What's this? I updated within a reasonable amount of time? It's a miracle!

Spot the blatantly obvious... I mean sneaky! Broadchurch reference and you win! Dunno what you win… but yay for winning non existent awards! And if you haven't seen that show then go do so, it's one of David Tennant's greatest performances, if you ask me. It's on Netflix.

As always, I don't own Doctor Who.


When Rose woke up that morning, she was aware that she felt more rested than she had been for years. Ever since she arrived in this universe, sleep was a real struggle for her. Something about this place just felt off. She could never get comfortable here. The insomnia got so bad that she was dragged in front of Williams, Torchwood's chief medical officer: a tall sandy-haired fellow from a tiny town who looked even younger than Rose herself. After trying several things like relaxation techniques and hypnotherapy that did absolutely nothing to help, he prescribed her some powerful sleeping tablets. But those didn't even work for her.

Well, they did work. She was asleep within minutes after taking one, but she was plagued by vivid dreams most of which being some of the worst nightmares she ever had in her life. So she stopped taking them and just learned to deal with less sleep.

Then the Doctor started calling her from across the void and the nightmares all but disappeared. His presence in her mind was so overwhelmingly soothing. She wished he could stay there forever.

Then she arrived on that beach and saw him standing there looking like a ghost.

Then he said goodbye and left so much else unsaid.

She cried for days after that, but she refused to be beaten. The Doctor told her that they could never see each other again. She was determined to prove him wrong. He'd been wrong before (twelve months instead of hours). Plus, if Mickey "The Idiot" Smith could find a way to cross between universes, surely she could too.

And she did.

And he helped her last night in a way she could never imagined. After he chased away her nightmares, she curled into his side and fell into a blissful sleep. Although he just held her through the night and never tried to make it more, she felt closer to him than ever before.

She rolled over and her hand touched the still warm sheets from where he had been sleeping. Her eyes blinked open and she frowned. She just missed him. Again! She flopped back onto her own pillows and huffed in frustration.

The sound of water running in her en suite caught her attention and moments later a slightly grumpy looking Doctor came shuffling out. His bleary eyes focused on her and the barest hint of a smile tugged at his mouth before he trudged back over to the bed and flopped down face-first, laying perpendicular to Rose, his feet dangling off the side of the bed.

"Humans are rubbish." He grumbled into the mattress before he flipped himself over and stared at the ceiling. "Really, really rubbish! I mean, I've already slept a good seven hours and I still feel tired." Rose nodded sympathetically and started to absently play with his sleep tousled hair.

"Now you know why I was always so grumpy when you woke me too early." She replied dryly, brushing his fringe out of his eyes.

"And in that time I had nothing to drink, and yet I still have to dash to the loo." He continued, seemingly ignoring Rose's comment. He then crinkled his nose in disgust. "A thing I've had to do with alarming frequency lately. Seventy percent water? Feels like more than that!" He raked a hand down his face and neck. "And now I have to shave. Again!"

Rose giggled at that. Confidentially she liked the somewhat scruffy look. She ran her fingers down his cheek and her smooth skin got caught in the stubble and she winced slightly. Too scratchy. But his sideburns were nice and soft so…

"Why don't you just grow a beard?" She asked casually, smiling as he started to lean into her touch. "Less maintenance."

He just looked up and glared at her.

"And look like that scruffy DI bloke on the telly that Jackie was just drooling over last night?" He shuddered and she giggled. "Don't think so. 'Sides, that's kinda a non-issue anyway, shaving. Had to do that all the time anyways."

"Yeah, cut yourself and I get a twenty-minute lecture about life forms you're cleverer than!"

He smiled genuinely at that as he reached up and took her hand in his.

"Anyway…" he sighed as his smile faded substantially and his eyes dropped to where he rested their hands on his chest. "I need to apologise for something."

Rose blinked in confusion.

"Last night you were having a nightmare and I…"

"There's nothing to apologise for! You helped me so, so much." She interrupted squeezing his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously.

"No, I do. It's no great secret between us that I'm telepathic. And there are many, many rules that a telepath must obey. Last night I... I broke one of the major ones. The major one, really. I, uh, I entered your mind without permission. I made your nightmare worse!" He felt her hand slip out of his, and for one agonizing moment, he thought she was going to run away from him and never want to be near him again. Thought that the only reason she asked him to stay last night was out of sheer pity for him. Then he felt her shift on the mattress and felt her head on his shoulder.

"You were only trying to protect me."

"Rose I…"

"You apologise one more time, and I swear, Doctor… you're gonna regret it."

He shut his mouth with an audible click of teeth. Tyler women were scary when they wanted to be.

"'Sides…" Rose began again snuggling even closer to him. "I kinda like you in my head."

"Y-you do?" She nodded.

"Yeah. It's peaceful."

He snorted.

"Peaceful?!"

"Yeah."

"My mind is the least peaceful place ever."

"'Not quite as dark and scary in here as you thought'." She quoted him.

"I was joking." He huffed. "Look, if you saw the tiniest portion of my memories, you'd want nothing to do with me!"

"But I know you…" a series of almost musical sounds fell from Rose's lips, so quietly that they would've gone unheard if it wasn't for his extremely keen hearing.

"What did I tell you about saying that out loud?"

"But that's who you are. And it's beautiful. You showed me the most beautiful things in the universe…"

"And the most horrible…"

"You showed me how to survive that, how life still continues in spite of it!" She countered. "And it just made me fall in love with you even more."

"Rose, if you knew how dark I am inside..." He shook his head as he trailed off. "But you do make me better. You always did." He turned so he could kiss her forehead, but she moved so he would land on her lips instead. Then she pushed him away unexpectedly with a grimace.

"What?"

Her grimace turned into a smirk.

"I think you inherited another unpleasant human trait?"

"What!?"

"Morning breath." She dramatically waved her hand over her nose.

"What!?" He exhaled into his palm and sniffed his own breath and he paled. Then a smirk spread over his mouth as something occurred to him. "You continued to kiss Mickey after he ate all those gherkins, pickled eggs and onions, did you not?"

"After I made him brush his teeth!" Rose squeaked as the Doctor crossed the distance between them again, bringing his mouth down to hers.

"You let him while he was eating that frankly horrible cheese sandwich."

"Only to make you jealous!" She turned her head and was trying desperately to hold her breath. His breath really did stink!

"That you did…" he cupped her cheek and turned her head back and brushed his nose against hers as he inhaled. "Plus, you don't smell like a field of… well… roses either."

Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Rude!"

"You love it. Human bodies may be rubbish but it won't stop me!" He finally succeeded in kissing her. He didn't make it past a dry press of lips before she pushed him away again.

"Stop it!" She giggled.

"Make me…" he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, I'll make you alright!" Boomed a voice from the doorway and they were both keenly aware of just how they were both positioned and they sprang away from each other.

"Mornin' Jackie."

"Hi mum." They said in unison.

Jackie Tyler just glared at them.


Heheheh :)

I'm still utterly fangirling over the fact that I met both Alex Kingston and John Barrowman earlier this month at FanExpo Canada, the latter of which I got a selfie with! Now, I'm not usually one for selfies… but if you get an opportunity to take one with John freakin' Barrowman you do just that! And Alex wrote 'spoilers' on her autograph!

*INSERT FANGIRL SCREAM HERE*