Okay, I'm trying something new…Doctor Who! I promise I haven't abandoned my Harry Potter fic, I'm just taking a small break (until I figure out what the bloody hell I want to have happen next…) So, until then, I've thought of a oneshot for my new addiction. This takes place after Father's Day, before The Empty Child; this is also my first Doctor Who Fanfic attempt, so please be gentle. ^^; Hope you enjoy, dearies!

Also, I'm going to try something else new…a dedication! This oneshot is for the person who introduced me to Doctor Who, my absolutely fantastic boyfriend. 3 You're wonderful, sweetie, and I love you with all my heart! Thanks for loving me too.

Disclaimer: Okay, really, if I owned Doctor Who, Nine would have stuck around a wee bit longer than he did. Just sayin'. ;3

Meteor Shower

Rose Tyler was moping.

Not just any moping, either, the Doctor realized soon after the moping began. This was a wave of depression to rival his own after the Time War, and all of her people were still alive! He could understand; after all, she just watched her father die to save Earth, but the entire mess was her own fault to begin with.

No, it was his fault. He couldn't tell her no. He just couldn't say that one little bloody word that could have spared them all the heartache. She'd looked at him with those big brown eyes, and he'd been reduced to a grinning idiot. 'Your wish is my command,' he'd said, and they'd almost lost each other. He wouldn't make that mistake again. Next time, he would harden his hearts to her ways, he swore to himself.

Now if only he could just get her to stop her bloody moping!

He tried ignoring her at first, jabbering on about where they could go and the things they could see. Get her mind off of things. She wouldn't respond, though. She just kept sitting there in the chair by the console, staring at a random knob on the dashboard. He watched her, his striking blue eyes scanning her from head to toe as he tried to formulate a plan to return Rose Tyler to the special brand of chaos he adored.

Then, he grinned. Rose glanced up to watch him dash around the TARDIS, quirking a perplexed eyebrow. "Doctor, have you made up your mind where we're going?"

"Yup," he replied with a beaming smile in her direction. "Earth."

She sighed, disapproval clear just in the way she exhaled. "But we just left Earth." As if he didn't know that! Humans and stating the obvious.

"Please, by all means, continue your pouting and leave the navigation to me." He glanced over long enough to see the eye roll, feeling a bit proud of himself. She thought he was just being insensitive. Silly alien not understanding the way she felt, not understanding her loss at all. He did know, and maybe that was part of the problem.

In all honesty, he wished he could just be insensitive and gallivant off, looking for trouble, but he'd rather have his Rose share in the trouble. After all, she said it herself. Better with two.

His Rose. Not the moping ape chewing on her bottom lip. He couldn't wait to see her face!

"Should I change my clothes?" They had landed, and that seemed to catch her attention. Rose had sat up and now was rubbing her stained cheeks with the sleeve of her blue jean jacket. He cast her a gaze, thinking, and annoyance flared through her eyes again. She looked a mess, her eyes puffy, her face still a little red from her tears, the hair falling from her already unruly ponytail an utter mess. Smiling, he extended his hand to her.

"You look fantastic, Rose. Come on. I've got a treat for you."

Her hand fit in his. He couldn't explain it, but he was amazed every time at how her fingers just locked perfectly with his. With an encouraging smile, he gave her hand a squeeze and led her toward the doors of the TARDIS. She listlessly followed him, trusting him the way she trusted him every other time she took his hand, no real notion of where he was taking her in her mind. The way she trusted him when she first took his hand and ran with him. He liked that in her.

"Doctor, where are we?" She looked around them as they stepped out onto a soft meadow of grass bordered by leafless trees. She shuddered involuntarily at the chill in the air, and the Doctor contemplated giving her his leather jacket.

"Earth, November thirteenth, eighteen thirty-three. Almost three in the morning," he proclaimed, very pleased with this display of information. She raised a delicate eyebrow, less enthused, but he continued to grin nonetheless.

"Okay, so why are we here?"

At this, the Doctor bent a little, his cheek close to hers as he pointed to the skies with his free hand. "I thought you'd never ask." Rose followed his extended finger, looking up just in time to see the dark expanse illuminate in an array of sparkling fire. Her lips parted in stunned delight at the meteor shower, and the Doctor watched the brilliant tempest rule the sky with her for a moment, his eyes tracing the tracks of light left behind by the stars before another took its place. The wandering stars danced through the heavens in a quick tango, some nearly as big as Earth's moon. Smiling, he began to explain.

"Leonids,you would call them. A leonid storm happens, oh, about every thirty-three years on your planet. Over two hundred thousand meteors an hour." He wouldn't bore her with the details right now, not when his purpose was to distract her, to lift her spirits. Maybe he'd tell her later, maybe he wouldn't.

"It's beautiful," Rose whispered, her voice barely audible, but he heard her. "The most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

The Doctor looked at her, watched the meteor shower reflect in her eyes, and smiled to himself. She reminded him of a child, glowing with innocence, her tongue poking through her teeth the way it always did when she was happy or excited. That was his Rose Tyler, his stupid ape, his companion. His smile broadened. "Yeah. It's beautiful."

She looked at him abruptly, unaffected by how close his face was to hers. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, and the Doctor found himself captivated again by those big brown eyes. Those eyes he couldn't say no to. Those eyes he would never be able to say no to. He felt his hearts miss a beat and speed up at the expression glistening in those eyes, a look all for him.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Doctor. I really appreciate it."

"I have my moments." He grinned, and she beamed in response, giving him that special look for a second longer before she turned her attention on the wondrous, fiery rain again. He kept watching her, thinking that he could have kissed her just then. He couldn't kiss Rose Tyler, though. He already couldn't say no to her; he could only imagine what would happen if he actually kissed her. Something like that might be the end of him, for all he knew.

He stuck to holding her hand, those fingers that fit just perfectly in his, smiling as she gave his hand a playful squeeze in return. He had his Rose back, and that was enough for him.

The two of them were so caught up each other, they both missed the faint cry in the empty forest around them. The distant, lonely cry of a wolf.

Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I know I had fun writing this! 3 TBB