A/N The Doctor keeps a promise made to Rose on the last day of their "honeymoon" in Falling Slowly.

Chapter 31

Rose was suspended in that blissful moment between sleep and waking when your body is still completely at rest but with just enough awareness to enjoy it. She was cocooned in warmth, nestled in the plush mattress and surrounded by the scent she now knew as the Doctor's alone. She inhaled deeply as she turned from her side onto her back, stretching out her legs and flexing her toes. As her senses came to full wakefulness, Rose's thoughts seemed to naturally settle on the Doctor as her eyes slowly fluttered open. Her vision was then filled with the sight of the man at the center of her thoughts as her sleepy eyes focused upon him to her right.

He had moved the leather armchair from the desk over beside the bed and sat there now, reading. The large Gallifreyan book she had seen on the desk the night before was propped open in his lap and supported with both hands as he studied the pages, peering down at them through dark-rimmed glasses. His jacket was off, slung over the back of the chair, and his dark brown tie with the small blue circular pattern hung loose at his neck, the first few buttons at the collar of his light blue Oxford open. Rose could feel her heart begin beating a bit faster in her chest just looking at him. He really was gorgeous. She wondered what he would look like waking beside her in the bed, perhaps shirtless and hair even more gloriously disheveled. That was a sight she definitely wanted to move beyond just imagining.

Dark brown eyes lifted from the ancient page and came to rest on hers. A slow, easy smile curved his lips. "Morning," he softly greeted.

As natural as breathing, Rose returned his smile, her voice thick from sleep. "Hi."

Rose pulled herself up into a sitting position against the headboard, the covers slipping down and gathering around her waist. Her loose-fitting nightshirt slid down her right arm, revealing her shoulder and top swell of her breast. She saw the Doctor's vision follow its path, settling on her bare skin as his eyes became something more intense. Rose could almost feel heat on her skin under his gaze. Self-consciously, she tugged the garment back up her shoulder. It was silly, really. It certainly wasn't anything he hadn't already seen before, but the passionate look in his dark eyes made her stomach flip flop and her slight nervousness return. Everyone kept telling her to take things a step at a time, but if he kept looking at her like this that plan might go out the proverbial window.

And would that necessarily be a bad thing?

Rose didn't have the chance to follow that thought further because moments later her stomach was doing a different kind of churning, and this time it wasn't from his heated gaze. The Doctor recognized the signs as her face drained of color. He was at her side in an instant, producing a cup of tea that had been sitting beside the bed.

He knelt beside her on the mattress, one hand resting on her back as he offered the beverage with the other. "Here. I know you probably don't feel like swallowing anything right now, but try to take a few sips of this, and I promise you'll feel better."

Rose took the cup from his hands and forced herself to take a few hesitant sips. Gradually, the nausea eased.

"Thanks," she managed, her stomach slowly beginning to settle back down. Rose peered at the contents in her mug and lifted it to her nose, taking a whiff. "This is the same tea you'd been giving me at Mum's," she noted, remembering the times when 'Dr. Smith' had prepared it for her.

"I've infused it with something to help with the morning sickness; or...whenever the nausea decides to strike. I knew you'd be waking up soon, so I thought I'd have some ready for you, just in case." He eased back a little, one knee still bent and resting on the bed beside her. "Better?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah. Thank you."

The Doctor sat back in the chair as Rose cradled the mug in her hands. She cut her eyes back over to him, wondering just how long he'd been there before she woke. "I didn't mean for you to have to sit up in a chair all night," she said somewhat guiltily as she reclined in the middle of this large, comfortable bed, thinking now that she really wouldn't have minded if he'd slipped in with her.

"Oh, I didn't mind. It gave me a chance to catch up on some reading." That slow, sexy smile returned. "And sitting here like this put me at the perfect vantage point for doing one of the things I love best – watching you as you sleep. You're gorgeous."

Rose hid her creeping blush behind her mug as she lifted it to take another sip. She felt a little self-conscious at the thought of him watching her sleep, but she also found that a part of her very much liked it that he had. As Rose glanced down, she noticed the extra blanket that had covered her. Maybe it was a small gesture, but Rose felt her heart swell just a little more. Was this incredible man really hers?

"How are you feeling?" he asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

Between his blanket, his tea, and his presence in the room, it was certainly hard to feel cold. The nausea had passed, too, and the exhaustion of the night before had been solved by a good night's sleep. "Good. Not quite as cold as last night, but I guess being under the blankets has something to do with that. I'm not feeling tired either. I slept well."

A familiar buzzing sound filled the room as the Doctor produced the sonic screwdriver, giving her a scan to confirm her assessment. Rose smiled inwardly. She was probably going to have to get very used to being on the receiving end of sonic scans for the foreseeable future.

The Doctor tucked away the sonic, satisfied for now with the results. There was an excitement in his eyes as he looked back to her. He'd been anxious to tell her this. "Well, if you're feeling up to it, I have a surprise for you today. Outside the doors of the TARDIS awaits a destination I think you'll enjoy." Uncertainty crept into his voice as he tugged on his earlobe. "That is...if you want to. If you're not ready to travel yet, with me, that's fine. I understand. I know you decided to come back to the TARDIS, but maybe I shouldn't have presumed..."

His uncertainty was chased away by Rose's beaming smile and enthusiastic reply. Anything else momentarily dissipated amidst her excitement of traveling with the Doctor. This, at least, was familiar to her. "Of course I'd love to! Where are we?"

A grin of happiness and relief came to his face. "That, Rose Tyler, is a surprise. Why don't you get dressed and I'll meet you in the galley for some breakfast. Then I'll show you just where we are."

The Doctor stood, picking up his jacket off the back of the chair. Before leaving the room, he turned back to add, "No need to dress in too many layers. I think you'll find the warm climate to be just what you need."

-:-:-:-

After showering, getting dressed and having a light breakfast, Rose stood with the Doctor at the door of the TARDIS, eager to see where he had taken her. She could spend a lifetime traveling in this ship, yet these were moments that would never lose their thrill. She felt so much like herself again, finally regaining some of her equilibrium after being knocked off her feet the day before. This was them, the Doctor and Rose. Even if there had been some significant changes to what used to define them, this was one thing that remained unchanged.

He opened the door, bright sunlight falling across them as he made a sweeping gesture with his arm to the outside. "After you, m'lady."

Grinning broadly, Rose stepped outside and gazed around, her eyes flitting to and fro trying to take in the panorama at once, with so much beauty to see in all directions. "This is...oh, this is beautiful. Are we still on Earth?"

The Doctor strode up beside her, hands in his pockets. "The one and only. This is Antigua. The eastern Caribbean, island paradise."

Rose swept her gaze around the tropical vista stretched out before her, admiring the clear blue water, sparkling beneath the bright sun like sapphires scattered across its surface, and the beach with its gleaming white sand, before setting her eyes on the thatched-roof bungalow which stood situated off the beach amidst a group of tall, swaying palm trees.

The Doctor turned to face her, his eyes soulful and his voice low. "This is a special place for us, Rose. I took you here once before. And on our final day here together, we stood and watched the sunrise just over there." He pointed with an extended arm to the bungalow's veranda overlooking the ocean. "And I promised then that I would take you back here someday. So this is me, keeping that promise."

Rose looked up at him. "We've been here before?"

Her question very nearly broke his hearts. He swallowed heavily. "Yeah. Yeah, we've been here before."

He had been fighting so hard to keep his own pain masked in this, instead focusing only on her; but Rose could see the repressed sorrow in his eyes break the surface. She wished she could ease that for him. It pained her that she couldn't remember, but she knew it hurt him, too. She wanted to be able to share the memory of their time here, a place that clearly held significance. She might not know now, but she could learn again. "Tell me about this place," she asked softly.

The Doctor's eyes looked deeply into hers. He extended his hand to her. "Come with me."

Rose slipped her hand into his as he led her down the secluded beach to the edge of the water. He guided her to sit beside him in the warm, powdery sand as they gazed out across the seemingly-boundless ocean. They sat in silence for a minute, the only sound that of the surf crashing gently against the shore. Rose turned her head to look at the Doctor. Although he was looking out across the water, she could sense the view in front of them wasn't what he was seeing before his distant eyes. He was seeing a past memory – a memory that was now lost to her.

The Doctor turned his eyes back to hers, his voice quiet, contemplative, yet intense. "This is where I showed myself to you, Rose. All of me. Even the things I didn't want anyone to see. The things I wanted to forget, but the things I never could, never will. You had to know, Rose. You had to know just who I was. I showed you the things I thought would make you turn away, and rightfully so, but you didn't. Instead, you saw the darkness, the things I'd done, The Destroyer of Worlds, The..." His voice was rough with emotion. "The Killer of His Own Kind. You saw all that, Rose, and offered forgiveness I didn't deserve. You gave me love." He drew in a long, shuddering breath. Talking about these things wasn't easy for him, even now. He wasn't one to wear his hearts on his sleeve, but Rose always seemed to have that way of getting him to open himself deeper. "And this is where I finally told you how I felt. How I had always felt. This is where I told you I loved you, and where I showed you that love without holding back. This is where I bonded myself to you and we became one."

Rose felt the sting of tears begin to prick her eyes. Never had she longed for those memories than in this moment. "I want to remember," she whispered, her voice almost breaking.

He gave her a quivering smile, his own eyes shining. "I know. But I promise to remember for both of us. What we had has not been lost, Rose." He brought his hand forward, lifting it to her face and tracing fingertips down her cheek, across her jaw. "And we are going to make new, glorious memories, Rose. Trust me."

Rose captured his hand and held it between both of hers, just beneath her chin. "I do trust you," she breathed, the full meaning of her words clear as her eyes held his. She brushed her lips in a whispered-touch over his knuckles, and he wondered if she could feel the sparks become fire. Their bond was just waiting to ignite.

The Doctor wanted nothing more in this moment than to pull her to him, bring his lips to hers, lay her down beneath him and show her his love, slowly and fervently until the sun above them became stars in the sky.

But they had taken this slow the first time this journey had been made. Some things were worth the wait. Rose had given him the time he needed to come to terms with his feelings and overcome his fears. Now he would do the same thing for her, even though he could see in her eyes that something was shifting. There was a definite sureness that had not been there the day before when all of this had crashed over Rose and left her reeling. He felt the heaviness in his own chest begin to lighten. They would make new, glorious memories together.

He smiled, growing ever brighter as he laced his fingers through hers and pulled her with him to stand. "And now, Rose Tyler, I'm going to give you the grand tour."

The tropical sun wasn't the only cause of Rose's growing warmth as he led her by the hand towards their private bungalow.