He opened the TARDIS doors, and they stepped out into the night.

"Listen," he whispered.

Rose quickly glanced about the dark landscape and moonless sky before closing her eyes and allowing the nocturnal hums and echoes of the wildlife belonging to whatever planet they were stopping over on to fill her senses. Or at least most of them. A small part of her mind disregarded the melodious night sounds and instead focused on the sensation of sure hands gently holding her arms; his thumbs absently brushed against her through the thin cotton of her sleeves, and there was the ever-so-slight touch of his open coat against her back. She reminded herself to resist leaning back against his chest.

A breeze picked up and washed over them, and she breathed the spicy scent of him in as the current carried it to her before tuning her ears more resolutely to the planet's voice.

He leaned closer. "What do you hear?"

She ignored, or at least attempted to, the shiver running down her spine as his breath brushed her ear and tried again to concentrate on whatever it was he wanted her to notice. Barely audible, quiet splashes reached her.

"Rose?"

She inhaled sharply when his lips grazed by her ear. "Water. I hear water."

"Smart girl." Even in the dark, there was a twinkle in his eyes, and he grinned and quickly caught her hand in his before pulling her in the direction the trickling sounds came from.

She followed, allowing him to pull her through the night under the blanket of unfamiliar stars peppering the foreign atmosphere above. They raced through the quiet and the dark, their rushed footfalls on the soft ground the solo piece in the midnight symphony surrounding them. Grass thickened and grew taller as they continued on, and Rose trailed behind him in the path he cut with her hand securely in his, listening all the while to the sound of their feet, the rush of the wind through grasses, and the light voice of trickling water mixed in with the murmurs of the strange and exotic wildlife.

Suddenly, the texture of the alien terrain changed. Her steps sank down into softer soil, and the slow wetness invading her shoes alerted her to the fact that they were not far from whatever body of water they had heard. She trudged on behind the Doctor, her hand still in his, grimacing at the squish and squelch of their shoes in mud.

"We're almost there."

Gripping his hand tighter, Rose high-stepped along, noticing with just a tinge of annoyance how the Doctor's much taller form allowed him to continue without much hindrance to his bearing.

Her shoes squished and squelched again, the sickening, wet sound echoing after each sodden step, and she flicked mud that had splattered onto her shirt off with disgust. "I'm filthy."

"Ah, it'll be worth it." He turned back and gave her a wink. "You can soak to your heart's content back in the TARDIS after."

"Gonna hold you to that."

His thumb lightly stroked over her hand in response.

The grasses reached nearly as high as the Doctor now, and they found themselves trading the thick mud for ankle-deep shallows that splashed pleasantly as they walked. Rose sighed with relief as some of the muck began to slough off her shoes and the bottoms of her jeans, disappearing into the waters. The less she had to track in later the better.

Pushing the rushes aside as they moved, Rose finally began to wonder where exactly he was taking her. The thought made her smile. It said a lot that she hadn't wondered sooner, and the realization of the complete trust she had in him warmed her from the inside out. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

The Doctor flashed a brilliant grin at her over his shoulder, the intense dark almost completely obscuring his response. "Just realize you haven't asked where we're going?"

Rose narrowed her eyes half-heartedly. "Reading my mind, Time Lord?"

His grin turned cheeky. "Nope. But I do know you, Rose Tyler."

She took in the self-satisfied smirk that the smile devolved into and found herself grinning back. "Dare say you do."

"Oh," his voice dropped to a deeper almost silent register as he reached out to grab her other hand. "I dare."

His fingers threaded through hers, and he stepped backward through the rushes, pulling her into a dark pool.

A long finger pressed to his mischief-laden lips, the corners of that ever-rambling mouth turned upward. And she waited, perhaps not quite patiently, for him to divulge his secret while he fished through his pockets for whatever it was he seemed to need.

A moment later, he pulled his hands out with a quick hum of approval, and Rose felt the coarse texture of stale bread being tucked into her hands.

She stared at him dumbstruck. "Bread?"

He grinned playfully and pinched off a small piece of the slice in his hand. "Oh yes."

She pinched off her own portion and glanced at him sideways. "Was this why you had me make extra toast this morning?"

His response was only another wink, and she muttered something about crazy aliens. The sound of his laughter reached her ears, and then he tossed the small piece between his fingers into the dark pool surrounding them.

A brilliant flash of orange darted through the water, and Rose gasped. "What—?"

"Foramniera." He chucked a few more pieces of their morning toast into the shallows, glowing tangerine streaks of thread-like creatures chasing after the crumbs. "Gelatinous little invertebrates, quite similar to the jellyfish of your world." He held back a laugh when she cautiously backed away from the fluorescent creatures, tossing crumbs of bread further out away from them. "Don't worry. They don't sting."

Her face failed to mask her concern, but her trust in him won out, and she began to drop bits of bread by her legs, watching the aquatic lifeforms swirl about in all their vivid, fiery glory. "They're beautiful."

"Quite."

It took her a moment to realize he wasn't looking at the foramniera, and she was suddenly grateful for the moonless night as heat flooded her cheeks. But despite the mild embarrassment, she couldn't keep the smile from her lips when she finally dared to glance his way again. "Charmer."

He hummed softly in response and tossed bread in her direction, taking pleasure in her delight at seeing the luminous orange creatures circling about her in their frenzy for food. And they stayed like that until they used up all the bread and he his offered hand to lead her back to his ship.

"Thank you."

He merely smiled and gave her hand a light tug, jerking his head over his shoulder. "You'll be wanting that bath."

With a laugh, Rose high-stepped through the mud. "Yes, please."

The chill of the night air against her dampened skin and clothing had gone unnoticed while under the intrigue of the glowing creatures, but now she felt quite cold. Pressing a little closer to the Doctor as they walked, she smiled quietly to herself when he released her hand to wrap his arm about her shoulder. He wasn't warm; he never really was. But despite the natural cool that was intrinsically him, his proximity and the effect that had on her was often enough to chase away some of the chill. His spicy scent drifted by her and once again filled her senses, the intoxicating aroma giving rise to a fresh rush of blood through her veins.

And for the moment, she was warm enough.

But then her clumsiness reared its head, and as they trudged through the shallow waters in the dark, her foot somehow managed to find the tail end of his long coat. There was only enough time to register the doctor's alarm, his brown eyes widening with sudden realization, and then his weight toppled backward as hers pitched forward, unbalancing them both with no hope of recovery.

Neither knew whose undignified shout first disrupted the peaceful wildlife, but the pleasant midnight sonata that had accompanied their visit abruptly transformed into a frenzied cacophony of agitation. They fell, serenaded by nocturnal dissonance, the Doctor by some miracle managing to shift her in front of him at the last second before they crashed into the shallows. And just before they hit, she heard him inhale and hold his breath before disappearing almost completely under the water.

Oh no. "Doctor!"

But there was no response. There was only his extended arms, doing their best to keep her from ended up submerged like him.

It could have easily been her down in the silt.

Suspended above him like a small child, Rose didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was still soaked, but her face and lungs had been spared the sudden deluge of water and mud.

Suddenly, the Doctor began to shift into a sitting position, and she felt herself being very carefully lowered. He pushed through the surface of the water, exhaling dramatically as he did, and she mentally noted that the Time Lord was much stronger than he looked.

He managed to shift her to sit across his lap.

"Oh, Rose." With one arm bracing around her back, the Doctor shoved his mop of unruly hair out of his eyes before fixing his companion with an amused look. "When I said bath, I meant in the TARDIS."

Rose said nothing, instead picking one—presumably angry—glowing foramniera out of his hair, cupping the tiny creature in her palm between them.

He looked down at it, the vibrant, orange glow dancing in her hand as it sought water, then looked back up at her eyes with his lips pressed to squash a smile.

Her mouth twitched as her eyes locked onto his, and there was no hope of keeping it back. In the next moment, laughter erupted out of her, her head falling onto his shoulder as her body shook with the hilarity of their circumstance.

The Doctor didn't manage to keep it in either, his voice joining hers in the already disrupted sounds of the planet's wildlife.

"This is ridiculous!" she half cried, clutching at her middle with one arm.

"I find ridiculous to be quite a pleasant thing, mind you." still laughing, he gently lowered her arm into the water to let the foramniera go as she sniggered into his neck. Then, without warning, he stood and scooped her up. Her sudden squeak made him to laugh harder, and he set off toward the TARDIS.

The previous calm they had come upon began to reestablish itself amongst the wildlife as they walked back to the ship, the Time Lord carrying his companion as she playfully swung her legs up and down over his arm. And for the moment, Rose simply enjoyed being carried and the excuse to be close to him.

Soon enough, their laughter faded into the night as the normal nocturnal peace resumed, and her legs stopped, her head resting on his shoulder while her hands absently played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

He allowed her the intimacy, letting himself hold her closer in a rare moment of indulgence. His hearts beat just a bit faster when she gave in to her fatigue and sighed against him, her eyes finally sliding shut.

When the ship finally came into sight, and the Doctor ignored the disappointment that the moment would soon be over.

Tonight, at least, they were happy.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I don't write much Doctor Who fanfiction anymore. This was an old, reworked piece from a few years back that was no longer published. Thoughts and comments are always appreciated.