"So, where now? Jhethroxin? Krinvold?"
Rose carefully thought about her options.
"Where ever you want to go."
"Jhethroxin it is!"
Suddenly the TARDIS jolted forward, sending the Doctor toppling over onto Rose. Once the TARDIS stopped a few seconds later, the Doctor lifted himself up, brushed himself off and offered a hand to Rose.
"Are you alright? No cuts or bruises or broken bones?"
Rose scanned herself over and frowned. Her knee was bruised and her arm had a long gash down the side.
"Oooh, that's a nasty cut. Wait right here."
The Doctor rushed to get the first aid kit. He opened the kit and cleaned her wound carefully. He pulled out the items for giving stitches and began to sew up the cut. Rose winced every time the needle pierced her skin, but never cried out. When everything was all finished, the Doctor tied off the sting and snipped off the excess.
"There you go. You'll be all fixed up in a few days. Here, this should make it feel better."
The Doctor kissed the place where the wound was sewn up gently, and looked up to get a reaction from Rose. Rose started laughing at his silly puppy dog face but calmed down quickly and cleared her throat.
"How did you learn to do that?"
"I am a Doctor, correct?"
Rose rolled her eyes and nodded slowly. The Doctor grinned like a proud child and began to work on the TARDIS again.
"Hey… uh, Doctor, thanks."
The Doctor looked at her and shrugged. "Don't mention it. It was nothing. All of my medical training comes from the school that I went to."
Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You went to school?"
The Doctor chuckled. "Of course! Where do you think I learned to be so brilliant and fantastic?"
"I was sure that it came naturally."
The Doctor raised his left eyebrow. "Maybe my fantastic-ness does but not so much of my brilliance."
"Hmmph." Rose gave off an amused smile. "I doubt that."
"Rose Tyler, are you calling me brilliant?"
Rose bit her lip and looked down at her feet. Of course she thought he was brilliant. He is! He's got really nice hair, too.
"Uh, maybe."
The Doctor crossed his arms and gave her a goofy smile. "Rose…"
Rose could feel her face turning red and the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. The Doctor could see that she was nervous. Suddenly, her phone began to ring. She lifted the phone to her ear, glad to be out of the conversation.
"Oi! Mickey!"
The Doctor frowned the moment she said "Mickey". He hated Mickey only because he loved Rose so much. For some reason, secretly, the Doctor wanted Rose to himself. He wanted her to love him and nobody else. He didn't know why. Ever since he first met her there was something special about her. When Cassandra took over his body and told Rose what she found in her mind, the Doctor was still conscious and aware, and understood every word coming out of his mouth. He remembered the look on her face, the bewilderment and excitement. He just couldn't believe it was all true. "Rose has been on the phone for a while now…" the Doctor thought to himself. He decided to do a bit of exploring. After all, it's his TARDIS. Rose was walking back and forth through the hallway connecting the kitchen and the Doctor's room. The Doctor quietly slipped into Rose's bedroom, knowing he shouldn't, the thought going through his head that if he's caught, his excuse was he was looking for something to improve the TARDIS. Sitting on her blue and green bedspread was a small blue hardback journal. He knew that he should respect her privacy, but he was just so curious as what was written in this little book. He hesitated before snatching up the journal and shoving it into his coat pocket (they're bigger on the inside) and rushed into his room. The Doctor sat down on his bed and opened the journal to some random page and began reading.
13 June
Today the Doctor took me to a really fancy restaurant on this planet called Crocaford 9. The food is disgusting, but it was like a date. I'm happy with that. I really love him, but I don't think he even notices me. Well, anyway, good night. I hope we can go to Barcelona like he promised. I really want to see a dog with no nose!
The Doctor was astonished. She really loves him back? Of course, there's a bit of an age gap, him being 903 and her being 19, but he doesn't care. He looks within the 25-30 years old range and she easily looks 25. He remembered New New York, the day she basically told him that she loved him (through Cassandra, of course). He remembered the kiss, her lip gloss tasting of raspberries. "You've been looking… you like it!" He remembered the words… talking about him. Rose had seemed a bit more attracted to him after his regeneration… something about him seemed to have her mesmerized. He didn't know what.
"Hey Doctor, are you in there?"
The Doctor heard three light taps on the door. He shoved the journal under his bed and pretended to look for something.
"Yes. Come in."
Rose entered sheepishly, never having been in the Doctor's bedroom before.
"He… uh, called to tell me that he's engaged. To a girl named Victoria."
The Doctor tried to appear interested and concerned, but both of his hearts were beating a bit faster. "No… wait… Stop. Time Lords don't do this. They don't fall in love with humans. They shouldn't" Oh well. Too bad.
"Good for Mickey-boy. I thought he was waiting for you! So, is that all?"
The Doctor noticed that Rose's breaths were shaky and uneven.
"Rose, you alright?"
Luckily, the Doctor could see everything was alright. Because he's a Time Lord, he could sense that her heart was beating very quickly. She was nervous.
"Yes, I'm good. What are you looking for?"
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Come over here. Sit down."
Rose carefully sat herself down on the red and brown handmade quilt on his bed.
"So, what are you doing in my room? Are you spying on me? Tryin' to watch me in my own bedroom?"
Rose blushed slightly and reached over to inspect the stack of magazines and books on his bedside table. On the top there was a brown hardcover book. She lifted the book carefully and slowly opened it.
"I assume if you want to read that, you should know that if the TARDIS translates it for you, you will see your name. Many times, actually."
Rose scanned the page, admiring the Doctor's graceful, scrolling handwriting across the page. That's when she noticed her name in the same sentence as the word "love"
14 December
Rose hugged me. I felt like… I can't even put words to it. Whenever Rose does that, it makes my hearts skip a beat and that's what I love about her.
"Oh Doctor, if you could only read mine…"
The Doctor looked like a little kid that knows they're in trouble. "I did. Look. I love you too, by the way."
The Doctor pulled the journal out from under his bed and showed it to her.
"So, how much did you actually read?"
The Doctor smirked. "Only the entry on 13 June. Now, you wanted to talk to me?"
Rose's hands balled up into fists, her heart started beating even faster, and she felt so nervous, like she was sick.
"I- I love you, Doctor. I've always wanted to say it."
The Doctor smiled and gave her a huge bear hug. "You feel that? My hearts are beating a lot faster. I love you too, Rose Tyler."
Rose kissed the Doctor for the first time since Cassandra in her body did.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I love you all! I would like to thank my best friend, Regan, for coming up with the name Crocaford 9!