Rose stood motionless, staring at the empty space where the TARDIS was only minutes before, unsure if it had been five minutes or five hours. The cold wind whipped through her sending an icy chill down her spine. At that moment, she was acutely aware that he was standing only a few feet behind her, waiting for her reaction, giving her the space she needed. Slowly, Rose turned to face him, her heart dropping into the pit of her stomach as she took him in.
He stood there, looking exactly as she remembered him. He was still just as thin and tall as ever. His freckles stood out against his pale skin in the fading afternoon sunlight and his hair was blowing in the breeze making it even more unruly. It was his eyes though that made her breath hitch. His usually intense dark eyes held a note of sadness and disappointment and Rose suddenly felt guilty that she was probably the reason.
A slow reassuring smile crept across his face but did not reach his eyes. Rose smiled back shyly as he began to approach her.
"Rose…" he attempted in a gritty voice. He reached out and took her hand in his. His hand was warmer now, no longer the lower temperature of a Time Lord, but now that of a human. Rose did not pull away and he did not attempt to finish his sentence, unsure of what he would have said anyway.
They both stood there staring at their entwined hands until Jackie broke the silence, "It's flippin' freezing out here! We'd better get going, there's a bed and breakfast nearby that we can stay until the zepplin gets here in the mornin'."
Both Rose and the Doctor felt unusually grateful for Jackie's interruption at that moment; providing them with an excuse to leave things unsaid for the time being. Jackie turned and lead the way off the beach. Rose dropped her hand from the Doctor's grasp and followed her mother, the Doctor following a few feet behind.
Feet slipping on the sand, they made their way down the beach silently until they found the trail leading back to the main road. Before he left the beach for the last time, the Doctor stopped and took in the sight one last time, promising to commit it to memory and never return.
Thankfully, it was a short walk to the bed and breakfast. While Jackie checked them in, the Doctor and Rose stood by the fireplace and warmed their hands.
Rose finally broke the silence, "this is where we stayed the last time. It's weird being here again."
"Rose, I'm sorry, I am so, so sorry. I never meant to do this to you again. I never thought I would have the chance-" he broke off as Jackie approached.
"I'm knackered. I got 3 separate rooms on the same floor. Breakfast is served at 9am and checkout is at 11," she said as she passed them each a key, "You two can catch up, I'm going right to bed; but you better be up and ready in the morning!"
With that, Jackie turned and descended up the stairs to the second floor. Rose turned to the Doctor, "are you hungry? There's a chip shop just down the road."
"Chips! How could I pass up chips?" the Doctor exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face.
Rose returned the smile. It was hard not to be affected by the Doctor's enthusiasm, even when she was so confused.
Rose's head swam with all the events of the day. Davros and Daleks, the Doctor, the metacrisis Doctor, being left at Bad Wolf Bay. She was unsure of this new Doctor; he looked like her Doctor and talked like her Doctor; he shared all of their memories, yet, he was not the one that was there. Granted, his right hand was original to her Doctor's but what did that really mean? She was thankful that he remained quiet and gave her the space she so desparetly needed.
Once seated with their chips, the Doctor finally spoke up, "I always think about you when I eat chips. I can't eat them without remembering our first date." Rose smiled, encouraging him to continue, "Look, I know this is confusing. I know that you are unsure of me. But I am the Doctor, I am the same - Welllll, minus a heart and with some added Donna snarkiness, but I have all of our memories together and I meant what I said on the beach. I know this will take time and I don't want to pressure you. I want you to trust me but I will give you all the time and space you need."
Rose took her time chewing and swallowing the chip in her mouth, using the time to compose herself and plan her response. The Doctor began to fidget nervously and rub the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry," she began, "I just don't know what to think. I don't know how to feel. It's weird to miss you when you are right here but it's also hard to think of you as being him when I know he is still out there. I know he has Donna but…" The Doctor looked away guiltily at this, unable to bring himself to tell her.
"I know. I understand. Really, I do. We will work it out. We always have, yeah?" he questioned worriedly.
"Yeah," Rose agreed, smiling slightly to put him at ease.
They finished their dinner without much conversation and returned to the bed and breakfast. Once on the second floor, the Doctor and Rose stood in front of her room awkwardly.
"Well, I guess this is my room" Rose said lamely, "I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"
"Yes, of course, well, goodnight, Rose."
Rose opened the door and walked in. Once the door was closed she leaned against it and sighed. She knew it was going to be a long and sleepless night.
The Doctor's room was next to Rose's. He stood staring at the wall, knowing she was just on the other side of it and wishing he could be near her. He knew she needed the space and time to take in all that had happened.
With a sigh, he took off his blue suit jacket and crawled into bed, hoping that sleep would come but knowing it would be a long night.
As he expected, he tossed and turned. Dreaming of fire and destruction. Of people and things now lost to him. But mainly, he dreamt of Rose, loosing Rose over and over again and his two hearts breaking time and time again.
A light knock woke him from the nightmare. Groggy, it took him a minute to take in his surroundings and remember where he was. His single heart beat frantically in his chest. Taking a deep breath, he got up, determined to calm his nerves before opening the door.
Rose stood there, in the same clothes as earlier. "Are you ok? I heard noises, it sounded like you were having a nightmare." Her face was scrunched in concern, eyebrows knitted in worry.
"I-I'm fine" he stammered, "just the usual."
"Can I come in? I couldn't sleep myself," she explained.
"Sure, absolutely" he replied quickly, stepping back to let her through.
Rose walked in and looked around before sitting on the bed. The Doctor sat beside her, hands fidgeting in his lap.
"My room is the same" she started, "it's a nice place really and the people are very friendly."
The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Listen, Rose, really I'm fine. You should really get some rest."
"I can't sleep. I can't believe this is real. That you are really here. It just doesn't feel real. I'm afraid if I go to sleep, I'll wake up and find out it was all a dream" she admitted.
"Rose, I'm here. It's real. I'm not going anywhere. Ever. I promise." His tone was almost pleading, desperate for her to believe him.
Rose choked back a sob and flung her arms around his middle, burying her face in his chest. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek against her head, breathing in her scent and wishing they could stay like that forever.
Light streamed through the curtains, waking the Doctor up. Rose's head lay on his chest, her arm around his middle and his arm wrapped protectively around her.
He couldn't stop the smile from forming. I'm here. I'm really here with Rose Tyler, he thought. He couldn't remember how they got that way or what time they fell asleep but he also couldn't remember a time when he was more content. Unwilling to wake her, he closed his eyes and focused on the way she felt in his arms, her smell, the rhythm of her breathing, and the beat of her heart memorizing anything and everything of that moment.
"Good morning," Rose whispered, startling him. He opened his eyes to see her watching him, smiling that smile that drives him mad, tongue poking out between her teeth. "I don't think I've ever seen you sleep before. It's cute."
His single heart raced and his face felt flushed. Flustered, he jumped off the bed, nearly falling on the ground in his haste. "Right, well, it's nearly time to head down to breakfast. Don't want to be late. Wouldn't want to make your mum mad on my first official day here!"
Rose could only giggle at his reaction.
A/N: This is my first fanfic. I actually haven't written stories since I was a kid so I'm trying to increase my creativity through this! I have a few ideas for the next chapters and have already started the next one but please feel free to R&R and make suggestions! Thank you!
