A climax, of sorts. Let's all enjoy it while we can, we know what's coming ... D:

One TARDIS crash, a parallel world, a cyberman invasion, and one less passenger later, the Doctor finally had the opportunity to collapse onto his bed and get the rest that he had been putting aside for far too long.

He was finally about to nod off into unconsciousness when a soft, hesitant knock sounded against his door and immediately startled him wide awake. The Doctor so seldom used this room, he was shocked that Rose had even been able to find it (though, of course, that was assuming that the TARDIS wasn't meddling again).

It was also odd that he was being disturbed because at that moment, his ship was parked in the middle of Jackie's flat, where Rose had asked to spend the night after their eventful trip in the parallel world. She had planned on staying in her childhood bed (at Jackie's insistence) for the night, so the Doctor had assumed that he wouldn't be hearing from her again until the morning. The fact that she was searching for him now immediately put him on edge, as his mind instantly jumped to the worst possible conclusions.

"Rose ...?" he called back cautiously.

"Doctor?" she responded timidly. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, o-of course," he stuttered, immediately sitting up on the edge of his bed and preparing to jump into action should Rose require him for anything.

However, as soon as she cracked his bedroom door open, her eyes widened in shock and she instantly froze on the threshold.

"Oh!" she gasped in surprise. "This is ... your room. Were you sleeping? I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I just asked the TARDIS to show me where you were, and she led me here, I didn't mean to ..."

"It's alright, Rose," he assured her softly, not taking his intent gaze away from her for even a second. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just ... Well, it's silly," she mumbled, shifting awkwardly and avoiding his gaze. "I didn't know that you were trying to sleep. I don't want to bother you ..."

"It's no bother, Rose," he insisted, motioning for her to come in. "What's wrong?"

Rose sighed heavily and the weary sag of her shoulders immediately put the Doctor on high alert. "I just ... didn't want to be alone," she admitted quietly into the dim light of his bedroom.

The Doctor gulped over the sudden lump in his throat, but he continued to motion her forward anyway. "Come on, then," he encouraged her, waiting until she hesitantly crept forward and joined him on the edge of his bed so that he could throw his arm around her shoulders in a reassuring hug.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured quietly, his words suddenly coming easier when his mind was too weary to try and police them. "It seems that no matter what I do lately, I keep putting you in greater and greater danger."

"It's not your fault," Rose sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "And don't think that I came here to hear the same old story of how you want to leave me behind because that will somehow make me safer."

The Doctor laughed softly as he burrowed his nose in her hair and placed his lips gently against her temple. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily," he murmured against her skin. I couldn't leave you now if I tried, he added silently.

Rose sighed again and with the next breath that she took, her mind opened fully to him and she unabashedly revealed the hurt that she had been hiding within her ever since they had left Mickey behind. But there was even more than that, and the Doctor wondered briefly if she had meant to show him so much, but he didn't question her as she slowly and silently laid her thoughts bare before him.

She showed him her past - how she never thought she was ever good enough, her present - how she had so many lingering questions when it came to him and their life together, and her future - all that she wished for and desired.

The Doctor's free hand came up to her other temple before he could stop himself, not caring about anything other than reassuring the one woman in this entire universe who he loved and cherished above all else. He still didn't say the "l" word (out loud or otherwise), but he telepathically answered each and every single one of Rose's lingering doubts with a solid and resounding yes, and only you, and forever.

Rose turned her head towards him, her amber-colored eyes seeming to glow gold in the dim light that surrounded them. Her wordless, heartfelt response (and yes, there was definitely a healthy dose of desire in the mix that he was picking up on, which both terrified and intrigued him) gave the Doctor the courage that he needed to lean forward and capture her lips with his own.

Her immediate and eager attempt to reciprocate only spurred him on further as she parted her lips for him and allowed him to taste and explore all of the things that he had withheld himself from for so long.

The Doctor kissed Rose with a reverence, just as he had back on the Game Station - though this time there was a certain amount of desperate neediness in the action as well, and having her thoughts of pleasure echoed directly back into his own skull only served to urge him on further.

He only paused to suck in a gasp of air as the mental connection between them flared once more and the Doctor was quickly reminded of the dangerous ground that they were treading on.

Don't stop, Rose begged silently, bringing her hands up to his neck so that he couldn't run from her even if he wanted to (which, in this moment, he most definitely did not).

This is permanent, Rose, he reminded her, his lips going gentle against hers once more in an attempt to gain some sort of control over himself. Do you understand what that means?

"How many times do I have to promise you 'forever' before you finally get it, you bloody idiot?" Rose murmured against his mouth, her breath ghosting over his face and making him shiver.

And the Doctor decided very quickly in that moment that he was oh so very tired of running, and that perhaps it was time to finally give way to the inevitable. Their two timelines flared gold and twisted together into seamless unity behind his eyes, urging the Doctor forward as he brought both of his hands to Rose's temples and guided her telepathically, Like this.

Rose obediently followed his lead, raising her hands to mirror his against his own temples. The feel of her fingertips against the sensitive skin there was enough to make him groan with suppressed longing as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers and force himself to take a few deep, calming breaths.

The Doctor silently steeled himself before allowing his mind to reach for hers. Rose responded as easily as though she had been practicing telepathy her entire life, and in no time at all, the mental link was established. It glowed like a beacon between their minds and they gasped in unison as they both fully invaded one another's heads for the very first time. It was so easily and simply done that the Doctor's mind spun and his fingers tightened around the sides of Rose's temples as he fought desperately to ground himself.

Rose's thoughts were a tangled, disorganized mess as she lost herself in the Doctor and he gently soothed her racing mind as they both slowly settled into one another.

With Rose in his head like this, the Doctor found that there was no longer any need to cling so tightly to those five precious words that he had been fighting so desperately to keep from her for far too long. Instead, he filled his mind with them, putting them on display to make sure - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that in that moment, she knew the truth.

Rose Tyler, I love you.

Her sardonic amusement settled over his thoughts as she sighed against him and replied, It's about time. I love you, too, you idiot.