Authors Note: Hey everyone! I'm very familiar with FanFiction, but this is this is my first time posting my work, so any constructive criticism or positive feedback would be very appreciated! I came up with this story one day as I was laying in bed sick- the conversation between Rose and the Doctor in later chapters just sort of happened, and the rest is history! I love these two to pieces, so I just had to put this story out there. Two items of business before I get started- 1, I'm currently trying to decide where I want this story to take place (Pre- Canary Warf, AU where Canary Warf didn't happen/didn't separate them, Post- Journeys end, etc) so I'd love to hear your opinions as the story goes on, and 2, I absolutely LOVE FanArt, so if any of you with more talent then me feel so inspired as to create something based on this story, that would be Molto Bene! Now that I've rambled enough, on to the story!

"Rose, are you up yet?" Rose heard as the Doctor knocked on her door in a quick four-beat rhythm.

Well, guess I'm lucky he lasted this long, she thought, looking at the clock. She was surprised to see that it read 10 rather than the usual 8. Much as he always complained about how much time she spent sleeping and the valuable travel time it wasted, it meant a lot to her that he'd let her get some extra sleep today. It must have been obvious even to him that she needed it- let's just say three days of no sleep due to being chased by… well, she still couldn't pronounce the name, but regardless, the ordeal had really taken its toll.

"Gimme a bit, just getting up," she managed to croak out with surprising difficulty. Great, dry throat, she thought with a sigh, first things first, get something to drink.

"Is everything alright Rose? Something about your voice sounds off," the Doctor said, clearly concerned. Probably wondering if I've been kidnapped and replaced by some alien clone she thought with a chuckle.

"Yah, just a dry throat, happens all the time when I first get up," she explained.

"Mind if I come in for a moment?" He asked.

"Sure, guess I'm decent enough," she said, sitting up in bed.

He opened the door and stepped in, clearly checking to be sure she was really ok and wasn't downplaying anything.

"I'm fine, really Doctor, nothing to worry about. It's not usually this bad, probably just because I went so long without sleep then crashed longer than normal."

"You're sure? It wouldn't take any time at all to pop into the med bay and have the Tardis run a few quick scans..."

True to his name in every way, she thought."I'm sure Doctor, once I get up and going I'll be just fine. But thank you anyway," she said, smiling.

"Ok then, if you're sure," he said, shrugging, "If something to drink is all you need, can I make you a cup of tea while you're getting ready?"

"Would you? That would be really lovely, actually."

"No problem, back in a bit," he said, bouncing out of the room with a grin.

She shook her head, smiling.

"Guess that's my cue." Sighing, she slowly made her way to the closet. It wasn't a long walk, but for some reason by the time she got there she was already out of breath.

What is wrong with me today? Sore throat, winded after walking to the closest, that trip can't have worn me out that badly. Exhausting as it had been, she'd been on trips far worse and hadn't reacted anything like this. She wondered if she should take the Doctors offer to have the Tardis run a few tests, but quickly brushed it off. He'd blow it out of proportion like he always did, and what he insisted would be a "few quick scans" would likely turn into a far more extensive process, especially since she'd already insisted that she was fine.

Once she'd caught her breath, she made her way to the bathroom. She figured the Doctor must be nearly done with the tea by now and decided she'd better hurry if she wanted to avoid him coming back and catching her in the shower... yah, not a good idea. The hot water and steam did help a bit, but even standing wore her out much more than it should have.

"Ok, we'll definitely be going somewhere very low key today," she said to herself as she towel dried her hair. She quickly ran a brush through it, then took the blow drier from the bathroom and sat at her vanity to finish the process. Surprisingly (especially since her exhaustion was making her take much more time getting ready than usual), the Doctor still wasn't back from making the tea, so she decided to hurry and put on some mascara.

Just as she was finishing, four knocks signaled the Doctors return. Perfect timing, she thought, grinning.

"Took you long enough, come on in then," she called, turning to face the door.

"What did you do, get distracted and decide to disassemble the toaster?" She joked as the door swung open. However, as the Doctor entered the room she saw exactly what had kept him so long.

"What's all this?" She asked, surprised as the Doctor came in with, not only her favorite tea, but a tray full of her favorite foods- eggs, toast and jam, yogurt, bacon, and banana nut muffins (though she suspected that last one was more for his benefit then hers).

"Well, I know that last trip did a number on us, especially you, so I figured you earned this," he said, grinning with pride as he set the tray on her bed.

"This is a first. Does this mean I have to take back everything I said about you being rude and not ginger?"

"To be fair, it was me that said that, not you," he replied, chuckling with a warm smile.

"This is a lot of food; I'm assuming you made it for both of us?" She said as she sat next to the tray. While she appreciated the gesture, she strangely didn't have much of an appetite this morning. That didn't make any sense, considering they also hadn't eaten much on the last trip due to all of the running, but she didn't want to make him feel bad if she couldn't finish it all herself.

"Actually, I just thought you could use some extra fuel after eating so little the last few days. I don't need to eat much, and I had some last minute things I needed to work on in the control room to get ready for today's trip."

"Oh come on, even you've got to be running low on fuel after all that. At least have some of these muffins, I know they're your favorite," she said, holding out the bowl and waving it back and forth temptingly.

He hesitated, but she finally saw his resolve crumble.

"Well, if you insist," he said, coming forward and snatching two of the muffins.

"That's what I thought," she said smugly. "So, where are we off to today?

"Well since we've had our fill of excitement for the time being," he started with mouth full of muffin before noticing her raise her eyebrow with a smirk. He quickly swallowed before continuing, "Sorry, so much for not being rude." She giggled, earning another grin from him in response, "Anyway, I figured we'd set the controls to random and let the Tardis choose somewhere non-threatening to spend the day sight-seeing."

"Perfect, I was hoping it would be something like that. Mind you, with our luck some catastrophe will likely pop up just because we're there," Rose said with a sigh.

"Yah, that does tend to happen, doesn't it?" The Doctor replied, running his hand along the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Yup, and I wouldn't have it any other way," Rose said, grinning.

That only seemed to make him more eager than before, and he was now beaming with excitement, "In that case, I'll leave you to finish your breakfast and get us landed so we can walk right out the door when you get to the control room."

"Perfect, I'm right behind you." She said, though she was unsure if he heard a word since he was half way out the door by the time she finished.

She tried eating a bit more, but the most she could manage was a few bites of eggs and a piece of toast. She didn't know what she was supposed to do with all of it. She couldn't finish, but she didn't want him finding out if she didn't eat it all.

"Might be a long shot, but could you help me take care of this?" She asked the Tardis. The gentle hum made the response clear, even to her.

"Thanks Old Girl," she said, smiling at the ceiling. Well, guess I've kept him waiting long enough. She thought with a sigh. In hindsight, she should have known her day would go anything but as planned.

Thanks for reading, please review. I'll have another chapter up soon, and look forward to hearing your thoughts in the meantime.

Allonsy and Geronimo!