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And then I looked up at the sun and saw the sky,

And the way that gravity pulls on you and I... on you and I.

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He had shrugged off his leather jacket. He laughed ad Rose's look, countering it with, "If you've ever fallen asleep in a leather jacket, you'll know why." It was a lie, of course. He routinely fell asleep in his jacket, in the odd couple of hours he was caught off-guard by fatigue in the TARDIS. He just new it wouldn't be comfortable for Rose to sleep on. She could sleep perfectly well without him there, he was sure. He wasn't even sure why he'd stayed. But he was pleased that he had. Most definitely.

Rose sank back against the covers and slowly and, with only the slightest of hesitations, he slipped onto the bed beside her. She watched him with careful eyes as he lay next to her, his back on the tall pillow, his head hovering so he could watch her easily. Almost without meaning to, her folded his arms over the navy blue of his jumper. The Doctor could feel the heat from Rose's body burning into him like a hot, iron poker, despite the fact that their bodies weren't touching. He turned his head to look at her and smiled gently as their eyes met.

She made to move towards him, ever so slightly – just when he leant forward and reached for his shoes. Apparently, timing was not their thing. Pretending he hadn't noticed, the Doctor kicked his trainers off to the floor and reclined again, letting his head relax against the pillow. He grinned at Rose easily. He didn't know that in her mind, she was almost cursing him for turning such an intimate moment into a laugh.

Then the terrifying thought came up. Oh, God, she'd got it wrong. He was only here to make sure she got off to sleep all right, to know that she was safe. He wasn't going to sit here cuddling her, heaven forbid. He just wanted to make sure she was all right. And she felt like a complete idiot – thank God he had moved when he did. So, perhaps, it was unsurprising that her smile back to the Doctor was a little weak.

He met her eye and started talking as if he hadn't even noticed her inner turmoil. Well, she could just be herself, at least.

The Doctor stared down the length of his legs to his feet, wiggling his toes as he did so. He then grinned back to Rose with a wide smile.

"My mother always told me, never put shoes on the bed," he explained happily, his arms folded cross his chest again. She lifted her head slightly to glance down at his feet, which he was still openly wiggling, The Doctor took note. "And don't you be getting any ideas, either," he added. "I like this pair."

With a feigned happy smile, Rose sat back again, actually tempted to twiddle her thumbs. It was only when the Doctor rolled his eyes and sighed loudly did she look at him properly. To find he was looking back at her, his eyebrow raised, his face sincere.

"Are you goin' to just sit there, or are you actually going to go to sleep?"

"Right, yeah," she mumbled, looking away from him. "Night, Doctor."

"Night, Rose," he beamed, completely unaware of her awkward situation. In truth, she'd never meant for him to stay. It had been a passing, fleeting, stupid thought that she had thrown in there for the hell of it. And now look where she was: lying next to a nine hundred year old alien on her bed without any parts of their bodies touching. Her mum would have killed her.

Rose lay back and closed her eyes; however, only ten seconds later, she opened them again.

"What?" the Doctor asked innocently, whose head was turned to watch her while she slept. His eyes were blinking slowly, a smile hidden in their depths.

"I can't exactly sleep with you watchin' me like that, can I Doctor?"

He sighed exaggeratedly before finally giving in.

"Oh, all right," he groaned, unfolding his arms slowly. "Have it your way."

The Doctor shifted himself, their knees touching, their shoulders close. He then raised an arm up and around Rose's shoulder, snaking his hand round to rest on her hip. , pulling her close. Surprised, she found herself curling into him, her hand splaying out over his chest. Her head nestled in the crook of his arm, the woollen skin of his jumper soft against her cheek. Slowly, reluctantly, with a last look up to him, she closed her eyes.

He held her close and watched her for what felt like an age, her torso moving with her breathing, her breath light and calm. The Doctor felt the edges of sleep pull at his conciousness; but this was a moment he was going to savour, not one that he'd let slip away. She trusted him. It wasn't that surprising, considering the things they did, the people they met and the the dangers they got themselves into. But she trusted him enough to fall asleep in his arms and have him protect her, to scare away any monsters that haunted her dreams.

"I'll always protect you, Rose Tyler," he whispered softly into her hair, tightening his grip on her waist. "My Rose."

He thought she was asleep. She very nearly was. But the tiniest of movements, the smallest caress of his chest and shift in her breathing, told him otherwise.

"My Doctor," she whispered back, her breath seeping into the clothes of his jumper.

Pride and warmth shone out of his eyes at he gazed to her, already falling into the deeper realms of sleep. If he told her now, she would hear him and it would all be over. He couldn't risk that.

The Doctor snorted inwardly at the defence he gave more than once to Rose: "I don't do domestic."

Well, if this wasn't bloody domestic, he didn't know what was. She had him wrapped around her little finger, and she was beginning to realise it. He didn't lie with his arms around his companions, letting them fall asleep safe beside him. He ran off, flitting between planets and friends like a humming bird to a flower. Never consistent, always changing and never, ever getting close. He was the only constant. No one else. So what was this?

Quite by accident, while his mind began to lose concentration, he brought his other hand up to brush at the hair on her face. She made a happy sort of sound in the back of her throat, nuzzling to his touch like a cat. He smiled. So innocent. So perfect. How was he ever going to let her go? Bringing his hand away from her face, he let it rest over hers on his chest, curling his fingers around her own. One of his hearts almost stopped to feel her squeeze back. He closed his eyes, falling into the world of dreams, letting himself drown in the woman that surrounded him. Just this once, he would let go.

And so it was. The Doctor and his Rose curled with each other in the dimming lights of the TARDIS, which extinguished when both had fallen asleep. Two lost souls hidden away in a blue box in the depths of time and space. Finding each other. Until the end of Time.