CHAPTER TEN: FAIRYTALE

The Doctor was certain that there were at least a hundred different reasons that he should absolutely stop this now, but for the life of him he couldn't think of a single one, especially when she was looking at him like that.

"Rose..."

"There's more that enough room for the both of us," Rose reasoned, choosing to ignore the objections the Doctor hadn't yet voiced; but she knew were doubtless forming. She dropped down into the softness of the bed and smiled deeply as her eyes fluttered closed. "Tell me a story."

The Doctor wasn't sure he'd heard right. "A story?"

"A bedtime story," she replied, her eyes still closed and her body curving alarmingly closer to his.

"What, you mean like a fairytale?" Disbelief rang in his voice.

"Yeah," Rose said. She could just picture the look of terror on the Doctor's face, even without opening her eyes and she was trying hard to control her smile.

"I don't know any," he said, hoping that she would believe him.

She opened her eyes slowly, her dark lashes lifting to reveal smoke brown depths for the Doctor to drown in. "Everyone knows at least one."

"I don't," he assured her.

"Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White?" Her grin was putting up quite a fight to be free, but Rose held fast. "How about Goldilocks and the three bears?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Never heard of them," he said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

Rose had no intention of letting him off the hook, no matter how much he squirmed. "So, make one up."

"I can't," he said, lifting his eyes to the stars to avoid lying to her face.

"You're the Doctor," she said with honey tongued flattery. "You can do anything."

The Doctor looked at her. She was right, there was no use arguing with facts. All the same though, it didn't seem a very Time Lordy thing to do. It was bad enough he'd had to tip-toe, now she wanted him to be Hans Christian Anderson! If this carried on, it wouldn't be long before his reputation would be in tatters throughout the whole universe.

"I've got a better idea," he said with what he hoped was a convincing smile. "Why don't you tell me a story?"

But it seemed that Rose was one step ahead of him, as she was ready with her reply.

"Because I want a telepathic story and you're better at this telepathy thing than me. Mine's practically gone already, but you..." Grinning, she went straight for the ego. "You have natural talent."

Hook, line and sinker.

The Doctor grinned back. She had a point. He did have talent. A fantastic amount of talent in fact. He looked at Rose.

"Oh, alright."

She smiled, the cat who'd got the cream. "Oh, and I want pictures with my story."

He stared at her. "Pictures?"

She reached across the small space between them and took his hand in hers, slowly bringing his fingers to her lips. She brushed a soft kiss to the tips before moving his hand to her temple, where the Doctor involuntarily brushed his thumb against her skin. Rose trembled a little at the gentle caress.

"Pictures," she said softly, then her eyelids fluttered closed and she waited.

The Doctor let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

He looked up to the glass dome above them and gazed at the thousands of stars that watched and waited. He was glad that they were the only witness to his downfall, his destruction. Rose Tyler, Human, shop girl, eater of chips, had reduced the last Time Lord, The On Coming Storm, The Destroyer of Worlds, to... to... a storytelling tip-toer of corridors.

It didn't have quite the same ring to it.

He looked at her, curled up sleepily next to him. He sighed softly and resigned himself to his fate.

Make one up...

xxxxx

The Doctor slowly brushed his fingertips against Rose's forehead and listened to the soft, contented, sigh she gave. He hesitated a moment, needing to be sure that she would be safe, that he would not hurt her; only then did he allow his thoughts the freedom to move like a lover's kiss into her mind.

"Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, lived a beautiful Princess called... Rose."

A soft, endless, blanket of darkness gave way to emerging stars, planets, a moon, and a firey yellow sun which bathed a blue world with warmth. A girl, with long blonde hair and brown eyes, wore a crown of diamonds, and the shadow that followed her footsteps was a soft golden light. She shone like an angel.

He watched a smile curve at Rose's lips and felt his hearts shudder within him.

"She lived in a castle with her Mum... evil Queen Jackie."

A green valley filled with rose bushes, the scent heavy on the air, and ahead... a pale pink fairytale castle with turrets that reached up to white fluffy clouds in a perfect blue sky. Outside, enjoying the sun, sitting in a jewel encrusted armchair, wearing a pink velour ball gown and drinking tea from a crystal mug was a blonde woman. Jackie Tyler. There was a gold crown on her head, it was fitted with little multi-coloured lights and the words 'Queen Jackie' flashed on and off.

Rose stifled a giggle, but kept her eyes closed.

The Doctor swallowed hard as he allowed his gaze to sweep leisurely over Rose's body. Guilty pleasures washed through him as his mind and body ached at having her so close. Close enough to touch, close enough to...

It was only then he remembered he was supposed to be telling a story and had no time for such... dreams.

"Times were hard, so Princess Rose worked in a shop. She was going out with the village idiot too, probably not a good idea -- her being a Princess an' all, but... she was nice like that."

Princess Rose was walking around the shop with Mickey. He was dressed as a court jester in pink and yellow stripes, with a hat that had gold bells, he was carrying Princess Rose's bags; as it appeared that even if times were hard, Princess Rose had a bit of a shopping addiction.

"At night, Princess Rose and evil Queen Jackie -- did I mention she slaps people? Anyway, they would sit around the royal TV set and drink tea and eat chips. That's what she did every day."

The pink velvet curtains were drawn and the only light in the room came from the TV. The room was filled with the aroma of salt and vinegar wafting from the chips that were piled high on golden plates, and goblets of tea were everywhere. Mickey the village idiot was sitting in one corner, practising his juggling skills in the hope of impressing Princess Rose. Evil Queen Jackie was sobbing loudly at a particularly sad bit of the film they were watching, and Princess Rose was thoughtfully passing her the royal box of tissues.

"Then one day something fantastic happened. Princess Rose was in the basement of the shop where she worked and she met this..."

"Escaped lunatic," Rose inserted, a sleepy smile curving her lips.

"Fantastically good looking genius," the Doctor corrected. "An' it's rude to interrupt. Anyway... they decided to travel through time and space together, having adventures."

The Doctor was looking all Doctorish, and the TARDIS began singing a lullaby. Princess Rose looked up into the Doctor's eyes and they both smiled. Their hands slipped together, fingers interlocking and together they ran toward the stars.

The Doctor looked at Rose, curled up on the soft bed, so close beside him, already half asleep. Slowly he withdrew from her mind, his fingers gently brushing a farewell caress to her cheek as he left her thoughts.

"Rose?"

"Hmmm...?" Almost asleep.

"What do you think?"

Rose smiled a smile to break his hearts. "I'm loving it so far," she whispered.

Unable to look away, the Doctor's eyes flickered over Rose's face as she finally drifted into the contentment of dreams.

So was he.

xxxxx

Time had slipped through his fingers like sand and he did not know how long he had remained at Rose's side, content as he had been to watch her sleep -- too long at any rate. He pushed himself away from her, still curled up in her dreams, but as he did he heard her make a sound, a moan, barely anything if he was honest, but considering the circumstances of the evening, enough to have him return his full attention to her.

His eyes narrowed and he held his breath, waiting. When he almost thought it safe to leave her, it came again, a little louder this time and not a moan, a gasp. His hearts filled with anguish, and his fear that he had allowed a sliver of his pain to slip unseen into her mind seemed confirmed by these small sounds. He cursed himself for repeating his mistake a second time. His mind was not a playground for innocents like Rose.

He watched her with intense eyes and knew there was but one path he could take -- he had to establish the connection again. He had to return to Rose's thoughts. This time not to paint pretty pictures, but to see what she saw, to visit her dreams and retrieve whatever part of him that had escaped. He could not and would not leave even the smallest of his own sorrows in Rose -- she did not deserve that.

Gently, so as not to wake her, he moved his body so close to hers that he could feel the radiance of its warmth. He heard her draw a breath, and felt it soft against his cheek as she sighed and opened her mouth to release another torn cry on the air between them.

He swallowed hard, hating what he had done to her, then slowly he returned his cool fingertips to her temple, and closing his eyes he moved into Rose's dreams. He had seen so many horrors in his lifetime that he could scarcely imagine what was awaiting him, but the poison was his and his alone and he would have every last drop.

Everything was so dark, no light to lead him, no star to guide him. He turned around slowly in the black velvet darkness he was swathed in, once, twice, three times perhaps. He was no longer sure of direction, blind as he was. He lifted his head when he heard a noise, at first distant then suddenly closer.

"Rose?" he whispered her name, fearing for her. He turned his head, catching movements left and right. Whatever it was had grown a spine and edged a little closer.

"Rose?" Again her name fell from his lips. He squared his shoulders and stared straight ahead. He waited, sensing the presence of familair evils. The thought that he was too late gnawed at his bones, yet he refused to allow it to distract him. He had to know that she was safe, all other concerns were meaningless until he knew the truth.

Gradually, inexplicably, he watched the purity of the darkness around him turn to a soft grey until he stood in shadows; enough kindness of light given to make out the figures that still clung to the darkness the ever encrouching light had not yet reached. They seemed almost afraid to come closer -- he did not know why

He felt their watchful eyes upon him, he smelt the stench of evil and death, he glanced left and right, sometimes catching fleeting glimpes of his muttering observers. He recognised them. They were every evil that he and Rose had faced together; from the ethereal Gelth phantoms and the devouring Reapers, to the singular evil that was Dalek. He knew them all.

His sorrows overwhelmed him for a moment and he hung his head as he blamed himself for allowing this to happen. He had never meant to bring Rose such monsters, such demons, such nightmares.

As if they recognised his sudden weakness, the enemy surrounding him seemed to find bravery. They screamed, they wailed, they threatened and demanded, they swore to destroy all and everything -- but still they did not approach the subject of their mocking.

The Doctor heard another sound, a new sound and snapped his head up, prepared to battle whatever the darkness dealt him, but all he saw was Rose.

"Stay back!" he shouted. "Rose, it's not safe. Stay back!"

She smiled and shook her head as though she knew better, and the Doctor could only watch in disbelief as she continued toward him until she stood so close to him he could touch the softness of her cheek and feel the warmth of her smile.

"They can't hurt me," she said softly.

"Rose, it's not safe, I can't protect you... there are too many."He tried to make her understand.

She smiled and touched his face with tender heart. "They can't hurt me," she said again.

He looked quickly to those that prowled, surprised to find them cowering, only giving an occasional snarl of weak defiance.

He looked back at Rose. "Why?" he asked, not understanding. He took her hand and gazed into her shining eyes. "Why can't they hurt you?"

" 'Cos I'm with you," she said simply and smiled as though he should already have know the answer.

She turned to look back to the remaining darkness and it's writhing prisoners, and so did the Doctor. He watched them cower and fade then vanish, taking the darkness with them. He looked back at Rose, they were standing alone in a green meadow warm with sunlight and perfumed with flowers.

He stared at her, her smile making his hearts soar. "How did you do that?" he asked.

Rose shook her head. "I didn't do anything -- you did."

Still he didn't understand. "What did I do?"

"You held my hand. You told me to run. You saved me." She touched his face tenderly. "You could save the world and lose me... an' you hesitate over the choice."

The Doctor met her gaze. "You'd have been safe if I'd left you alone. If I'd left you with your Mum and Mickey."

Rose's hand fell from his, moving instead to hold his face, refusing to let him look away as she asked her questions of him.

"Is that what you think I want, Doctor? To be safe? To go back to what I was?" Her fingers softly brushed his face, moving through his cropped hair and stroking the nape of his neck. "What about you? What is it that you want, Doctor?" A smile played at the corner of her mouth. "I think we want the same thing."

The Doctor knew that he was falling, that he could not stop it, that he did not want to. His hands moved to Rose's hips, pulling her close against him. He could feel the heat of her body as it pressed willingly into his. He could feel the fire in his blood begin to burn, but still he was afraid of hurting her. She could not truly understand what he was, he told himself, because if she did she would not do this.

His voice was hollow when he spoke. "How can you let me touch you? Rose, if only you knew what I've done, what I am. I'm the darkness."

Rose shook her head, drawing his lips closer to her own. "You are the light. That's why they're afraid of you. It is why they crawl back into the shadows. It's why they'll never win." Her smile hovered so close to his lips yet still not touching them. "When I'm with you I'm with the light, an' nothing can hurt me."

"Rose.."

"You take away my nightmares, Doctor." She wispered.

The Doctor felt Rose's lips soft against his, and then all he knew was that he was kissing her.

He was kissing her, his lips softly moving against hers, his fingertips pushing through the gold of her hair, trailing down her neck and resting at her shoulder a moment as he was struck with wonder when he felt her mouth open with willing invitation he could not help but accept and cautiously began to explore the sweetness she offered. His hand moved on from her shoulder, down her body, until he found the curve of her hip and then the small of her back. There he moved to hold her close, drawing her into the shape of him, so that she could feel his need, his desire.

Her kisses were an elixir that soothed his pain and he drank of them, as for the first time in his life he found himself daring to believe in a cure. Daring to belive that this warm body pressed so close to his had the power to end his lonely existance.

Lost in her pleasures Rose let out a breath, and the sound, soft, dreamlike, crept into the Doctor's mind, where it twisted and grew. He knew that something was wrong, if only he could remember...

He opened his eyes and understood. The dream was no more -- this was real. Rose was in his arms and he was kissing her, their bodies following a path he knew he should not -- could not take.

He pulled back from her slowly, not knowing of any apology that would suffice. There was nothing he could say that would ever explain or excuse what he had done... what he had almost done. His eyes lifted to her face as his hearts raced wildly in his chest.

Rose's eyes were closed, her lips slightly apart and full bloomed with pink blush... but she was asleep, still held in dreams.

He envied her.

Quietly he moved from the bed, walking to the door and opening it just a crack, enough to step out into the dark hallway and leave Rose in the company of her dreams alone. He closed the door without making a sound and for a moment stood there, his forehead against the wood as he wondered if it was possible that he felt more regret in leaving, than he would have if he had stayed.The thought too dangerous to dwell on, he moved away from the door and took a step back.

Careful not to make a noise the Doctor turned around, only to find himself face to face with Korrok.

"Ah," he said, meeting the furious glint of Korrok's one eye. "I can assure you, this is not what it looks like."