumed the brains through the temple. They didn't have full bodies like those ones. The dream crabs were also deaf and blind, and located their prey via telepathy, but those ones seemed to be capable of more advanced sensory activity since they could follow us consistently. And there's the issue of the guns – why would they need them? There's no need for Kantrofarri to use weapons, their biological functions were incredibly efficient at luring in and feeding off their victims. And if they shot to kill, their victims' brains would die quickly, but they prefer to feed off active brains. None of this makes any sense…" The Doctor speculated aloud, dragging a hand through his already tousled hair in a gesture of intense frustration due to lack of understanding.

"Maybe the guns weren't weapons. Maybe they were tranquilliser guns or something." Rose pointed out, but the Doctor didn't seem to pay attention, since he was too involved in his own mental process to consider outside influence.

"Unless… Unless – aha! That's it! God, I can be so stupid sometimes!" Slapping himself on the forehead, the Doctor's eyes glinted as he came to a sudden realisation. "Before, the dream crabs used to have to get close to the prey to attach onto their faces and feed, but if they could somehow shoot them down, stun them, then they wouldn't have to. Rose! Rose, what did you just say? About seven seconds ago?"

Rose blinked, surprised that the Doctor was interested in her input. Of course, she knew he liked hearing what she had to say, but she also didn't consider herself very bright, therefore she didn't believe her contributions to figuring out creatures were all that useful. "The, er, the guns! They could have been tranquilliser guns or something, not weapons."

"Yes! Rose, you're a star! Yes, the guns probably contain a substance, a telepathic substance that latches onto the brain cells and induces the dream state rather than the physical form of the creature having to do the same thing. That's clever, very clever. Then, as long as the Kantrofarri track the people they've shot, they can feed off their brains once the victims have essentially been sedated. They probably wouldn't even know they'd been shot…"

As the Doctor trailed off ominously, Rose swayed to one side a little. An overwhelming wave of light-headedness had just washed over her, causing her to feel disoriented. She placed one of her hands on the console for support, and raised the other to her head. "I... Ooh, that's weird."

"Rose? What's wrong, are you okay?" Alarm bells rang out in the Doctor's mind as he noticed Rose's strange turn. Eyebrows pulled low over his intense gaze in concern, he caught her elbow with his hand.

"I'm just not feeling too well, that's all." The second she finished speaking, Rose lurched to one side, her feet shifting clumsily in order to rebalance her unstable body. The Doctor caught her while she stumbled, firmly holding both of her shoulders in his protective grasp. However, as his hand brushed her left shoulder, he felt a small object jutting out of her skin. Frowning, the Doctor pulled it out gently and brought it close up to his face to examine it. He soon realised what it was: a tranquilliser dart.

Eyes widening in fear, the Doctor's voice took on a frantic tone as he spoke to his friend. "Rose, you have to listen to me. The Kantrofarri must have shot you just before we got into the TARDIS. You're not feeling well because the tranquilliser is setting in. It's just reaching your brain, placing you into a dream state."

"Doctor-" Rose's voice was quieter now, her tone drowsy as her eyelids began to droop.

"Remember, the dream state is nothing to worry about – the Kantrofarri only use it as a distraction while they feed, but we're in the TARDIS and they can't get in, so you're completely safe. Can you hear me, Rose? You're safe, I promise. The sedative will wear off in a couple of hours, and I'll protect you until then. I shouldn't have let this happen, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but they can't hurt you. You're absolutely fine, and you'll be back to normal in no time." The Doctor was relentless in his attempt to comfort his dear friend, since he knew she must be scared.

Instead of showing any sign of fear, however, Rose was rather relaxed. Oddly enough, her eyes were focusing on a particular area of the Doctor's right forearm. "Doctor, whassat?" Her words slurred as brain activity became impaired and slowed down.

Glancing down at where Rose's gaze was directed, the Doctor instantly noticed something sticking out of his arm. As he reached to pluck it out, he realised what it was. "Oh no…" Another tranquilliser dart, identical to Rose's, had pierced his skin.

As if on cue, the Doctor's vision began to blur and his mind clouded as the effects set in. His grip on his friend loosened and Rose thudded to the floor as she finally slipped out of consciousness. Staggering towards her, the Doctor fell to his knees in an undignified manner. He collapsed next to Rose, reaching out a hand to cradle her face.

"Rose…" This was the final word that he forced from his lips before he joined her in the land of the unconscious.