"Rose, I'm scared."

Rose stopped in her tracks and turned around to face the Doctor, who was frozen in his spot on the jump seat. She laced her fingers in his and gazed into his dark eyes. The soft blue glow of the TARDIS' control panel shone in them. Those eyes, that had seen unthinkable horrors and unnamable beauty, were now full of fear and hesitation.

The Doctor shook his head. "Rose, I- " He sighed and let go of her hand. "You don't understand what you're asking. You don't know what I'm capable of." His eyes were squinted in frustration. "I don't deserve this. After all I've done. I just – I don't deserve you."

The Doctor leaned into Rose's hand when he felt her soft skin caressing his cheek. "Doctor," she whispered, calculating every word before speaking, "if there's anyone in this world that knows you by now, it's me. I know you, and I love you for every bit of you." Rose placed her other hand on his chest and she could feel his hearts racing beneath his shirt. She stood on her toes and kissed him softly. He responded instinctively and deepened the kiss, exploring Rose's mouth and tasting her, wishing to etch her taste into his mind forever.

Rose broke free and her lips traveled down the Doctor's throat, planting kisses to his collarbone and setting his core on fire. Breathless, he lifted Rose into his arms and carried her to his barely-used bedroom, where she climbed down and stood once more in front of him. He hesitated again.

"Doctor, are you okay?" Rose's eyes gazed up at him in wonder; the Doctor could wait no longer to tell her.

"Rose, there is something you have to understand before anything else happens." The Doctor started pacing to calm the intense flame growing in his belly. "You're human. Human bodies, as complex as they are, are still simple when it comes to…being together."

Rose frowned. "What on earth do you mean?"

The Doctor sighed again, and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's not easy to explain." He looked at her. Rose, so beautiful and soft and delicate. Breakable. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Doctor –"

"People from Gallifrey, we – we connect with each other differently than with humans. More intimately than with humans." He began pacing again. "When humans have – "

"Sex?" Rose continued.

"Yes, sex, it's almost all physical. Humans can have sex without any attachment to one another."

"And Time Lords?" Rose looked as if she could cry.

"Not just Time Lords, all Gallifreyans. Of course it's physical, but the majority of the connection is mental." The Doctor stopped pacing and slowly walked toward Rose, taking her head in his hands. "I don't know what that would do to a human. I don't want to hurt you," he repeated. "Do you remember how it felt to have the time vortex inside your head? Do you remember what could have happened to you? It felt wonderful, and so powerful at first, but then your head started hurting and the time vortex would have destroyed you if I hadn't taken it from you. That is what you could feel like… with me." The Doctor bowed his head and Rose gently kissed him.

"We can be the first," Rose reassured him. "If anything bad happens, we can stop."

"No, Rose, you don't understand. Once the connection has been made, I can't stop until I…" Defeated, he sat down on his bed. "If something bad happens, I can't break the connection. I would be inside your mind. I would feel what you feel, and vice versa. The mind of a Time Lord can consume you. Do you want to take that risk? Are you ready for that?"

Rose sat next to him and coaxed him to lie down beside her.

"I was ready for that the first moment you grabbed my hand and whispered run."

She started kissing him like she did in the control room, soft and deep. The Doctor groaned, the fire in his core rekindled. Rose straddled his hips and sat up on her feet, slowly unbuttoning his shirt and gauging his reactions. He didn't speak a word, but every brush of Rose's hand against his chest caused his hearts to race and his breathing to quicken.

Rose had always appreciated the Doctor's inability to hide his emotions, and now she reveled in the subtle changes in his eyes as she undressed for him. The most drastic change in his demeanor was the bulge that was slowly growing in his trousers. She could feel it underneath her, and the knowledge that she had this effect on him made her ever-so-glad that she had not worn knickers under her skirt.

The Doctor's hands were clenched at his side until now. Now, they were at Rose's hips, and with unprecedented strength he rolled her over and Rose lit up with laughter. He silenced her with another kiss, this time harder and with more desire. Groaning into Rose's mouth, his hands began to explore her body. Her curves opened to him willingly. The Doctor traced a path with his lips slowly down her neck and left tiny nibbles on her collarbone, Rose writhing beneath him as his hands found exactly where she longed to be touched. Her skirt flew across the room and hit the floor with lightning speed.

"Doctor…" Rose's moans were barely contained, and the Doctor could hear her heart speeding up as her breath caught in her throat every time his practiced hands went over her most sensitive spot. Suddenly he removed his hands and replaced them with his mouth. Rose's scent, her taste – it was enough to drive him wild. His erection strained against his trousers, a wet spot slowly forming as Rose drew near the edge.

"Come for me, Rose." The Doctor's gruff voice, full of desire, was enough to send Rose into what was truly the strongest climax of her life. Her body squirmed and her legs locked around the Doctor's neck. He smiled, satisfied with himself as Rose started to come down from her orgasm. Rose leapt up so fast she had to steady her head, but she quickly recovered and got to work on the Doctor's trousers when he stood up. She jerked back in surprise when the Doctor's erection popped out rather enthusiastically, and she giggled. The fire in the Doctor's belly was fanned by her smile, and with another playful growl he pushed her back down onto the soft bed. Hips spread wide, Rose let out an audible gasp when he first entered her. His girth was sizeable, larger than others she had been with.

That was when she really felt him. Rose could feel the Doctor's mind prodding into her own, and did not resist. His entire being flooded her awareness, to where all she could feel was what he felt. Swirling circles peppered her vision and all she could hear was his breathy moans in her ear. "Rose…" The Doctor's voice had an otherworldly sound to it, part English and part what Rose knew, with the Doctor in her head, to be Gallifreyan. Their senses were as one, their climax building together as their bodies met in a rhythm as old as time itself. She knew the instant the Doctor came inside her, because his mind flooded hers with a blinding light and she was suddenly hyperaware of everything around her. Nothing existed in that moment but the two of them.

Then the Doctor ended it just as quickly as it started. He pulled out of her and disconnected his mind from hers. Rose was momentarily blinded, but a few blinks cleared her vision. When she could see again, the Doctor was already sitting up on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through his hair nervously.

"I don't believe it." He laughed. "It actually worked. We did it." He looked over his shoulder at Rose's glowing naked body.

"That was incredible," Rose groaned. She sat up again, her head swimming. The color drained from her face and she fell back down onto the bed, instantly asleep. The Doctor panicked.

"Rose! Rose, are you alright? ROSE!" He jumped up and quickly located his sonic in the pocket of his jacket, scanning Rose's body. The screwdriver indicated no serious problems, just a human brain that needed a rest. He checked her pulse and brushed her sweat-soaked hair from her face, extremely relieved. She smiled in her sleep. He would take her to the medic room if she didn't wake up in a few hours, but for now she seemed to be okay. He covered her with the light cotton quilt on the bed, slipped his trousers back on and proceeded to the kitchen, smiling.

Surely she would want a cuppa when she woke up.