She was drowning. No, she wasn't drowning-she couldn't be; there was no water. But something was smothering her. She wanted to shout out his name...what was his name? How could she have forgotten? She desperately needed to hear his voice.
"Rose, are you awake?"
There it was! It was so perfect. Like the sound of a crackling fire after returning from a freezing cold walk in the drenching rain. Or the sound of that machine...that strange whirring noise...oh, what was it?
No! Let me go!
Something had hold of her foot! It was dragging her down, back under the water, making her drown again...
"Rose...Rose? It's the Doctor. Can you hear me?" A vaguely familiar voice broke through a muffled cloud of confusion.
She ascertained that she was lying on her back, with something warm draped over her. She pulled it closer-ooh! It smelt nice too.
Come on now, focus. She thought. She couldn't even work out who she was, or where she was from.
A picture of a black circle with a shining blue circle in the middle of it floated to the forefront of her mind, and she thrashed around unintentionally, dread suddenly falling upon her previously peaceful body.
"Rose!"
Rose, that's my name! She thought. But who are you?
"Rose, I'm here, it's me, the Doctor!" said the voice,
The Doctor, of course! How could she have forgotten?
"Doctor!" She shouted. The word wouldn't escape her mouth. She wanted to scream his name. The symbol, the two circles, they were blinding her, terrifying her. She screamed his name again, and she think it might have just about escaped her lips as a whisper.
"Shhh, I'm here." He said reassuringly. She felt a warm hand stroke her hair, and she shivered. She wanted to see his face; it felt like the most important thing in the world to her right now. But how could she open her eyes when someone had tied anchors to both of them? They were so heavy, and it hurt her brain to even try.
"Doctor...I can't..." She struggled, reaching out a heavy arm, trying to find him. She felt large, strong hands capture her week, tired hand and grip it tightly.
"I promise I won't let go." He said fiercely.
"Doctor?" She mumbled, almost unintelligibly.
"Yes?" He replied, leaning so he was just above her head, so as to hear her better.
"I love you too."
She felt a final squeeze on her hand, then somebody dragged her back under again...away from her Doctor...
This time, she started floating to the surface much quicker. She wanted to get back as quickly as possible. She wanted to hear that beautiful voice, see that heart-warming face, hold those warm hands, kiss those soft lips...
But that's not what she found.
She heard heart-broken sobs as she floated to the surface. They got clearer and clearer as she got closer to breaking free from her watery prison.
"I can't believe I let this happen. I should have stopped you! You wouldn't have understood why I would have stopped you but, oh, if only you could see yourself! Why won't you wake up?" He choked, sniffing.
"Doctor..."
"I should have taken that serum from you and got rid of it. I knew what the consequences were. And now look-weeks have passed. You're still asleep and I have no way to give you food or water. You're wasting away! Please, Rose..." He took a deep, juddering breath, "Wake up. For me."
The anchors on her eyes suddenly turned to helium-filled balloons and her eyes fluttered open. The first picture her new eyes saw were that of the Doctor's face. And she could see it so clearly! Every detail, crystal clear and perfect. His brown eyes were swimming with emotions; relief, happiness, and joy, but at the same time worry, despair and panic. Had his eyes always been so wonderful? And those lips...
Before she knew it, she could no longer look at his lips, because they were pressed against hers. He moved his mouth gently and Rose was taken by surprise once again, staying completely unresponsive. Her head was spinning, she felt tired, and she was very, very confused...and the Doctor was being anything but helpful right now.
"Doctor..." she groaned, but as soon as her lips moved she couldn't help but respond to him. She pressed a hand against his chest and moved her lips in time with his. But she was still warn out, and she was running out of breath quickly. She pushed him away, gasping for air.
Cautious, the Doctor leaned away and gave her some space. She took in her surroundings...they were in the TARDIS. In the console room. The familiar surroundings made her feel much more peaceful, and she slowly sat up. She took note that the Doctor's brown coat had been wrapped around her, and she cuddled it closer to her. She thought she saw a small smile on the corner of the Doctor's mouth as she did this, but she tried to ignore him.
"What happened?" She croaked. Wow, her throat was dry. She also made a mental note that she must brush her teeth as soon as possible, especially if she was to be doing any more kissing in the foreseeable future.
"You passed out as soon as you took the serum. I carried you back to the TARDIS, and you've been asleep for about two weeks. Well, not including the few times when you seemed to wake up briefly. But you didn't really say anything...coherent." He cleared his throat awkwardly. Rose didn't understand.
"What do you mean?" She asked, bewildered.
He tugged at his ear nervously. "Weellll, do you remember what I said to you before you took the serum?" He asked, biting his lip.
She thought carefully. She remembered him saying something. Something very important.
"You said you loved me." She said.
"Yes."
"And did you mean it?"
"Yes."
Rose felt the blood rise to her cheeks and she smiled at the Doctor. "What did I say to you?"
"You said...'I love you too'" He whispered.
"I did." She nodded, remembering.
"But...you were delirious, you weren't even properly awake. You clearly didn't mean it, it was just a-a-drugged, daft response to a silly old Time Lord's sentiments-you can't-I mean-" He stuttered, looking flustered and panicked.
She stood up, wobbling a little, and walked towards him. She placed a hand on each of his hearts and silenced him.
Her stomach was so empty and so painful that she felt the urge to double over and clutch her tummy. Her throat felt like a desert. All her limbs felt like she had been running a marathon every day for the last few weeks, and her head felt like it might implode, if the huge migraine she was experiencing was anything to go on. But there was one thing she had to fix that was so much more important than all of this.
Still shaking a little, she reached up on her tip toes and leaned to whisper in his ear.
"I love you, Doctor. My Doctor." She breathed.
Slowly leaning back,she looked nervously into his eyes. She saw everything that she felt reflected in those eyes-nerves, fear, excitement-everything.
She quickly kissed him before dragging herself away to her bedroom, to make herself presentable for her Doctor.