Dreaming Of You Always
"Rose!" I screamed as she lost her grip on the lever and fell straight towards the Void.
I sat up straight in bed, my eyes now wide open. What a horrible nightmare. I'd faced Daleks, Cyberman, and the odd Ood, but nothing scared me more than the thought of something happening to Rose.
I glanced up startled as the door to my bedroom creaked open and a blonde head of hair peeked around it.
"Doctor?" Rose whispered, "Are you awake?"
"Yes, why aren't you?" I asked as I pulled my knees up, still under the covers, and rested my crossed arms on them, suddenly very aware of how little clothes I was wearing. I was dressed only in a pair of blue flannel pajama bottoms, and glancing up, I saw the Rose was clad in a thin, and extremely short, spaghetti strap nightgown.
"I-" She broke off, "Never mind." She began to turn away.
"Was it the Cybermen again?" I asked. I knew that she had been plagued on and off by dreams of Cybermen upgrading her mum since our adventure in Pete's World.
"Yeah." She whispered with her back still to me.
"Want to come over here and tell me about it?" I offered, "Let the Doctor make it all better?" She turned back towards me and smiled. I returned it and patted the bed next to me. She closed the door behind her, made her way over, and cautiously climbed up onto the mattress where she sat cross-legged and starred at me.
"So tell me about this awful nightmare and we'll see if we can vanquish it together." I said laying back down. The sheets and blankets had been pushed down a little to make room for Rose and I felt uncomfortably exposed from the waist up.
"It was horrible," She began recalling, "The Cybermen had upgraded you and you were chasing me, trying to make a cyberman too. And I wanted to try and help you because you're you, but I was afraid of you."
"I was your nightmare?" I asked. She nodded and lay back, resting her head on the pillow next to me. I turned to look at her. "I had a nightmare too."
"Time War?" She asked. I shook my head.
"You and I went to visit your mum and there were ghosts everywhere. Then next thing you know, we were fighting Cybermen and Daleks left and right." Rose looked confused.
"But Doctor, that did happen. It was just a few days ago."
"I know," I responded, my voice thickened by memories.
"I made my choice, and I'm never leaving you."
"But it my dream, you couldn't hold on to the lever and you fell into the Void. I couldn't save you."
It was Rose who initiated contact; she had always been braver than me. She reached over, took my hand, and gave my fingers a squeeze.
"I'm here now." She whispered.
"That's the problem." She looked shocked, so I quickly explained, "I mean, you're here and your family, your entire life, is trapped in a different world because of me."
"Not my entire life. You are my life now. Traveling with you, I wouldn't give it up for anything."
"But for how long?"
"Forever."
"Now you have no choice. At least before you had a family to go back to when I decided that I cared too god damn much about your safety to let you travel with me anymore."
"You'd have forced me to leave?"
"I did it once before. I'd rather you be safe and bored stiff at home than hurt because of me."
"No!" She refused with such force that it startled me. I looked up and met her eyes. "Promise me that you'll never send me away. Promise me we'll be together always."
She was close to tears now. I didn't entirely understand why, but I hated to see her like this. I brought my hand up and brushed my fingers along her jawline.
"I promise." She relaxed and much to my surprise and delight slid her arms up around my neck and nestled into my side. I shifted so I could lay on my back with her head on my chest. All self-consciousness was long gone as I stroked her hair.
"Promise me forever." She whispered as she settled down between my body and my arm, which held her possessively.
"Forever." After sacrificing everything I'd ever known and loved, I decided that maybe I'd be selfish once. Well, actually I'd be giving something up to gain Rose. I'd be giving her one of my last two regenerations, but she was worth it.
"Rose?" I whispered, but she was already asleep. It could wait till morning.