Chapter 2 - Good Night

The Doctor had meant to aimlessly wander the TARDIS corridors, but he paused when he came to Rose's door. She's fine, he told himself, but the image from his dream seemed seared into his eyelids. He had to see, just a quick check. He knocked gently on the door, and to his surprise got an immediate response.

"Yeah?" Rose asked from within.

The Doctor swallowed, then opened the door a crack, just enough to poke his head through. "Just, um, making sure you're alright," the Doctor said lightly. "You alright?"

Rose was propped up in her bed, dressed in her nightclothes, reading a book. And her beautiful face beamed at him. "Yeah," she answered, "'s just -"

Having seen that Rose was, indeed, perfectly safe, his own concerns evaporated at her hesitance. The Doctor opened the door more fully and entered the room. "What's wrong?" he asked, hands in his pockets as he walked to her bedside.

"Just... dreams," she said. "I tried sleepin', but I keep seein' the Wire." She closed her book, staring at her lap. "Feel like I'm trapped again, an' no matter how much I shout, no one can hear me."

The Doctor squatted down next to her bed, and took her hand. She squeezed his in gratitude. "Me, too. Dreams, I mean," he admitted. He tried to make light of his nightmare. "I even got slapped by your Mum for letting that happen to you."

Rose chuckled.

Then, more seriously, he added, "I should never have let that happen to you."

Rose met his eyes, and told him, "Not your fault. I was jus' doin' a bit of investigatin'. No one ever said it was perfectly safe."

With his free hand, the Doctor reached up to cradle Rose's face. He watched her eyes close as she leaned into his palm. "I thought -" but he couldn't finish the sentence.

Rose gave the Doctor a sympathetic smile as she met his gaze once more, and held his hand to her face for a moment. "Could you, I dunno," she hesitated, looking adorably shy. "Could you stay for a while?" she asked.

Oh, thank you, Rose, thank you, the Doctor thought. "Sure," he told her. Rose set her book on the nightstand, then shifted over in her bed, making room for him to join her. Taking the hint, the Doctor shrugged out of his jacket and tie, and undid his Converses. He climbed in beside her, then made to turn off the bedside lamp.

"Please," she stopped him, "leave it on?"

"Sure," he said, lying down, facing her.

"Sorry, but," she reached out to rest her hand on his chest, "When I was trapped, I couldn't see, or feel, or anythin'. I just kept tryin' to shout, but I couldn't even make a sound." The Doctor knew exactly what she'd been shouting. The other faces in the televisions had all been mouthing "help" or "help me", but Rose had repeated just one word, "Doctor".

He raised his hand back to her face. "You're here now, you're safe," he said, but couldn't have said whether it was more for her benefit or his own. He watched, detached, as his fingertips slowly traced her features. Rose closed her eyes as he moved across her brow, down the bridge of her nose, over her cheek. She smiled slightly as his thumb brushed her lips.

"I'm here," she whispered, echoing his words, then opened her eyes. Her hand moved up to the Doctor's neck, playing gently with the short hairs behind his ear, her thumb just grazing his sideburns. "You know," she licked her lips and laughed a bit nervously, "that was supposed to be our honeymoon. Ya never did even kiss the bride."

Dare he? Here they were, here she was, so inviting, literally asking, even giving him an excuse. Their accidental wedding. How many times before had he accidentally married a companion - even Rose, technically, just a couple of times. But this was the first time it had haunted his dreams. Still, the complications, "Rose, I -"

She winced, apparently recognizing his tone. She looked down, biting her lip, and moved to pull her hand away.

Her pain decided him, and he rolled slightly towards her, shifting her head with the hand he still held there. Her eyes still held a hint of concern, but she smiled, a bit of pink tongue poking from the corner of her mouth. He leaned in and brushed his lips against the opposite corner, watching her eyes flutter closed.

He meant to give her just a bit of comfort, a gentle kiss, something that could still, just about, be called friendly. But as he pressed his lips to hers, her fingers raked through his hair, and her mouth opened slightly in a whimpered sigh. He was lost.

He let her pull him against her, let her direct the kiss, let her take everything she needed from him. She was alive, she was here, she was so alive. And he was hers. Although he could never tell her in words, he silently prayed that she could guess, that she would know.

After several minutes - the Doctor had somehow lost track; oh, she tasted like home! - Rose pulled suddenly away, eyes still closed, trying to catch her breath. She's so beautiful, thought the Doctor, as she held his head in place, their foreheads touching.

"Thank you," she whispered, still breathing heavily, still not meeting his eyes.

You're thanking me? I should be apologizing. Still, "Anytime," was his hoarse reply.

She pulled him into a hug, and he gladly complied, wrapping his arms around her. He nuzzled her neck, dropping the lightest of kisses along her jaw, her ear, but then just held her.

Her breathing slowly evened out, and he could tell she would sleep. He briefly thought that he should go, but they were so comfortably entwined that he banished the thought. He pulled away just enough to be able to see her face, now peaceful and relaxed, as she lay in his arms. What was it she'd told him? Some things are worth getting your hearts broken for? He could easily fill the hours ahead simply by counting the things he had thought he had lost before she had been restored to him.

To be continued...