Disclaimer: Doctor Who and its accoutrements are the property of the BBC and copyright of Russel T. Davies and Steven Moffat. This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: This kind of took a hold of me and wouldn't let go until I'd written it. This is basically just a cute little moment between the Doctor and Rose, set after Journey's End. I'm one of those who like to believe that the Doctor and Rose are happy and living a fantastic life together. :D Thanks to the lovely Goldy_Dollar on LJ, who beta read this for me.
Waking Up
The morning sunlight shone through the window and warmed his skin even as he fought consciousness. He grimaced at the thought of waking up, of leaving his warm bed and the woman who shared it with him. Sleep, he vaguely thought, wasn't nearly as bad as he'd once thought it was.
He felt Rose shift next to him and smiled a sleepy smile as she caressed his shoulder.
"You've got to wake up sometime, Doctor," she said as if reading his thoughts.
"No, I don't," he countered groggily, rolling onto his back and stretching out his legs. "Besides, you're not up yet." He propped himself up on his elbows. "Why aren't you up and dressed?"
Rose blushed. "I was gonna get up and dressed, but I found you more interesting. You know, you, sleeping. It's so different."
"How do you mean? Sleep's perfectly normal," he said.
"Yeah, now it is, for you. Used to not be. You used to lay into me for taking more than five hours to sleep. Said it was a waste a time."
"Oh. Well, that wasn't me. Well, it was, but it was old big ears me," he admitted.
She swatted his arm lightly. "It was both of you, you git," she laughed. "And don't insult old big ears you. I fell in love with old big ears you, remember?"
"Yeah?" he asked, grinning.
"Yeah," she said with a smile that made him wonder just what about that incarnation of him she was remembering so fondly. "After you changed, you were bouncing around all the time after we left the Estate and you didn't want my sleeping slowing us down. Didn't let me catch a proper rest until we picked up Mickey." She frowned a bit, suddenly feeling a pang for her friend.
"It's not my fault you were human and needed sleep! I had… I had superior Time-Lord biology," he defended, irritated that Rose had finished the last sentence with him in a playfully sarcastic tone. It was hard to admit that he was half-human now, when he'd once lorded his superior make-up over whoever happened to be listening.
"And now you don't and well, I like to watch you sleep, I guess. Not in a creepy way, but just… it's so different. I only ever saw you sleep a couple times before. Once, after that meeting with the Dalek in Utah and another after you regenerated and went all useless on us," she smiled, ignoring his offended "Oi!" and continued, "And now, watching you sleep, knowing that you're half like me, it just sort of drives it home."
"You like seeing that I'm vulnerable?" he asked, misunderstanding.
"No!" Rose exclaimed. She sighed and then smiled at him. "It drives it home that you're here with me and that you love me and that we have a life together. It was never about the traveling, Doctor. It was wonderful, yeah, but more than anything, it was about you. It was about the first you, then the second you, and now it's about this you."
He thought about that for a while. He supposed that it made sense.
"And this me, do you love this me as much?" he asked, wishing immediately that he'd kept his mouth shut.
"Of course I do. I think I even love you more, because I know that this is real. It's you and me, the Doctor and Rose, together. I mean, this is us, yeah? What we wanted but could never have."
"And you realized this all by watching me sleep?"
"What can I say," she joked. "I have layers. Lots of them."
"I like your layers, Rose Tyler," he said. "I used to do it too, you know."
"Do what?" Rose asked.
"I used to watch you sleep."
"In the creepy way or the sweet way?" Rose asked, teasing.
"Oh, a fair bit of both, I'd have to say," the Doctor admitted. "It started out as an accident, but then I'd just sort of sit there and watch over you."
"When did it start?" Rose asked, curious.
"Right after the incident with the Slitheen and Harriet Jones," he said. "I'd come to ask you if you wanted to visit Woman Wept and you were sound asleep. You looked beautiful, Rose. I really couldn't look away. And every few days after that I'd stop in and watch over you."
"Sounds a bit skeevy," Rose teased. "You know, since you admitted it was in the creepy way some of the time."
"Are you creeped out right now?" he asked.
"No," Rose said seriously. "No, I'm just thinking on how lucky I am. Got my family. Got my job with the requisite alien threats. Got my Doctor."
"That you do," the Doctor smiled. "So, tell me the truth, Rose. How's my hair look right now?"
Rose laughed loudly. "It's a mess!" she sniggered.
The Doctor groaned and made to get out of bed, intent on surveying the night's damages.
"Oi! No, you don't!" Rose protested, grabbing his arm and pulling him back onto the bed in a fit of laughter.
"But my hair!" he whined.
"Oh, shut up, Doctor. I have plans on messing that hair up even more and you're not gonna stop me."
He grinned suddenly and pulled her on top of him. "Well then, Rose Tyler, do your worst."
Rose came to, naked and relaxed, with a sleeping Doctor next to her in bed. She propped herself up on one elbow and just watched him as she had earlier that morning.
"You used to watch over me when I slept, you said," she whispered quietly, kissing his forehead. "Now it's my turn to watch over you, Doctor.
Questions, comments, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!