Nine/Rose

Rating: All Ages

Word Count: 718

A/N: Just a sweet, fluffy little ficlet written for a friend on tumblr. Normally when I try to write these two (which isn't often so I'm a bit rusty) it's the feistier and more flirty side of their relationship that comes out but tonight they were feeling a bit more domestic.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Doctor Who. I am just playing with the characters because they play with my emotions.

"That's finished then. Where to next?" The Doctor turned from the console, expecting to see bright anticipation on his companion's face, the thrill of a new adventure burning in her eyes and a bright grin lighting up her face.

He instead caught Rose in the middle of yawning as she sat on the jumpseat.

"Tired are we?" He said, a smile teasing the corners of his mouth.

"Maybe just a bit," Rose admitted, failing to cover another yawn. "Still ready for another adventure though, yeah?"

The Doctor smiled fondly and shook his head. "Nah, dead on your feet you are. Off to bed with ya. The old girl could use some maintenance time in the vortex anyways."

"Okay, I'll move in just a mo'. Soon as I find the energy." He could hear the smile in her voice as he turned back to the console and typed in the command to begin a diagnostic scan.

After ensuring the scan was running, the Doctor turned towards Rose once more to urge her to head to her room for the night only to find her already asleep on the jumpseat.

He knew he'd been keeping them on the run the past couple of days, jumping from adventure to adventure without much rest time in between but he hadn't realized that Rose had been this exhausted. "Forget how much sleep humans need," he murmured as he brushed a piece of hair out of her face.

Gently, the Doctor picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Still asleep, Rose nuzzled past his leather jacket and buried her face in his jumper, letting out a contented sigh. He smiled down at her as he started off down the corridor. It was times like this when he reconsidered all the running. Because that's what he was doing. He was running from his memories, from the darkness, from what his little blonde companion made him feel, running from the fact that holding her close would only make her inevitable loss harder.

He tightened his grip on his precious bundle, unwilling to think about the day he wouldn't be able to hold her and let her heartbeat set the rhythm of his life.

For now though, he lowered her onto her bed and bent down to ease off her trainers before pulling the duvet over her. He brushed a kiss over her forehead and turned to leave.

"Doctor?" Her voice, low and rough with sleep, stopped him in his tracks. He looked back at her, saw her struggle to sit up to talk to him. "Can you stay? Just for a bit." Rose bit her lip and glanced away. "S'just sometimes I get nightmares. 'Specially when I haven't slept for a while."

The Doctor slowly turned back to face her again, not trusting himself to talk. He'd had no idea she suffered from nightmares and he wanted to kick himself for not realizing. It was a perfectly normal thing to expect when they saw the things they did on their adventures but Rose had never complained about them or said anything.

Rose took the silence as a refusal. "S'alright, you don't have to. I'll be fine. I'll just…" She collapsed back onto her pillow and curled up on her side. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Don't remember saying no. The TARDIS can wait on me for a bit, she's probably still running her scan." The Doctor slipped off his jacket and hung it at the end of the bed before sitting to remove his boots. He eased into the bed next to her, thinking that this is one of those moments he'd been running from but all Rose had to do was ask and here he was. Her wish, his command.

Space only existed between them for a couple of moments before Rose turned over and snuggled into his side, again nuzzling into his jumper. Her left hand was resting on his chest, between his hearts and the Doctor couldn't remember a time he'd felt more content than laying here with his precious girl.

Within a minute, Rose was once again asleep. The Doctor stayed next to her, warding off nightmares until he felt her breathing shift, signalling she was going to wake up soon. He slipped out of her room after another kiss to her forehead and went to the console room to find somewhere relaxing and fantastic for today's outing.