AN: Reviews are always nice, right? I hope you're enjoying these little drabbles :) This is Tentoo/Rose again.
Chapter 12- Not Enough
"John?" Rose called into the apartment. She had just gotten off work, and dropped her jacket on the hook they used for their coats.
She frowned at the lack of light in the apartment. The living room was usually bright, the telly blaring, and John was usually humming loudly in the kitchen preparing dinner on the nights he didn't work with her. Tonight, however, the entire place was dark.
Where could he have gone? She pulled out her mobile, checking to see if she had missed a call or a text, but there was nothing.
"John?" Rose asked again, her voice an octave higher as the beginning of a panic crept into it.
It was then that she heard a shuffling noise from the back of the apartment, like it was coming from John's office. She let out a sigh of relief.
The man had probably just gotten caught up in paperwork for Torchwood and lost track of the time, right? Rose moved further in.
To prove her point, a light streamed from under John's closed office door.
She smiled to herself and pushed open the door.
"Oi! Did someone forget what time it was?" she teased, about to make another quip before the sight in front of her made her stop.
John was stroking the TARDIS plant, frowning deeply, and his eyes looked suspiciously like he had been crying at some point. A huge rush of affection overtook Rose and she swept him into her arms.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly. "'s'something wrong?"
"It hurts," he told her flatly.
"What hurts, love? What'd ya do? Cut yourself?" Rose took her hands into hers, looking them over extensively.
"No," John sighed, like she wasn't understanding something completely obvious. "It hurts to be away from travelling. And it hurts to be away from the TARDIS, my TARDIS. This one is taking so long!" He gritted his teeth angrily on the last two words.
Rose noticed that he said my TARDIS, and referred to the one growing in the pot as 'this one'.
"D'you mean the one the Doctor has?"
John glared at her. "Exactly, Rose. That's the problem, isn't it? I'm like him, but not enough to keep me with the TARDIS. EVEN THOUGH IT HURTS ME!"
Rose's eyes widened at his outburst and she rubbed his back. "'m sorry. I didn't know it hurt you this much."
He sighed again. "You're right, I shouldn't take this out on you." The man captured her lips in a kiss. "I love you, Rose Tyler. Haven't said that since this morning."
"Quite right, too," she teased him, sticking her tongue in her teeth and grinning.
"I'm worried that this TARDIS won't be enough, Rose," he whispered hoarsely.
"What d'you mean?" Rose asked, biting her lip.
"What if we're putting more faith into this than necessary? What if this TARDIS isn't sentient at all? What if we're not bonded to this TARDIS? What if this TARDIS hates us and takes us to dangerous places on purpose and gets you killed? What if the hurt doesn't go away?" John finished in a rush, his chest heaving from the excessive question firing.
Rose took his hand and cradled it against her chest, like the Doctor used to when he comforted her. John's eyes widened and he backed away like a scared animal.
"What'sa matter?" she asked.
"He did that, to you, to comfort you. Please, don't do things he used to."
Rose sighed and held her hands up in surrender. She offered her arms to the slender man and he gratefully walked right into them. "I 'ave no doubt that if Donna gave us this piece of coral, she knew it would work. That's the faith we're gonna have, yeah? I'm sure the TARDIS will love us 'cause we grew her, and I promise that even if it does take us to dangerous places, which that's all it's ever done-" she paused to stick her tongue out, and John scowled, "-I will be careful, yeah? I don't wanna lose you either."
The last question unanswered hung in the air, but it was like John didn't notice, or maybe didn't want to. He sucked in a breath at her last answer and cupped Rose's cheek.
"You don't?"
"Course not, dork. You're mine to stay, whether you want to or not." She ruffled his hair affectionately and John smiled.
"Good," he mumbled, "because you're mine, too."
"Really?" Rose retorted, "Would you like to prove it?"
"You little minx!" John exclaimed and twisted out of her arms to chase her around the desk and into their bedroom, the other TARDIS long forgotten.