* This is a direct sequel to In Any Universe so you may want to read that first if you haven't already.

Good Morning

Rose awoke to grey morning light streaming through gaps in the heavy curtains not quite fully drawn across the window. She blinked slowly, her fuzzy mind struggling to recall where she was and how she'd come to be there. Months and months of journeying between universes had made waking in strange locales an all too common occurrence. An unfamiliar bed was actually rather refreshing when you considered some of the things she'd woken to find in the recent past.

Still not entirely awake, she stretched her limbs, luxuriating in the simple comfort of a quiet moment and a soft bed. She froze mid-motion though when her arm brushed against a warm body lying next to her. Turning her head to look at her unexpected companion, Rose found herself gazing at the sleeping form of the Doctor. Oh. Right. Now she remembered.

This was hardly the first time she'd shared a bed with the Doctor. It had happened more than once that they'd ended up bunking together when circumstances required it. During the last few months before Canary Wharf, they'd sort of fallen into the habit even when on the TARDIS after one too many encounters with danger left one or the other of them feeling vulnerable enough to seek comfort in each other's arms. Company kept the nightmares at bay, so every night the Doctor would join Rose and hold her until she fell asleep. They never spoke about it, neither one willing to admit out loud what they were doing, for fear of what it might mean. But this was something new. It was rare enough for her to wake before the Doctor and find him still next to her in the morning, but to find him there without a stitch of clothing on was… surreal.

Gingerly, she reached out her hand to touch him, scarcely believing he was real. Asleep, he looked younger than he had on the beach, more like the man she remembered tucking into bed in her mothers flat on Christmas Eve nearly four years ago. He'd cut his hair shorter on the sides since then but it retained its magnificent disarray on top. She ran her fingers gently through it near his temple and the sleeping Doctor leaned in to her caress with a contented mumble. She slid her hand down the side of his face to stroke along his jaw line, feeling the barest hint of stubble forming there and the slow and steady beat of his now-human heart at his throat.

As images of their night together surfaced in her memory like ships emerging from the fog, she laid her head against his chest and curled up beside him with her arm draped across his torso. His skin, that had always felt cool to the touch before, now radiated heat, warming her in the chilly Norwegian hotel room. It felt wrong to her but at the same time, oh, so right.

There'd been so many times in the past when they'd come dangerously close to crossing the invisible line of intimacy that the Doctor had drawn between them, but he'd always managed to pull away just before anything happened. This new Doctor hadn't held back.

This new Doctor had been able to tell her how he felt, had been able and willing to show her how he felt too. When they kissed, he clung to her desperately; needing her, wanting her, as badly as she'd always wanted and needed him. She couldn't recall how they'd ended up on the bed, but she did remember pushing him back against the mattress to kiss him while her other hand fumbled with the button on his trousers. He'd broken their kiss briefly with a gasp as she tugged at the zip and met her heated gaze with a slightly panicked look in his eyes. Internally, she'd held her breath, expecting this to be the moment when he withdrew, but he surprised her by shifting his hips up to press against her hand and reaching around to find the clasp of her bra.

It had been something like five years since Rose had been with anyone like this; her attempts to throw herself into her work with Torchwood and the Dimension Cannon quest to find the Doctor had left little room for relationships. Returning to Mickey had seemed far too cruel, considering. Who knew how long it'd been for the Doctor. At least since before the Time War, she guessed, unless he'd changed drastically during their separation.

Encouraged by his eager response to her touch, Rose had hurried to remove the last barriers of fabric separating them. Dragging in air with ragged breaths, they held still for just a moment to take in the sight of their bodies together. The Doctor, or at least this new hybrid version of him, had surprisingly normal human anatomy it turned out. A tiny part of Rose wondered if she was disappointed by this discovery or relieved. She certainly wasn't about to complain though; there were absolutely no ambiguous messages in his body's reaction to her.

Rose met the Doctors gaze and flushed at what she saw. She'd never seen the Doctor look at anyone or anything like that before. It scared her a little; she could see some of the Oncoming Storm in his brown eyes, but instead of the promise of violence or quiet rage, they held desire. If she'd had any lingering doubts that this is what he wanted, they died in that instant.

She'd be lying if she didn't admit that a small part of what fueled her passion was a sense of defiance against the Time Lord who'd abandoned them and couldn't be bothered to say a proper goodbye. But most of it was the crazed elation that came from being alive, and together, after everything they'd been through; all those jumps, the pain and destruction she'd witnessed, the years spent wondering about words left unsaid, meaningful glances unacted upon had weighed on her. They had their whole lives together now but it almost seemed too good to be true. Last night had been a way to prove to each other that this wasn't just some mad dream.

It had not been the night to take it slow and savor each moment. Between the desperate, frantic need for comfort that brought them together and the mind-numbing exhaustion that tugged at the edges of their consciousness, their union was brief. Considering how out of practice they both were, it went rather well though. What they lacked in coordination, endurance, and skill, they made up for in enthusiasm.

Actually, it had been, to borrow a phrase from her Doctor, bloody fantastic.

Rose knew better than to assume that one night had resolved everything between them but it was a start. She hoped they hadn't inadvertently made things more difficult by jumping right in to a physical relationship so quickly. Neither one of them was the same as they'd been three years ago; the naive young shop girl was long gone and he'd just changed from a nine hundred year old time traveling alien to a part-human permanent resident of Earth. It was going to take some time to get reacquainted. In the very least, they had three years worth of stories to catch up on.

Trailing her fingers idly against the smooth skin and soft hair on his bare chest, Rose smiled. They'd manage to make it work somehow. If they could survive regenerations, daleks, and the end of the world (more times than she could count) then they could handle anything this universe could dish out. And, knowing them, there would be a hell of a lot of fun and adventure along the way.

She felt the Doctor's breath hitch as he stirred to wakefulness in her arms and snuggled closer to him, her right hand still tracing patterns against his ribs. "Mmm..." he rumbled and lifted his head to press a soft kiss on the crown of her head, "good morning."

"Good morning Doctor."

She met his eyes and was delighted to see a sleepy smile on his lips. She returned it with a flirtatious glance down his body. He blushed adorably when he realised what she was hinting at but recovered admirably.

"Ah. It seems I have misplaced my pants," he offered her a cheeky grin, "you wouldn't by any chance know where they've gone to, would you?"

Tongue in teeth, she shook her head and slid her wandering hand lower. "Haven't a clue Doctor. Are you sure you need them?"

"Welllllllll..." he began.

Her hand slipped under the covers and she maneuvered with the other hand to sit up and pull him in for a kiss. She definitely had his full attention now. She broke the kiss for a moment to swing a leg over his hips so that she was straddling him. He wrapped his arms around her eagerly. This kiss was deliberate, soft and simmered with heat. Slowly Rose lowered herself on top him until they were pressed tightly together, feeling each other's heartbeats in every breath.

As the Doctor's kisses became more intense and insistent she had an idea. She moved her hips against him until he inhaled sharply. Flushed and eyes bright, she rolled off of him and climbed out of the bed, leaving him sputtering and confused.

"Wha-?"

"It feels like it's been ages since I've had a hot shower. I'm going to go get cleaned up," she replied, barely managing not to laugh.

The poor Doctor looked bewildered and flustered as he stared at her, his hair sticking up in every direction. She turned and walked purposefully toward the bathroom, hiding a wicked grin. Pausing at the doorway, almost as an afterthought, she composed her face and turned to look back at him again.

"Well? Aren't you going to join me?" she teased and went in to turn on the water.

He blinked and scrambled to free himself from the bed clothes and get to his feet as fast as possible, hurrying after her. The small room was already steaming up when he caught the now laughing Rose in his arms just before she could step into the shower.

"Doctor," she said with a shiver as he began kissing her neck, "shut the door, you're letting all of the warm air out."

He closed it with a free hand and then urged her forward into the shower, pressing her up against the wall under the spray of heated water, hands and mouth moving steadily further down her torso. The feel of her body, wet and slippery in his arms, the taste of her skin... he could get used to this whole 'being human' business.

After, they curled up together, damp and half dressed, on the bed, having rummaged about the room in search of their discarded clothing and pulling on underthings and shirts at least. The Doctor had been telling her how he'd met Donna after she'd appeared mysteriously on his ship when they were interrupted by Rose's mobile buzzing.

Retrieving the device from the floor, she blanched when she saw the name on the caller id. "Mum. Oh god, I forgot! I didn't go back to the room last night!" She turned to the Doctor, who looked horrified when he realised what that meant.

"We'd best get dressed," he said, picking up his trousers quickly, "she'll be at the door any minute and I don't fancy being slapped by Jackie Tyler when I haven't got any regenerations left to spare."

a/n - I originally didn't plan to write a follow up to In Any Universe since it felt fairly complete as it was.

The opening lines with Rose waking up in the bed just popped into my mind while I was trying to write the last chapter for Knots In Time and before I knew it, I had the whole scene in my head. I realise that it's pretty tame for an 'M' rated fic, but I think leaving a little bit to your imagination is best sometimes. Hope you enjoyed it!

Reader feedback is always appreciated.