Ringing, ringing shut up with the ringing. Recognition penetrates my sleep-dead brain. It's my phone alarm, I should be getting up for work. Work. Mum. Reality. It all seems so far away. We've only been asleep for a couple of hours but I feel much better, totally warm and happier than I think I've ever been.
The Doctor is now awake next to me, a grin already spreading its way across his face.
"You ok?" His face is neutral but I can see concern lingering in his eyes
I nod and look at my phone. "I should be going to work this morning, think I might pull my first sickie!" My brain is actually thumping inside my skull as it tries to process everything that's happened in the past few hours.
"You still working for Torchwood then?" He's looking at me with such pride in his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm still there, every now and then I get to use my 'superior knowledge' on alien lifeforms, but there's a shed load of paperwork that never ends."
His eyes drop to the phone in my hand that I'm fiddling with. "I'm just gonna text mum, I'll tell her I went to the gym before work, I do that sometimes"
"Rose Tyler at the gym?" There is a smirk on his face that I'm not sure I like.
"Well I got pretty fit when I was with you, all that running around. I've never been that fit before, didn't wanna loose it" His eyes take on a far away look for a few seconds, then he snaps out of it.
"7:30, isn't
that a bit early for Jackie Tyler to be up and about, still the
middle of the night for her isn't it?"
"Not
anymore it's not, Lucy's usually awake by 6:30."
Confusion
crosses his face for a second. "Lucy?
Oh, the baby." He looks at
me and his eyes are shining. "You've
got a baby sister?"
"Yep,
she's gorgeous, Mum's besotted. It hasn't stopped her fussing
over me like I hoped it would though."
"Oh
that'll never happen." He
reaches out and strokes my arm gently. "You
really ok?" He touches a
hand to my forehead and studies my face intently for a few seconds.
"Your temperature is fine
now, and your colour is good, I think you'll live."
He
wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer to his body and I can feel
a slight tremor run through his body, like he is fighting the urge to
hold me so tight we could never be parted again.
A silence falls between us that grows from seconds into minutes and the unanswered questions begin to burn holes in my brain. When I finally speak my voice is wobbly and not at all controlled.
"How are you here with the universe still intact?" My heart is racing and my mouth is dry and I'm not even sure why.
My head is resting firmly on his chest and I hear him take a breath before he answers me.
"I don't know Rose, I really don't know. I was in the vortex and it was like last time, I got a bang on the head this time though, came round to find we'd landed." He shifts slightly and I lift myself to let him get up. I know he needs to be on his feet when his brain is busy. I sit up and watch as he paces the room, fiddling with a piece of wire he's found from somewhere.
"I don't understand why the universe didn't shatter, it absolutely should have done." I can tell he has been holding all of this in since we found each other and the relief at being able to release the tumbling torrent of thoughts is obvious.
"Do you think
our universe is ok?" I
almost don't want the answer to this question but I have to
ask.
He
turns to look at me, his face strained with emotion.
"I hope so."
He's on the move again, fingers worrying the wire into a multitude of shapes. " I've checked this universe out as far as I can, that's what I was doing before you came here, everything seems to be ok, time will tell I suppose. There's no way we can know how things are on the other side."
I don't want to think about that, I can't let myself think about that, not right now.
"The Tardis is ok this time though, I mean…." I gesture around the room, which is glowing a gentle shade of green
"She seems to be fine. I checked her over too, once I figured out where I was. I don't think….. I don't think it was 'luck' that I ended up here, exactly where you happen to be. I don't know what happened in the vortex that caused us to fall out but I think the Tardis found you. You are a part of each other, she was drawn to you. She missed you." He turns his head away from me.
"I missed you," he whispers.
I'm crying now, my tears drip on the duvet, making a spotty pattern.
" I missed you so much I thought I might actually die form the pain." His voice is tight with emotion, I've never seen him like this before.
"Me too" I manage to sob and then he is there on the bed next to me and his arms are wrapped around me so tight I can hardly breath. We sit, rocking gently back and forth, and I've never felt anyone hold me with such intensity. My head is tucked in tight to the hollow of his neck and I can feel him pressing soft kisses into my hair. One of us moves, or maybe we both do and then he's gazing into my eyes so deeply I can read his soul. My eyes settle on his lips for a second, I just cannot stop them, but my heart stops beating when his do the same. His head tilts to the side slightly and he moves in closer. Oh god, he's going to kiss me, he's actually going to kiss me.
And then my phone rings. My stupid bloody buggery phone. And he's laughing awkwardly, and I'm blushing furiously. It's my Mum. Who else would it be? I try to get rid of her but she's worried about why I'm not at work. Bugger. Forgot to phone them. She's demanding to know what's going on, where am I? why am I not at home if I'm ill. I don't know what to say to her, and then the penny drops so loud I can almost hear it. "It's him isn't it.? He's here."
I tell her she's right and I'm fine and he's fine and we'll come and see her very soon and she finally lets me hang up. "Is she ok?" The Doctor is watching me from the other side of the room as he gets dressed.
"For now, yes." I feel a bit woozy from what just almost happened. He was going to kiss me and I wanted him to with every fiber of my being.
"We'd better go and face the music I suppose, I'm gonna make you some breakfast if you want to grab a shower." He comes up to me and takes my hand. "We have a lot still to talk about, things I need to tell you." His eyes lock with mine again and he lifts a hand to stroke my face. "Later," he smiles at me and my heart turns to liquid. "Later," I reply.
