A/N: Sometimes you never know when inspiration is going to hit you. This was late at night for me… Hmmm… I will say, though, that I'm starting to like the one-shot fics. So much less labor intensive.

On a personal note, I love fan fiction… almost to the detriment of my writing. I'm spending so much time right now reading "Doctor Who" fan fiction that my writing has really been suffering… hence the reason why I haven't updated my on going fics lately. Oy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Doctor Who… Seriously… I only own the ability to get really chilly at night.

Characters: Rose, the Tenth Doctor, and the TARDIS. Who else could you possibly need?

Chills & Thrills

It hadn't been that long since they'd said goodnight, but Rose absolutely couldn't get to sleep. She had no idea what was wrong with her. She'd piled on every blanket she could find and still she was shivering. She could barely move because of the weight, but she just couldn't seem to get warm. She'd tried ducking her head under the covers five minutes ago, but she'd never been able to sleep like that. She always felt like she was suffocating. She'd tried wrapping up in the blankets like a cocoon, but that hadn't worked either.

She moaned sadly and wondered why the TARDIS was doing this to her. Usually, she barely needed a coverlet, let alone… she counted quickly… a dozen blankets on top of her! And this had been going on for over a week! Maybe she was sick? She put her hand up to her forehead and couldn't tell any difference. She was starting to get worried and, if she didn't get to sleep soon, the Doctor would be mocking her for not being her normal chipper self.

The Doctor… She smiled softly. It was like he never had a problem with the temperature. He always wore the same thing… or nearly, she conceded as she recalled his 1950s look… Did temperature ever bother him? Did Time Lords have an internal thermostat that kept them at their preferred temp? She thought back to the hug after the Wire incident. He'd seemed really warm, but she hadn't been able to tell if that was just unseasonably warm weather or maybe her running and jumping into his arms or what. Maybe he could help... She thought about jumping into his bed like she did her mum's… She blushed hotly but smiled naughtily. He'd absolutely freak out! she thought with glee… which decided her.

She poked a toe out from under the covers and shuddered even more violently. How could she be expected to go exploring when she was freezing to death here? She tried closing her eyes and willing her body to warm up, but that accomplished nothing other than raising her irritation level. She sighed. The TARDIS wasn't cooperating, so she was going to have to do something or die of exposure. She wrapped her heaviest quilt around her and slid from her bed. She swore a little as her feet hit the cold metal floor. She didn't really have the patience to find her fluffy slippers, so ran on bare feet to find the Doctor's room.

It didn't take her long to find his room, and she paused awkwardly in front of it. She liked having the Doctor think of her as an independent sort, and crawling into bed with him might just damage her in his eyes. She thought for a minute about going to the bathroom and filling up a hot water bottle, but an inexplicably frigid breeze hit her face and she dashed into the Doctor's room.

"Wha'? Who's there?" she heard him mumble from the bed. She was actually surprised he was actually in there and apparently sleeping because he'd gone off enough times about how little sleep he needed.

"It's me…" she chattered, irritated because the clattering of her teeth was making it hard to talk… or maybe that was just the exhaustion talking. She clamped down to prevent any teeth from cracking. "'S Rose."

"Rose?" he sat up in bed and she almost gasped. He didn't have a pajama top on! How could he stand it?!? She was standing there, freezing into a Rose-cicle and he was warm enough not to have a shirt on! She muttered to herself at the unfairness of it all, conveniently forgetting that she'd only packed her favorite nightgowns and, while they covered her up enough, they definitely weren't designed to help her stay warm. "What's wrong?"

She could feel tears start to come to her eyes and sniffed back hard. What in the world was wrong with her that she was crying in front of the Doctor? "I'm so tired!" she wailed, the tears falling down her cheeks. "I'm so cold and it doesn't matter how many blankets I pile on… I can't get warm and that means I can't sleep!"

"Oh, you poor thing!" he said sympathetically and held his arms open. That was plenty enough invitation for her. She flew across the room with the quilt flapping about her ankles before she snuggled up into his arms. His bed was elevated, so that was all she could manage, but he engulfed her in a huge bear hug and easily lifted her up onto his bed.

She sighed as her theory bore itself out. She could feel the heat radiating off of him and she wanted to burrow right into him. "You're warm," she sighed, wrapping her arms around his torso and yet maintaining her death grip on her quilt. She could hear the thud of his hearts and wondered if it was just her imagination or if they had really sped up her at their contact.

He started arranging them in the bed, to her protesting groans. "Rose, you have to let go so I can fix the duvet."

"Not gonna!" she said petulantly, pressing her legs up against his and blessing the heat that was starting to course through her body.

He yelped as her feet tangled themselves with his. "Your feet are like blocks of ice!"

She looked up at him and frowned. "'S not my fault! You know I love the TARDIS, but it's like she has it out for me…"

He laughed and hugged her close. "Rose, she loves you. Maybe there's a faulty circuit somewhere."

"Maybe, but it's been this way for a week! I'm totally zonked!"

"Well, why didn't you ask me about it earlier?"

Rose blushed and hid her face in his chest. For a skinny boy, he sure is built well, she thought inanely and had to crush down her impulse to kiss him all over that chest. He has absolutely the perfect amount of chest hair… Oh my! Just stop it! You can't snog the Doctor, 'cause he's the Doctor! You'll just warm up here and then go back to your own bed. Her mind felt fuzzy and she could hardly remember his question. Oh, right. Why hadn't she complained earlier? "I didn't want to be a bother." He chuckled and her stomach clenched as she could feel it echoing through his chest. I'm in such deep trouble, she thought very, very quietly, ever aware that he was telepathic at times.

"You're never a bother, Rose," he murmured, lightly kissing the top of her head. She had to stop herself from pressing into the touch to prolong it. He chuckled again. "Are you warm enough for me to adjust the covers?" She murmured a protest, but relaxed her death grip on her duvet and allowed him to spread it over both of them. She could feel herself slipping into sleep and wondered why part of her was telling her to get up. Why would she want to leave her own personal bed warmer?

"I'm sorry 'bout this, Doctor," she murmured sleepily, moving deeper into the warm bed with her arms still in place. Suddenly, she was thankful that she was so tired because she didn't have the energy to give into her impulses, even if they might possibly be welcomed by the Doctor. "You're a lovely hot water bottle."

"I'm a what?" he gurgled. She smiled, sure that he'd never been compared to something you might find in a medicine cabinet before.

"Hot water bottle. I'm toasty." Her eyes fluttered closed. "I thought I was sick, but now I know it's just the air system in here. Why'd it get so cold?" He pressed his lips to her forehead. She almost groaned. She was certain he didn't know what he was doing to her, but it was driving her insane. She would have sat straight up if not for the fear of losing the benefits she was already receiving. She satisfied herself with raising her head to look into his eyes.

He had the grace to blush. "It's the most effective way to take your temperature. You're at 35 degrees and rising… Probably because of the temperature differential in the ship. And Time Lords notoriously preferred cold sleeping temperatures. Maybe the TARDIS had that old program crop up and hence the plummeting nighttime temperatures."

"Can you fix it?"

"I'm certain I can eventually. But if you ever need your living hot water bottle again…"

"Won't happen again, I promise. Don't want to be a bother." She could feel herself slipping further and further into a dream world. The next day, she wasn't certain if she'd dreamed his response.

"Don't promise something you can't deliver on, my lovely Rose." She felt a chuckle vibrate through her and she snuggled closer. "You're such a clever girl, my darling TARDIS. Keep up the good work!"

The End

A/N: So that's it! Whatcha' think? It came up 'cause I couldn't get warm one night and it totally seemed like something the new Doctor might cook up. He's such a little mischief maker! ;D