Chapter Six
The Doctor stroked Rose's back and pushed her sweaty hair out of her face.
"Rose? Are you okay?" he said.
Rose nodded.
"What happened? What were you dreaming about?" he said.
Rose thought.
"I…I honestly can't remember," she said.
The Doctor pulled her closer and laid his chin on the top of her head. He glanced over when Jackie flung open the bedroom door and ran inside.
"What happened? I heard screaming," she said.
"It's alright. Rose just had a nightmare," the Doctor said.
Jackie breathed a sigh of relief and put her hand over her heart.
"Thank God. I thought we were under attack again," she said.
She hurried to Rose's side, sat down on the bed, and put her hand on her forehead.
"Rose, baby, are you alright?" she said.
"Yeah, I'm fine, mum. I just had a bad dream," Rose said.
"Are you sure, love?"
"Yes, mum, I get bad dreams all the time. It's nothing to worry about."
Jackie shot the Doctor an angry look.
"Funny, you never used to," she said.
"Mum, leave the Doctor alone. He's not the cause of my nightmares," Rose said.
Jackie snorted knowing that was about as far from the truth as you could get. However, she had no desire to go into another lecture about her daughter's decision to go off with the Doctor this early in the morning.
"Would you like some breakfast, love?" she said. "Would that make you feel better?"
Rose thought for a moment. She did feel hungry.
"Yeah, could I have some eggs and bacon?"
"Of course, I'll go right now and make ya some," she said.
Giving her a kiss on the cheek, she rose and with one last worried glance at her daughter went out the door and shut it behind her.
The Doctor smiled at her.
"I guess being hungry is a good sign, then," he said.
Rose nodded.
"Yeah, I guess all that walking last night made me hungry."
She sighed.
"I wish I could remember what I dreamt about though," she said.
"Well…"
Rose looked up at the Doctor.
"There is a way."
"There is?"
"Yes, but you have to trust me."
"I trust you completely," Rose said.
"Good, because I'm going to read your mind."
"You are?"
The Doctor nodded.
"Would it be okay with you if I did that?"
Rose started to open her mouth when she suddenly heard a voice in her head.
Don't let him do it. The dream was nothing.
"Rose? Is it okay for me to scan your mind?" the Doctor said.
"Um…No, on second thought, I'd rather you didn't. The dream was nothing."
"You sure, Rose? If I can see your nightmare, I might be able to help you work through it and…"
"I'm fine!" Rose said.
She bit her lip when she saw the Doctor's stunned expression.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," she said.
"No, it's alright. I didn't mean to intrude. Your thoughts and dreams are your own. It's none of my business."
"I'm sorry, Doctor. I really do appreciate the offer. But I'd rather just forget the dream if it's all the same to you."
The Doctor nodded and smiled at her. He leaned in for a kiss and was shocked when Rose jerked her face away. Rose stared at the hurt expression on his face and guilt flooded her mind.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that," she said.
Why did I do that? she thought.
She glanced over and saw the Doctor staring at her intently.
"Rose? Are you absolutely sure you're alright?" he said.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Really I am," she said. "I'm just outta sorts this morning, I guess."
The Doctor rubbed her back.
"Well, why don't you go ahead and get some breakfast and maybe you'll feel better," he said.
"Yeah."
The Doctor stared at her, worried, when she rose and walked slowly out of the room.
"It's done, love. Come and get it," Jackie said.
Rose walked to the kitchen table. She put the plate of eggs and bacon in front of her and went to pour her a glass of milk. She looked back at the bedroom.
"Is the Doctor eating?" she asked.
"No, I don't think so. He doesn't need to eat as often as humans do," Rose said. "I don't think he's hungry."
Jackie shrugged. She sat the glass of milk down in front of Rose and went to get a plate for herself.
"You want some toast, hon?"
"No, this is fine," Rose said.
"How about some music then?"
Rose nodded. She ate her food quietly while Jackie turned on the radio and turned up the volume. She sat her plate and glass of milk down on the table and sat down across from Rose. She stared at the glum expression on her daughter's face while she ate and sighed. She hated when her daughter got depressed like this. It seemed to happen more and more lately. Sometimes she wished the Doctor hadn't stumbled into their lives. Life seemed much simpler then.
Rose ate and thought about the Doctor trying to kiss her. She had never refused a kiss from him before. It was like he had suddenly become repulsive to her.
That's absurd, she thought. He isn't repulsive. I love him.
Still, there was that voice in the back of her mind. A little tiny voice that kept telling her to leave him. And no matter how much she tried to block the voice from her mind; it kept on insisting that she should get away from the Doctor. Rose sighed, feeling utterly depressed. She ate quietly while she listened to the radio.
"That was Hotel California by the Eagles," the DJ said. "And now on Retro Breakfast we have a 70's hit by Cher."
Rose munched on her eggs and listened to 'Half Breed'. She glanced over and her eyes widened when she saw the Doctor shimmy out of her bedroom door towards her.
"Doctor," Jackie said. "What are you do--"
Her eyes widened when the Doctor began to sing loudly and off key to 'Half Breed'.
My mother married a pure Gallifree!
My father's people were ashamed of me!
Gallifreyans said I was human by law!
Humans tried to dissect me with a blowtorch and saaaaaaaaaaaw!
Rose snorted out laughter and watched the Doctor dance wildly around the living room.
Half Breed! That's all I ever heard!
Half Breed! How I loved to hate the word!
Half Breed! He's no good at all!
Both sides were against me since the day I was booooooorn!
"Alright, Doctor, that'll do!" Jackie said. "My neighbors don't want to listen to your singing!"
The Doctor smiled at Rose when he heard her giggle. He was hoping he would be able to get a smile out of her. He looked at her with love when she dropped the fork on her plate and put her hand over her mouth to keep the giggles in.
Encouraged, the Doctor walked over, sat down beside her, and took a strip of bacon off her plate.
"Oooo, bacon."
Rose tried not to look at him while he chewed the bacon and made googly eyes at her. She looked over when she felt him tapping her on the shoulder and giggled when he opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and showed her the chewed up bacon on the tip of his tongue.
"Honestly, Doctor, you're worse than a child," Jackie said.
She smiled when Rose let out another giggle. The Doctor could be a pest sometimes, but she knew he cared for her daughter and was only trying to cheer her up.
The Doctor glanced down at Rose's plate.
"Oooo, 'nother piece of bacon," he said.
He snatched it up, shoved it into his mouth, and chewed with his mouth opened while Rose tried and failed to give him a stern look. He swallowed the bacon and thought for a moment as Rose picked up her glass and drank her milk. With a devilish grin, he leaned over into her ear and began to sing.
Little bunny foo foo
Hopping through the forest
Picking up the field mice
And boppin' em on the head.
Rose tried not to gag on the milk when she felt another wave of giggles coming on.
And the fairy came down and said…
Little bunny foo foo
I don't wanna see you
Picking up the field mice
And BOPPIN' em on the head.
Rose spit the milk back out into the glass and tried to give him a dirty look.
He thought for a moment and then grinned as he leaned into her ear.
Little Doctor foo foo
Ridin' in the TARDIS
Pickin' up the Daleks
And boppin' em on the head.
"Doctor, quit," Rose said. "I'm tryin' to eat."
And Rassilon came down and said,
Little Doctor foo foo
I don't wanna see you
Pickin' up the Daleks
And boppin' em on the head.
"You're a real nutter, you know that?" Rose said.
"Just trying to cheer my girl up."
Rose smiled.
"Well, it worked," she said.
The Doctor grinned at that. He leaned in for a kiss and was ecstatic when Rose didn't pull away this time.
Jackie smiled softly at them while she watched Rose poking the Doctor in the side and laughing. Sometimes the Doctor knew just what to do to make everything right.
Rose skewered a piece of egg on her fork and fed it to the Doctor. She giggled when the Doctor smacked his lips and let out a long "Mmmmmm" as he ate the egg. She put her hand on his knee, sighed contentedly when the Doctor took it, and gave it a squeeze.
All that nonsense about leaving the Doctor was just in my head, she thought. I'll never leave him and nothing will ever come between us. Not if I can help it.
She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and went back to eating her breakfast feeling a whole lot better than she did before