Her Golden Presence

By: SilverLunarStar

Disclaimer: Doctor Who owns my heart, not the other way around.

Author's Note: A belated birthday gift for abarero on LJ.

The Doctor came in and out of consciousness. Every time he woke up and opened his eyes, he'd shut them again as the lighting in the room (cell?) made his head pound more than ever. Every time he'd remember why he was getting a migraine (him! A migraine!), he'd lose consciousness. The only thing that gave him any peace at all was in between the lighting and the memories, the presence of a pink and yellow blur soothing his brow, holding his hand, and feather-light kisses to his temple.

Rose nibbled at her lower lip as she tried to keep her worry at bay. It was obvious he'd had no idea this would happen when they landed. They'd only been traveling on the TARDIS a couple of months here in Pete's world and they'd yet to realize all the differences in the universe, not just on Earth.

"Welcome, Rose Tyler, to Pesdem City, Lasidol Country on planet Lasidol in the Large Magellanic Cloud Galaxy. Judging by the urban structures, we're in the…twenty-second? Century. Fancy that! Our baby girl was able to time travel about a century and to a different galaxy, thought this is only the fifth closest galaxy…" He grinned manically. Since their new TARDIS was only a few years old, she still needed time to fully develop her temporal cortex, but he assured Rose it was only a matter of time.

Rose looked around, taking in the sand-colored grass that should have looked dry, but it was obviously very much alive, the roads were paved black and the weather was cool. She gripped her Doctor's hand a little tighter as she turned around and saw him watching her, a warm spark in his eyes. Her heart beat a little faster at the affection. "I love you."

He brought his unoccupied hand, placing it on her cheek. "I love you." He kissed her softly. It still surprised him how easily the words escaped him now. Sometimes being part-human had its advantages. He laughed as she tugged on his hand once they parted. That was his Rose, already ready to explore!

As they entered the town, he noticed the people of this planet had no mouths and realized they must be a telepathic race. After they explored the place a little, they found a home-based restaurant and sat down on a small table, picking up their menus.

Feeling they were ready to order, a waiter came towards them and touched the Doctor's hand.

After that, everything went blank for the part-Time Lord.

Rose gasped as the Doctor suddenly shot up from the bed. "Doctor!"

"Rose! We've got to get out of here! I don't know what they want but-" He cut himself off as he dragged Rose to the door, letting her go as he struggled to open it with both hands. He was just about to take out his sonic screwdriver when he saw her dangle a triangular key before him. Automatically, he snatched it, unlocked the door, and threw it open. Seeing a few Lasidolans, he shut and locked it again. "We're going to have to find another way out of…" His brain finally caught up to what his senses were telling him and he turned to Rose. "Why do you have a key to our cell?" he asked slowly.

The blonde smirked and rolled her eyes. "Maybe 'cause we aren't in a cell?" She gestured and held in a giggle as he spun around on his heel, finally taking in their surroundings. They were in a room at one of the town's inns.

"B-but, th-they, I-" He was utterly baffled and looked quite adorable.

"It was an accident, Doctor," she explained. "Gersh, our waiter, was just going to find out what you wanted to eat, but he thought too hard and it knocked you unconscious. I thought he'd attacked you at first. I was furious. Rissa, the owner of the home and manager, came over and tried to calm me down. I wouldn't let her near me, but her daughter, Inala, touched my hand and since her telepathy is much softer, sort of like a human whisper, she helped me understand."

"That doesn't make any sense though! My telepathy isn't as strong as most species, true, but I shouldn't have been knocked down by… Oh." He frowned and…was that a pout she spotted?

"Doctor?" She entwined their fingers.

"I'm a touch telepath, but my…frequency, so to speak, is much lower than it was before. It's easy for me to do, but the intake is at a much lower level than it was."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that the only way I can feel anyone, telepathic or otherwise, is at my intake level or if I'm directly bonded to someone. I didn't notice because as we grew the TARDIS, she adjusted around me, around what I could take. I can still speak with other species, but some species, like the Lasidolans, 'scream' louder than others. They'd have to adjust themselves to 'indoor voice'. They probably realized that you also needed something much gentler which is why they used a child to communicate with you, so you wouldn't have blacked out either. I'd wondered…"

Rose stayed quiet, waiting for him to speak his mind.

"In my head, remember when I told you I'd be able to tell if there were other Time Lords in existence?"

"Yeah," she said softly.

"I was always rather lonely up here," he tapped his temple, "the TARDIS could only fill up the space so much. When I was around you, it eased somewhat, because I could feel you, a presence, a small spark, every time we held hands. It wasn't reading your mind, it was like…well, just like we were holding hands or hugged. But it was always temporary." He breathed in and exhaled slowly. "Now, I don't feel so lonely. It feels like the TARDIS and your bright presence are all I need."

"But doesn't that leave you more vulnerable? Could this happen again?"

He smiled gently; she always worried about him. "I didn't know about it before, so I didn't bother to put up any shields. I hadn't even really noticed I didn't have but a few basic shields up. Now that I do, I'll be able to protect my mind. Sort of give an alert for any nonthreatening species to 'tamp down' on their speech," he assured.

"Are you alright, though? With your…telepathic frequency being…lower?"

He rested his forehead against hers as he thought about the ring back at the TARDIS and his previous hesitancy to tell her about his people's bonding ceremonies (back when they'd actually meant something other than political connections). "As long as you're around, Rose Tyler, everything is just brilliant."

The small golden presence in his mind brightened just that bit more.

Yay! More Cloen/Rose fics. Hee.

Hope you all enjoyed!

~*Eli