Chapter 7
Rose sat up, heart pounding. She was surprised to discover it wasn't her having the nightmare but James. The telly was on low, some late night infomercial in the background, and they were cuddled on the wide sofa, Rose draped over James' chest. Sitting up had left her straddling his legs but he didn't wake, instead his screams turned to whimpers and murmurs.
"I canna…I didna do it! No!" his brogue thick in his dreams.
Her nightmares led her to withdraw from people, not wanting touched or confined, even by blankets, but she didn't know if the same could be said for James. He sounded so young –Rose wondered if the dream was about the fire that killed his family.
Careful of his balled up hands, she laid one hand on his chest – above his frantic heart – and the other on his cheek.
"James! James, you need to wake up."
He trashed beneath her, nearly dislodging her, and normally the position she was in would have her in a panic but her concern for James overrode any deep seated fears. Rose realized that at this moment she was in control – not the Doctor – not the man beneath her – and she needed to be strong.
"No! Stop, you canna…"
Moving her grip to his shoulders, Rose shook him once – hard – and sat back.
"James!"
Chocolate eyes snapped open and rolled wildly. It was obvious he had no idea when or where he was. Grabbing one of his fists, Rose pried his fingers open and laid his palm against her cheek.
"Hey, it's me, Rose. You're safe. You're in your flat in London. We fell asleep watching telly."
Slowly, so slowly, those dark orbs focused on her. Blinking, the Doctor raised his other hand to cup her cheeks.
"Rose," he breathed voice still rough.
"Yeah, that's me. Know where you are?"
Huffing out a breath that caught his sweaty fringe, he nodded.
"Aye. Bloody London, in my bloody flat, havin' a bloody nightmare and scarin' the life outta ye most likely."
Grinning a bit, Rose pushed back his hair. "It's not the best way to wake up, I admit, but if I'm stayin' over then you can bet I'll wake ya up a time or two. Ya know your accent gets thicker when you have a nightmare?"
His eyebrow quirked. "Does it?"
"Yep."
"Do ye like it?"
She laughed, like she knew he wanted, and made to get up, but his hands on her hips held her fast. Looking closely, she could still see the remnants of the dream haunting his features.
"Why don't we shut off the telly and see if you have any hot chocolate? Mum always made it for me when I had a nightmare or couldn't fall asleep. Even when she was havin' a rough time, it was one thing she still thought to do."
"Or we could shut off the telly and lie here in the dark and cuddle."
"Somehow, I don't think lyin' here in the dark is gonna help. Come on, up ya get."
Grumbling, he helped Rose up and then followed her into the kitchen. He moved to the cupboard for the chocolate, content with letting Rose handle the kettle since it was out, but was surprised when she went to the fridge instead.
"I need a pot." She resurfaced with a carton of milk, squinting at the side and sniffing it for good measure.
"Why do you need milk? I have instant cocoa." He pulled out the drawer under the oven and handed her the pot anyway, watching her pour milk about half way up, frown, then add a touch more. "And I have mugs you could measure with."
"Nah, pot this size, half way should be just about half a mug each. And the milk is ta help you sleep. Plus, it makes the cocoa thicker." She tilted her head and stared at him for a good minute before nodding.
"What?" His left hand drifting to his ear and tugging. "What!?"
"Nothin', you look a bit more alert is all. And yer accent's not nearly as thick as it was." He watched in silence as Rose finished their drinks and moved to the table. It was another piece that was lacquered and shiny – one her Mum would have said was for lookin' and not touchin' – but the Doctor didn't seem to have a problem with cups on the coffee table, so Rose assumed this was fine. It was supposed to be for eating on after all.
Sipping the hot milk, she waited to see if the Doctor would start talking on his own.
James tried to ignore Rose and her golden eyes, those eyes that asked so many questions of him without doing much more than blinking. He concentrated on the hot drink, the velvet texture of the cocoa coating his tongue, the slight burn as the liquid slid down his throat.
"You're not letting this go, are you?"
This time, her brow rose. "I didn't say anythin'"
Heaving out a breath, he set his cup down. "Not out loud, no. But you have no idea how expressive your eyes are."
"So was the dream about your childhood?"
"Nooo," he drawled, "not that time. Most of them are. As you probably guessed, most of my nightmares are about the fire that took my parents lives. But this one, this one is different and far more recent. I've been having it since I came to London."
Reaching across the gleaming wood, Rose grabbed James' hand and squeezed.
"Do you wanna tell me about it? I don't know if it would help. When I have a nightmare, all I want to do is get outta bed, turn on all the lights and take a hot shower."
He hummed with a smile. "Now the taking a hot shower sounds pleasant, especially if the present company is included. There's not much to tell about it really – it's almost stereotypical – dark woods, a figure in black, loud noises…"
He shuddered and Rose decided to let it drop for now. But she could share a bit with him…maybe…
"I always dream I can't move. I'm bein' smothered and it's so hot and everythin' hurts. No matter how much I scream no one can hear me or if they can they just laugh."
James hadn't left go of her hand and pulled so she made her way around the table to sit on his lap. Slowly, gently he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"And me holding you like this doesn't bother you? Doesn't make you feel restrained?"
"No, 's like I know you would let go right away."
"I'd never hold you against your will. When I wake up – I think, I think maybe I'm the one that's running, not from someone but away from something. Something terrible that I did. I just can't or don't want to remember it fully."
Turning to face him more fully, Rose couldn't control herself, she needed to run her fingers through the Doctor's sleep tousled hair. Closing his eyes, he leaned into her touch. "Could you have done something that bad?"
"We're all capable, Rose, that's something I learned working over the years. Even children can be cruel."
" 'S sad," Rose murmured, resting her head in the crook of James' neck. He felt rather than heard her yawn, her breath moist again his skin.
"Right now I think both of us need to go back to sleep. Come on, that couch, big as it is, isn't really made for two people to be sleeping on it. Unless, you want me to take the couch and you can have the bed?"
Snorting, Rose let him lead the way to his bedroom. "Considerin' I was the one draped all over you, I think you can take your chances."
Roe found herself singing along with the radio as she got ready for work on Monday. She couldn't believe her luck, really James was fantastic. Smart, funny, yeah, he had a bit of a past but who didn't, herself included. They'd spent Sunday doing a tourist tour of London, going to all the sights she walked past every day but just never bothered with, the London Eye, the Bridge, Big Ben, and food! She ate more in one day than she'd eaten in a week!
The Doctor wasn't a perfect gentleman, he babbled (especially when he was nervous) and was rude – he thought nothing of correcting the tour guide (or taking over was a bit more accurate) if they were wrong. Still, he was kind and attentive and she hadn't had a lot of that in her life.
Tugging on her pink hoodie, she was just about to open the door when there was a knock. Thinking it was Mickey she pulled open the door with a grin.
"Wotcha! Didn' think…"
A man in a dark suit and sunglasses was standing grimacing as he looking down the walkway.
"Are you Miss Rose Tyler?"
"Who are you?"
"Just answer the question. Are you Miss Rose Tyler?"
"Yeah, who wants ta know?"
He handed her a thick manila envelope and turned away.
"Wait! What is it? Who's it from?"
"Let's just say it's from someone very concerned about your well being, Miss Tyler. And that people are not always who you expect them to be."
Frowning, Rose looked at the thick packet. "Shit." If she didn't run, she was going to miss her bus and then she'd be late for her shift. Shoving the packet into her bag, she took off down the stairs and promptly forgot about it.
"So, rose, you spent the whole weekend with Mister tall, dark, and gorgeous?"
Shareen picked at her salad and deciding that her diet could wait a day, reached across the dingy break room table to nick one of Rose's chips.
"Oi! You're the one that wanted lettuce! And yes, not that it's any of your business. And get yer mind outta the gutter, nothin' happened. It was nice. We walked all over the city, I think he knows every place ta eat at there is!"
"Did he buy ya anything good?"
"Ree! No! He's not like that. I mean he bought me lunch and dinner, but I paid for our first and third dates."
Shaking her curls, Shareen wagged her fork at Rose. "Ya shouldn't be payin' at all with a bloke like that. I tell ya Rose, ya should be listenin' to Keisha and me. Space things out a bit, let him grovel."
"James is a grown man, not one of the guys you and Keisha pick up at a club. I don't think it works like that. "
"Okay, since you won't spill any juicy details about your new beau, then maybe you can tell me what's in the package," she replied, nodding towards Rose's bag.
"Oh, I completely forgot. There was a knock at the flat before I left. Thought it was Micks but it was some block in a suit. He handed me this and said it was from someone who was interested in me or something'." Rose pulled out the envelope and opened it. It looked like a series of old Scottish newspaper clippings and copies of police reports from the very early eighties.
Shareen watched her friend's face pale and her hands begin to shake as she flipped through the pages faster. Shoving the papers into her bag, Rose stood and swayed a bit.
"Rose?"
"I…I need to go. I…I…I have to go home."
"Sweetie, go. I'll cover for you."
James whistled as he ran up the last flight of stairs to Rose's flat. They hadn't made plans for the evening but he was excited to see her and was thinking of taking her to the observatory. Rapping on the door, he rocked back on his heels.
Mickey answered with a scowl.
"You got a lotta nerve comin' round here, mate."
"What do you mean? I came to see Rose?"
"Yeah, I don't think you need to be seein' her any more. And I don't think you'll be havin' your fancy hospital job after today either."
Running a hand over the back of his neck, James sighed.
"Mickey, I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Really? Well, here. And don't expect a good-bye, either."
Mickey shoved the paper clippings at James and slammed the door. Glancing down at them, James caught the first headline and swore. It seemed like at least a few of his demons were following him from home.