Rose was given three days to rest, but she feels like that was three days too many. After dropping off the egg, the Doctor immediately shooed her off to bed, making a silent promise with his eyes that he would be there soon. He couldn't exactly say it outright due to Jack being in the room and all the hell that would break loose in the way of teasing if he'd known they slept in the same bed. Rose had already told him, of course, but letting the Doctor squirm around the topic was too much fun.
So, when the Doctor came in two hours later, she was already snuggled in bed reading a book. He made his way to the bed, shedding his jacket and boots. Without taking her eyes off the page, Rose scooted over and pulled back the duvet enough for him to climb in.
"The Princess Bride." The Doctor said, reading the cover.
"It's a classic." Rose jokingly defended.
"You sure are a fan of romances." He commented, gesturing over to her bookshelf. It was halfway filled with romances ranging from period dramas to trashy books her mother would read when she thought Rose wouldn't understand.
"I'm a sucker for a love story." She explained, putting her bookmark in between the pages. "I always dreamed of finding my prince charming, my knight in shining armor, the love of my life."
"You're only nineteen!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"So? Growing up in the era of Disney princess movies and boy band love songs really gets to a girl, y'know." She chuckled. "I gave up on that though, after Jimmy Stone. True love was dead to me, I didn't think it'd happen."
"You didn't." The Doctor said in a small voice. It wasn't a question.
"Yeah." She said, a touch confused.
"But now you do?" He asked, hesitant.
Rose tried not to show the panic she was feeling on her face. This was too soon, way too soon. He'd run and hide if she'd given away how she felt about him. He still believed her to be a naive nineteen-year-old human girl with fleeting emotions and a far more fleeting life span. Of course, she wasn't totally sure she was immortal or anything. What had the Bad Wolf said again? Doesn't matter, not in this moment. In this moment she just admitted that something changed her mind about love, which wasn't a far leap from telling him about her true feelings.
"Things change. People change." She said, not looking at him.
"What changed for you?" The Doctor asked, almost afraid. He didn't know if he wanted to know, no matter what she said.
"I did." She shrugged. She had to keep cool. She had to think of something her headstrong, single, nineteen-year-old self would say, not what her internal eighty-seven-year-old married self would say. "I changed myself. Really, you helped me. Showing me all this good in the universe makes me think everythin's not as bad as I thought."
The Doctor nodded and silence fell between them, thick and awkward. She was leaving something out, he knew it, she knew he knew it, and nothing was to be done about it.
"Rose." The Doctor started, but he didn't know where he was going with it.
"Yeah?" She asked, not sure if she was dreadful about his next words or hopeful.
"I, uh, well." This could be it. The moment. He would tell her how he felt and… "I… I'm glad you were able to see that. I'm glad you've come along with me. And, I think it's time to get some rest, yeah?"
And with that, it wasn't brought up again. She spent the next three days wandering around the TARDIS, reading, drinking tea, and talking with the boys when they weren't making repairs on the ship. She started to get a bit stir-crazy before remembering what comes next. She got a few extra nights with her first Doctor and Jack before, but she feared it wouldn't be enough.