The Doctor looked up from the base of the console at the sound of footfalls on the grating. In marked contrast to the elegant young lady who'd accompanied him through the streets of Cardiff, the girl who'd just entered the control room was dressed in a soft flannel dressing gown open over a cotton sleep set, with fuzzy socks on her feet. Her hair tumbled loose over her shoulders and she carried two mugs of steaming tea in her hands. He would never admit it…not aloud, at least, but she looked absolutely adorable.
"Been rummaging about in the wardrobe, have you?" he grumbled affectionately.
"You didn't seriously think I was gonna try an' sleep in that corset, did you?" Rose replied cheekily.
He ducked his head back under the console, grunting noncommittally.
Rose settled cross-legged on the grating and set his mug down beside him. She clutched her own mug in both hands, inhaling the fragrant steam. A lock of golden hair fell forward over her eyes, making her look impossibly young.
"You all right?" the Doctor asked.
She nodded.
"No ill effects from breathing all that gas?" he persisted. Abruptly, he sat up and fiddled with the settings on the sonic, before using it to scan her.
"I'm fine. Really. What 'bout you? You've been in here for hours."
"Repairs, Rose. Someone's got to keep this old ship running while you sleep your life away."
She wasn't having any of his deflections, however. "You breathed just as much of that gas as I did. More, even."
"Superior biology, me."
"You haven't eaten anything since we got back, and you're lettin' your tea get cold."
He reached out and gently tucked the errant lock of hair behind her ear. "Rose Tyler. You nearly died today, and you're fussin' over me."
"But I didn't."
"You could have, and it would have been my fault."
"How's it your fault that some creepy aliens was floating through the gas lines an' takin' over dead bodies?" Rose demanded.
"Oh, Rose. You heard them. Their planet was lost in the Time War."
"So? You weren't the only one who fought in it, were you? An' besides, you said it yourself - the Gelth were a pack of liars. Who's to say they didn't make that up, just to get under your skin?"
"I'm the only one left, Rose. So many worlds…so many civilizations, lost to the war."
"That doesn't make it all your fault," she insisted.
His lips compressed in a sad, crooked little smile. If she had the slightest inkling of just how much blood was on his hands, she'd run screaming from him. He wasn't quite sure if he'd survive that.
As if sensing his thoughts, Rose reached out and took his hands in her own. She stared into his stormy blue eyes with unshakeable faith. "You saved me. You would have saved Gwynneth if you could have, and you would have found a way to save the Gelth if they'd just told you the truth."
"You're so sure of all that, are you?"
"I'm that sure of you," she replied.