AN: Just a little ficlet that refused to leave my head when I heard this song. Timeline is in the 2nd series.
"Home" Phillip Phillips (go listen to it)
Rose reached for the Doctor's hand as they returned to the TARDIS. It was another close call – was there really any other kind with them? But the Doctor saved the day once again, with a little help from his Companion. Rose leaned her head onto the Doctor's shoulder; besides the physical exertion, this one had been emotionally draining as well. They had been dealing with the Abyssians, creatures that were essentially a void that fed on hopelessness inside people.
The Doctor was particularly vulnerable to them, which came as a surprise to her. While she couldn't see all the emotions that they conjured in the void, she could guess. The Doctor was alone in so many ways, ways that she couldn't even begin to comprehend. But in the end, she called out to him, even as she was losing all hope herself. They both reached out their hands and grasped tightly and used each other as an anchor to crawl out of the abyss.
Rose didn't even know if she had a bedroom of her own on the TARDIS anymore. She had one when she first came on board, but some time after the Doctor regenerated, she had found herself in his room to talk and when she made motions to go to her own room, the Doctor had told her just to stay. Nothing happened between them that night; he just held her while they both slept. After that, more nights than not, she spent her nights in his room. While Mickey was on board, she had reluctantly retreated to her own room out of respect, but it had shrunk down to little more than a closet with a bed in it, quite the change from the spacious room she had moved into when she joined the Doctor in his other body.
It didn't matter anymore though. There was no one to pretend for. Just the two of them and this night more than others, they needed to be near each other. They undressed silently, both still haunted by the events that had just transpired. The sight of the Doctor in his boxers with slightly knobby knees made Rose's own knees wobble a little. She stripped until she was down to just knickers and a shirt and climbed into bed, into his arms.
He spoke first. "You died. You died and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I watched you die." His voice was bleak.
Rose curled up even tighter around the Time Lord. "It wasn't true. I'm fine." Her hand caressed his cheek gently. He placed his own hand over hers.
"It could have been true though. Rose," his voice broke with emotion, "I can't…What if being with me causes something like that to occur?" Even though the visions brought by the Abyssians had faded, the fear remained.
Rose kissed his shoulder lightly. "Do you know what I saw? You left me behind. You put me back on earth and found a new Companion and forgot I ever existed."
"Never happen," the Doctor said quickly and resolutely. "I could never forget about you, Rose." He kissed her forehead gently. "But I worry about keeping you from your home and family."
"I am home. Doctor, what do I have to do to make you understand? I have chosen this, you, for good." She sat up to look him square in the eye. "I am home. You and the TARDIS are my home now, as long as you'll have me."
He couldn't help but notice the hint of fear in her expression as she spoke. Despite her bold words, she was just as haunted by the day's events and thought he would abandon her some day. It was a valid concern, he admitted to himself; he had left all his other Companions behind eventually. He met her eyes, feeling a stabbing pain in his hearts as he spoke. "I will never leave you behind, Rose Tyler." The words were true, that's what caused the pain. He would keep her with him, which meant that either through age or violence, he would have to watch her die. The Doctor kissed her forehead with a smile that belied his pain. "I never want to be without you, Rose. You are my home."
He felt her relax back down into his arms. There were so many things he wasn't able to communicate to her: how exactly he felt about her, how he considered ending his regeneration with this body, the fear that she would get fed up with this life. But, in that moment, none of that mattered. They were together and happy, ready to fight another day side by side.