"Help me," she whispered, tears flowing freely down her face. "Please help me."
"Rose," she heard, close to her now, right next to her. She felt his presence, his arms cradling her like a child. He stroked her hair with one hand, his lips pressed to the top of her head, kissing her gently and whispering to her. He rocked back and forth slightly, comforting her.
She woke up and lay silently for several minutes, gaining comfort from the feel of the Doctor holding her, his warm breath against her head.
"It's over," he whispered. "It's all over, Rose. You're safe now."
"Thank you," she said tearfully. "Thank you so much, Doctor." She wrapped her arms around him, and he held her until she fell asleep once more.
The next morning, the Doctor went to check on Rose, and found her still asleep, curled into a ball, with her arms protectively wrapped around herself. Her head was buried in her arms, and her hands were clenched into fists.
The Doctor frowned worriedly and sat down next to her. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she jolted awake with a tiny cry of fear. She looked at the Doctor and realized she had just awoken.
"S-Sorry," she said quietly. "I was just...had a dream," she mumbled.
"Rose Tyler," he said, smiling at her. "You have nothing to apologize to me for. You really are brilliant."
She smiled slightly. "Thanks," she replied. "Uhm...why?"
The Doctor shook his head slowly. "You just are." He held his hand to her, waggling his fingers slightly as he usually did when he wanted her to follow him.
She took his hand, smiling, and followed him to the front of the TARDIS. The Doctor quickly checked the readings, and with a bow and a sweeping wave of his arm, he invited her to step outside of the TARDIS.
The planet beyond the doors of the little blue box was beyond description. They were at the top of a tall hill, shaded from the gentle sunlight by a large tree reminiscent of a weeping willow. There were fluffy white clouds in the sky, and Rose saw as she squinted at them that they shimmered silver as they floated in the sky. The air around her was fresh and smelled of familiar things, flowers and rain and something from her childhood she couldn't recall. She stood still, gaping in awe at the place the Doctor had taken her to. She heard a sound like music, but it was like nothing she'd ever heard. The sound of it made her feel relaxed and happy, as if nothing had ever been wrong in her life. She looked around, searching for the source of it. She saw nothing around them, but her concern quickly vanished as she listened.
"Like it?" The Doctor had stepped out of the TARDIS to stand next to her. "It's a planet called-well, oh how was it said?" he muttered to himself. "Oh whatever it's called, I've never told anyone about it." He smiled widely at Rose. "Inhabited by little wispy fellows with no names or anything. They live in these trees like the one behind us, and do nothing but sing, all day." He looked completely content.
Rose smiled at him and entwined her fingers in his. "This is...wow," she breathed. "So that music, it's them? These wispy things?"
The Doctor nodded happily. "They feed on sunlight and rain, sort of like-- like, plants with brains. Their planet is so silent, no electromagnetic signals, no satellites or probes to attract anyone, and they're so far out of the way, no one ever bothers to come here."
Rose was silent, gazing out over the hills. "That's good, yeah?" She said silently. "No one can destroy this place..."
The Doctor nodded. "Exactly," he whispered, the sound almost carried away with the music of the wisps. He cleared his throat and said, "So, I thought this would be a good place to go after the–the last place. You know, take a break, stay out of trouble for a bit."
Rose grinned and hugged him tightly. "It's perfect," she said.
They spent days basking in the sunlight and listening to the singing of the wisps. The wisps seemed to stay away from them. Out of sight, anyhow. Rose thought she caught a glimpse of one, tiny and translucent. It floated in the air, and as she turned around to see it, it shimmered pink and purple and blue as it quickly darted away, into the weeping willow tree.
They rarely entered the TARDIS, preferring to sleep outside, under the expanse of dark blue sky, dotted with stars and three small moons. The temperature was constant, like a breezy summer afternoon, even during the nighttime. Rose slept through each night peacefully, and woke up refreshed, with no memory of anything she had dreamed during the previous night. The Doctor noticed that she was less tense, smiled more, and that made him smile.
It rained one night, and the Doctor and Rose ran outside, their mouths open to the sky to catch the sweet-tasting rain. They both laughed at nothing, laughing for the sake of laughing, and when they were soaked through their clothes, they entered the TARDIS, grinning like young children who had just played in the mud.
"Oh, you're completely soaked!" Rose laughed. "You look like you got thrown into the ocean, Doctor."
"Oi, you're not much better!" They both laughed openly, the only two people in existence, it seemed.
They playfully pushed each other as they walked down one of countless corridors in the TARDIS, completely at ease with everything and each other.
"So," the Doctor began, "how have you been enjoying this place?"
"Oh, it's amazing," Rose said excitedly, "I never would have imagined a place like this could exist, and yet here we two are, layin' in the sun and chasin' raindrops that taste like--like watermelon or something," she burst out laughing as she recalled the taste of the rain.
The Doctor leaned against a wall as she said this, watching her contentedly, some unknown emotion behind his eyes. He stepped towards Rose, placing a hand on her cheek and drawing her close to him. She looked into his eyes and her breath quickened slightly. She fell silent and simply stood in front of the Doctor, watching his eyes. He abruptly drew his gaze away, dropping his hand and blushing furiously.
He didn't know what had taken hold of him, why he had done it, and he was sure Rose would feel awkward. Before she had a chance to respond, he threw a smile onto his face and remarked, "Well! I'm wet and I feel like a drowned dog, so I think I'm going to head off to a shower and bed; wouldn't want to wake up in a pool of mud that tastes like chocolate or anything," he winked and quickly strode down the rest of the corridor. Rose stood by her door, watching him go, utterly baffled and confused.