A/N: So this is a little something I've had sitting around on my computer for a while, partially based on the events of The Satan Pit. It sort of jumps right into it, but that's on purpose, as the description sets up the premise.
"How is he? Is he…?" Rose left her question unfinished. Is he alive? But she wouldn't ask that, couldn't. To say those words aloud would be like betrayal of her trust in the Doctor. The soldier looked at her sadly.
"He wanted me to give you a message," the soldier said. Rose immediately asked for what it was.
"Well, it's actually rather confusing, miss. See, he told me to give you a message you already knew," the soldier said. Rose looked at her, just as confused as she was, but still needing to know.
"Tell me anyway," Rose demanded.
"He told me to tell you… oh, it would be simpler if I simply repeated exactly what he said, word for word," the soldier said with mild frustration.
"Go on," Rose said, feeling herself wanting to fall apart.
"Tell Rose that… oh, she already knows," the soldier repeated. Rose felt tears come to her eyes, threatening to overflow. She knew that the message could mean a thousand things, but to her it meant only one thing. For so long now, the two had danced a dance of denial, neither wanting to share many real emotions. They had kept all of that at bay, hoping to save each other and themselves from a world of hurt. But the Doctor's message to her, she knew those words were supposed to say everything they never had spoken.
"Are you alright miss?" the soldier asked. Rose barely trusted herself to speak with the impending threat of tears. For a moment, she opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to gain the strength to speak once more.
"D-did… did he say… anything else?" Rose dared to ask. The soldier dropped her line of sight.
"Just one more word. Allons-y," the soldier responded. She looked at Rose's face and deduced that she needed to be alone. "You'll be the first to know any more news," the soldier said. With a quick bow of her head, she left Rose alone in the room. Rose sank into the nearest chair, feeling too weak to stand.
The Doctor, always laughing, smiling, joking around, and now he'd gone and risked his life for the good of the planet again like always. Rose tried to laugh at this like she might have on any other day, but not today. She knew this time it was different. This time he might not come back. And to think that she hadn't even risked her emotional well-being enough to tell him how she truly felt. It made her insides cringe and twist with regret. The tears she had been holding back now fell freely with no resistance.
Those words to her, the Doctor's message, she knew it meant he loved her. And if only she could tell him how she loved him too! But no, she had been too afraid to tell him until it was too late.
"Oh, Doctor," she murmured to herself, putting her face in her hands. If only she could see him now, she wouldn't care about all the boundaries they had soundlessly put up, she wouldn't care about their raw emotions being too much, she wouldn't care about anything. All she would care about is telling the Doctor how she loved him. That and kissing him. Kissing those beautiful soft lips she had been staring at for a while now.
There was a soft knock at the door, but Rose ignored it. If it was good news, there would be no soft knocking. The soldier would be bursting down the door to bring Rose her Doctor back, safe and sound. The knock came again, but Rose still did not respond. She simply burrowed her face further into her hands. The knock came one more time, and this time Rose responded with anger.
"What! Whoever you are, I don't care! If it's not you bringing me my Doctor back, then just leave! If you don't leave, I swear, I'll use violence!" she screamed, throwing her hands in the air. She heard the door open.
"Well I never, Miss Rose Tyler," came the soft voice she'd been dreaming of. Rose spun around to see the Doctor standing there at the door. He was rather torn up, his suit was trashed, and his glasses had been cracked, but he was still the Doctor, and he was still alive.
"You idiot! You left me thinking you were dead!" Rose yelled at him. The Doctor raised his eyebrows and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'd rather expected something a little different. Perhaps a warmer welcome," the Doctor said. Rose shook her head, advancing toward him quickly. The Doctor took a step back and flinched, afraid she was going to make good on her threat to use violence. She pushed up to the back of the room and then yanked on his shoulders until he was low enough down, and she kissed him.
The world stopped while Rose Tyler kissed him. Her lips crashed into his as if they had been waiting for years, and he supposed they had. With the shock of this sudden event, the Doctor finally found his senses and began kissing her back, running his hands through her blonde hair and tasting what he had forbidden himself to ever partake of- her. Then, just as he was losing the last of his mind, Rose pulled away just a fraction so she could look him in the eyes.
"Tell me what I already know," Rose whispered to him. He already knew what she was asking as much as she knew what he would answer, but it had to be said anyway.
"Rose Tyler…" the Doctor started. He swallowed, finding himself nervous for some reason. Time seemed to slow for him as he noticed small things about Rose. He noticed how her hair was slightly out of place from when he'd run his hands through it. He noticed that her face was wet from tears from before he'd come back. He noticed her heartbeat was much faster than normal, and he remembered that a Dalek had once said the same thing about Rose's heartbeat upon seeing him.
"Rose Tyler, I love you," he said at last. At long, long last.
A/N: My first attempt at 10/Rose. It was hard to write for them, especially since I'm not always the biggest fan of Rose, but I rather liked this. It's fluffy-ish at the end, and I like fluff.