The first thing he says to her is ridiculous, but then again, being as it was him, she was probably expecting as much.

It's been a few days since he left Mr. Copper in the snow that wasn't snow, and after a nearly-suicidal attempt to liberate a group of slaves on a faraway planet all on his own, the Doctor actually falls asleep on the bench in the console room. It isn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but somehow he can't quite muster the energy to make it back to his bedroom. It's not like he'll sleep for very long anyway, he thinks, and he simply curls up on the bench.

A few minutes later, he is rudely awakened by the TARDIS jolting from side to side, tossing him against the console. After a few muttered curses he'd picked up on Raxacoricofallapatorius that the TARDIS would never have translated had there been anyone there to translate for, the Doctor manages to get the ship stabilized and to land it in Cardiff, of all places.

He tells himself that it's the fact that he had actually been sleeping just prior that keeps him from saying anything worthwhile when he glances at the console screen and sees the improbable sight of Rose Tyler standing outside. She can't be there, and thus he easily convinces himself it's some kind of dream.

But he blinks, and he pinches himself, and her image doesn't waver, and so he opens the door and now he's standing in the TARDIS doorway staring at Rose Tyler, big as life, and she's looking at him like she's never seen anything better and he really should say something eloquent and touching right now, but what comes out of his mouth is something completely different.

"Hang on a second, I'm in the middle of a psychotic episode."

There's a reason he fell in love with her, though, and she reminds him of her absolute brilliance and of just how perfect she is for him when she simply looks him over, eyes skimming over his blue suit and red trainers and his hair that's gotten just a tiny bit too long. She smiles, unaffected by the lack of romance in his greeting, and her tongue pokes out from between her teeth in that way that drives him crazy and he's sure he really is having a psychotic episode after all, until that mischievous glint shows in her eyes.

"Well," she says, giving him one last once-over before meeting his gobsmacked eyes, "that would explain the suit."