Of Phone Calls, Box-sets and Late-Night Snuggling
Rose sighed in frustration and flung her hand out from under the covers to haphazardly locate her mobile phone on her bedside table. Blinking quickly to regain sufficient eyesight under the now brightly illuminated duvet, she pressed speed dial to ring the TARDIS.
"Bit late, isn't it, Rose Tyler?" the Doctor's voice answered.
She rolled her eyes. "You're an insomniac, what does it matter?" she retorted, and grinned when he chuckled. "How did you know it was me?"
"Weeelll. No one else knows the TARDIS' number. Weeeelll, except for Winston, of course."
"Winston?" Rose repeated questioningly.
"Churchill," the Doctor supplied easily.
"Ah," she realised. "Of course."
The Doctor smiled, absurdly thrilled that she wasn't even fazed by that. "Yeah, he's an old mate. Didn't think it'd be him, though. He knows the whole etiquette thing about not ringing after nine o'clock at night, after all."
"Doctor, he'd be ringing from like, 1945 or something. How would he know what time it was where you are?"
He paused thoughtfully, considered her point, realised he didn't have an answer, sniffed, and then changed the subject. "Everything alright?"
"No," she said solemnly.
His senses turned on full alert. "Why, what's happened? Are you okay? Have you caught Jackie's cold? What's she done? Did she make you eat the rest of that Sheppard's pie? Have you got food poisoning?" he asked her rapidly.
She sighed dramatically. "I can't sleep."
"Oh," he replied, relaxing in relief. "Oh, right. Well, that's easily remedied."
"It is?" she asked hopefully.
"Yep!" he cried enthusiastically. "Count some sheep!"
Rose groaned. "That doesn't work," she informed him sagely.
"Have you tried it?" he retorted.
"Yes! And I even changed it to big, fat, smelly Slitheen to make it more interesting. Still didn't work." She heard him take a breath in as if about to suggest something else, so she interjected quickly, "And before you ask; yes, I also sang the song, '100 Green Krillitanes hanging on the wall.' Twice. That didn't work either."
"Oh," he said, sighing. "Then I can't help you."
"Fat lot of good you are," Rose grumbled, but she was smiling even so. "Guess you'll just have to talk me to sleep."
"How on Earth will I do that?"
"Just...talk about quantum mechanics or temporal physics or something. That always sends me off," she teased.
"Oi! Rude!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Anyway, I've just had a better idea."
"What's that?"
"Why don't you come home, eh? The TARDIS misses you. I know! We can have hot chocolate and watch Star Trek! To point and laugh at, obviously."
"I can't. Mum wants me here in case she starts throwing up again. Sorry," Rose apologised, biting her lip in frustration. "I s'pose you'll have to wait 'til tomorrow to see me."
"Remind me again why I'm not there with you, then?" he asked her.
She frowned. "You scarpered when Mum was sick on the floor in front of you, remember."
"Yeah, but she's asleep now, right?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Then I'm safe to come up," he explained simply, as if it was obvious.
"Yeah but when I do fall asleep, you'll have nothing to do," she pointed out. "You'll be stuck on the sofa, channel-flicking 'til morning."
"I'll bring Star Trek with me."
"Make it Star Wars and it's a deal," Rose bargained.
"Oh, alright," he relented, grinning madly.
"And Doctor?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't forget to bring the hot chocolate. Mum's not got much shopping in."
"Done."
"And bring some biscuits too."
"Of course."
"And marshmellows, obviously."
"Obviously. Rose Tyler, what do you take me for?"
"Excellent," she smiled, pleased with their plan. And in a silly way, feeling very much like a teenage girl again, having a secret sleepover with her best friend.
"Indeed," he agreed, and she could hear his corresponding smile in his voice. She didn't hear him hang up the phone, though, because she was too busy daydreaming – well, night-dreaming - about how lovely his smile was.
She cleared her throat and babbled on at him quietly about how boring her evening had been, oblivious to receiving no answers (she was getting more like him every day.) She was just finishing up with, "Don't forget to be quiet when you come in, though, 'cos we don't want Mum - " before she cut herself off abruptly, hearing something clang on the floor on the other side of the wall.
Standing, she held a hand over her phone and crept towards her bedroom door, then opened it almost silently before tip-toeing into the living room.
Upon faced with the sight of the very man she'd thought she was on the phone to, she put her mobile to her ear and asked, "Hello?" and the Doctor burst out laughing, sprawled as he was on the floor, biscuit tin precariously nesting in the crook of his arm.
"I was still talking to you!" she hissed quietly. "You hung up on me!"
"And you didn't even realise," he said, pouting himself now. "That shows how much attention you pay to me."
"I just thought you were letting me have a chance to ramble for a change," she replied smoothly. Then, "And shh! Speak quieter; don't wake up Mum."
"Well I just thought - " he said, at normal volume, but stopped when Rose glared at him. "Well I just thought," he continued, whisperingly, "That you'd like me to get here a.s.a.p with our treats."
Rose smiled, holding her hand out to help him stand up. "Good point."
He shoved the Star Wars DVDs at her, before walking towards the kitchen. "Disk 3," he informed her seriously. "I'll make the hot chocolate!"
-x-
About three hours later, the Doctor awoke from a doze to find Rose dribbling adorably on his shoulder in the dim light of the table lamp. He wasn't sure when they'd both fallen asleep, but one of them had seemingly managed to turn off the TV before they'd done so.
He extricated his arm from around her waist and tried to shift without waking her, leaning forward to turn of the lamp. He realised he was unsuccessful, however, when Rose yawned loudly, murmuring his name.
"Yeah, I'm here," the Doctor whispered back, searching for her hand in the darkness. Abruptly, he realised that he'd accidently brushed his hand across her chest. "Ah, sorry, can't see..." he mumbled, mildly embarrassed.
Rose's laughter was muffled, her face pressed into his side as she tried to burrow back into her place snug in his arms. "No worries," she replied softly. Then, she let out a frustrated sigh.
"What's up?" he murmured, now having found her hand and squeezing it tight in relief.
"Can't get comfy, now," she said. She moved, turning the lamp light back on so that she could see where she was going. "Come on, let's go to bed."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow.
"What?" she asked defensively, rubbing her eyes wearily as she stood. "What's the difference between cuddling here on the sofa or in my bed?"
The Doctor raised his other eyebrow. "Weeelll..."
"Look, I'm not gonna jump you or anything," she giggled tiredly. "Anyway, we've shared a bed before. You can stay on top of the covers if you like, like you did when we stayed at that hotel on that weird planet with the camels or whatever."
"Camelica," the Doctor supplied, suppressing a grin.
"Yeah, that's it. Well?" she demanded. "What's so scary, eh?"
"Well, put it this way, if your Mum walks into your room in the morning and sees me in your bed, what's she going to think, hmm?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "Absolutely nothing. I've told her nothing like that is going on between us."
The Doctor looked at her sceptically, and Rose lost her patience, grabbing his hand and hauling him up, dragging him to her room.
He sort of just let her, providing no more resistance.
Rose let go of his hand once she'd gotten him safely inside her room, and dove for the bed, snuggling under the covers with a contented smile on her face. "Much better," she murmured appreciatively. "Not as comfy as my mattress on the TARDIS, mind, but still."
The Doctor smiled affectionately at her, taking off his shoes. He lifted the duvet up and slipped into bed beside her.
"What, you're taking that risk, Doctor?" she teased, tongue between teeth, instantly turning on her side to face him.
He reached out his hand and let it rest on her hip, wondering if it would appear clingy if he pulled her closer. As it was, he didn't need to worry, because within moments she had curled herself into his embrace, flinging her arm over his waist.
He held her tighter, and hid his smile in her hair as he murmured goodnight.
-x-
The Doctor didn't sleep for the rest of the night. Rose was constantly shifting restlessly against him, mumbling to herself about utterly baffling combinations of things, like badminton and bananas. He found this very endearing, but rather wished she would keep still. It wasn't an overly big bed for two occupants, and her movements were doing nothing to repress the thoughts that the Doctor's mind had acquired since he had climbed in beside her.
Heaving a sigh, he twisted until he was lying on his back, staring up at her ceiling thoughtfully. He was wondering if it would really be so bad for him to wake her up right now. She might be dreaming something awful about that badminton and bananas, and that might be why she was so fidgety. He hated to think of her trapped in some sort of horrifying, confusing nightmare.
Then again, she might be dreaming of something quite pleasant. It was difficult to tell, because he couldn't see her expressions clearly in the dark. Every so often, though, she'd make these fluttery sort of sighing sounds, rather than terrified screams or groans of pain, so he thought perhaps that it would be cruel to wake her.
She practically winded him, then, elbowing him in the stomach as she turned on her side, facing away from him, and he resolved that nice dream or not, she would have to stop wriggling.
"Rose," he murmured, turning on his side too, his front against her back as he leant towards her, whispering in her ear.
She simply pressed her face into her pillow and settled back against the Doctor, not replying.
"Rose," he said again, a little louder, his hand gently shaking her arm.
"Mmph," she muttered, dragging his hand in hers so that she could wind his arm around her middle.
He sighed against her hair, his fingertips twitching over her bare stomach where her top had ridden up. "Rooooose," he whined softly. "Please wake up."
"No...'s not morning."
"Are you alright, though?" he asked her quietly.
"Mmyeah," she slurred, stirring into wakefulness. "Why wouldn't I be?" She turned in his arms and looked up at him.
His hand slipped to her lower back as she shifted. "You were talking in your sleep. And wriggling. A lot."
"Oh," she murmured, fitting her head into the crook of his neck. She yawned, and he felt her jaw move against his skin. "Sorry 'bout that."
"It's okay," he replied, swallowing thickly. "Um...Rose?"
Through another yawn, she responded, "Yeah?" before nuzzling her way past the collar of his shirt.
"Wouldn't you say this is a bit..." he trailed off, closing his eyes briefly at the feel of her smile against his collar bone.
"A bit what?" she prompted, waking up a bit at the prospect of teasing him.
He tilted his head to look down at her, his nose accidently brushing against her forehead. "Close..." he whispered, voice cracking slightly.
Rose lifted her gaze to his face, unable to see it in the dark but knowing that right about now he'd have a frowning expression as he tried to work out what was going on. She lifted her hand and smoothed out his drawn together brows, her touch lingering at his cheek on its way back down.
"Don't see you moving away," she countered easily, finding his free hand under the covers and entwining their fingers.
He gulped at that; she could tell, because she felt his Adam's apple bob. "Neither are you," he said defensively.
"So what's your problem, then?" she laughed softly, her lips brushing against the fabric of his shirt.
"Nothing!" he squeaked out. "I'm just...saying, that's all."
"Doctor," Rose whispered.
"Yeah?" he whispered back.
She grinned. "Your hearts are beating really fast."
"Are they?" he replied nonchalantly, trepidation kicking in as he realised she'd noticed.
"Yep," she affirmed, squeezing his hand lightly. "You alright?"
"Course I am."
"Then, why...?"
"Perhaps I'm living in fear that your mother will walk in at any moment."
Rose giggled. "Don't worry about that. She's got flu, won't be walking around for days."
"Speaking of which, shouldn't you be looking after her?"
"She's asleep; not much I can do for her at the moment. It's the middle of the night."
"Actually, it's almost dawn."
"Whatever; sometimes that is the middle of the night for her."
The Doctor laughed into her hair, his hand on her back pressing her more firmly against him.
"Well, in that case," he murmured. "Rose?"
"Yeah?"
She lifted her head, and instantly, she felt his mouth on hers. "Doctor!" she squeaked in surprise against his lips. Her hand left his and wound itself into his hair, yanking him back to her when he almost took her shock for rejection, so that she could kiss him back.
When the kissed eased off, both of them were panting breathlessly. "Sorry," he grinned sheepishly. "Couldn't hold that back much longer."
Rose laughed, kissing him again. "What took you so long?" she asked him playfully as she pulled back.
He growled and shifted them quickly so that she was trapped underneath him. "You mean, you knew? Were you doing that...intentionally, Rose Tyler?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
Hands over each of his hearts, she widened her eyes innocently. "Doing what intentionally?"
"Driving me insane," he clarified, rolling his eyes.
"Of course not!" she declared, mock-offended.
"For the last two years..." he added softly.
Her breath hitched and he felt it against his jaw. "Really?" she whispered.
He bit his lip worriedly. "Have you not...noticed?"
"Noticed what?" Rose tightened her grip on his hand.
"That I'm..." He coughed awkwardly, his voice rough.
"That you're what?" she asked gently.
"You know," he murmured, tilting his head forward and resting his forehead against hers. "You must...feel it, too."
"Yeah," she agreed brightly, pressing her hips up and further into his, winding her arms around his neck and smiling smugly into his cheek so he could sense her teasing. "Yeah, I feel it."
The Doctor struggled to breathe for a moment. "That's...that's not what I meant, you little..."
Rose giggled. "Little what?"
"Minx," he answered hoarsely, before stealing her lips again.
Three quick knocks on Rose's bedroom door made them spring apart, flipping onto their backs and trying to catch their breath. The Doctor grumbled to himself; so much for Jackie not walking around for days. He might've known she'd recover from her illness super-quickly just to spite him. Just like her to thwart his plans of kissing Rose all day. Typical.
"Rose. Rose?" called Jackie sleepily, turning the door handle.
Rose curled up and pretended to be asleep; the Doctor followed her lead and closed his eyes, strategically rearranging the duvet.
"Rose, love, are you awake?" Jackie whispered loudly. She tiptoed over to her daughter's beside table and turned on the lamp. "Oh! What's he doing in here?" she exclaimed.
Rose rolled over and pretended to wake up, feigning a yawn. "Mum? What's up? How you feeling?"
"Oh, still awful," Jackie sniffed, running a hand through her knotty hair. "Thought I'd better get up and about a bit, though – I'm going all stiff, hanging around in bed all day. Speaking of beds, what's himself doing in yours, eh?" she added, raising an eyebrow.
Rose shrugged indifferently. "Felt bad 'bout making him sleep on the sofa," she mumbled.
"But I thought he'd gone back to the TARDIS," Jackie pointed out, sitting on the end of the bed as she blew her nose.
"Well, he came back," Rose replied defensively.
Jackie smiled knowingly. "Couldn't stand being away from you for just one night, could he?"
She rolled her eyes. "Nooo," she scoffed. "I couldn't sleep so he came over to keep me company. Because he's my friend," she stressed.
"Friend," Jackie repeated. "Of course."
"He is."
"Yeah, and the rest," Jackie said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "If he's never implied he wants something more from you, then he's a complete liar – believe me, I've been around a bit, I can tell when someone likes someone else like that."
"Even if they're an alien?" Rose grinned.
Jackie waved her hand dismissively, and sing-songed, "He's still a man..."
"Whatever you say, Mum. Fancy a cuppa?"
"Yeah, that'll be nice, sweetheart."
Rose threw back the duvet and stood up, stretching. "I'll go and stick the kettle on," she said, suppressing a giggle at leaving the Doctor alone with her mum. She'd pay for it later, but it was just too funny an opportunity to pass up.
"Thanks, love," replied Jackie, who remained sitting on the edge of the bed when Rose left the room. "I know you're awake," she said to the Doctor then, amusement heavy in her tone. "You don't fool me."
The Doctor opened his eyes and sat up straight, eying Jackie warily. "Right."
She folded her arms. "I could hear you both giggling and things. These walls aren't that thick."
"Right," he said again.
"Was I...interrupting anything?" she grinned.
His eyes widened. "We were just talking!"
"Didn't sound like just talking..." she smirked.
He swallowed hard. "And...why are you talking to me about this?" he asked, baffled as to where this conversation could possibly be going. He severely hoped it wasn't going to result in a slap; she'd got passed that recently, it seemed, and she was actually fairly nice to him nowadays. He'd hate for things to regress. Especially now he and Rose were...well...whatever he and Rose now were. Or had been. Or will be...
"I wasn't exactly expecting that my Rose would end up with someone like you," she began, bringing him out of his silent contemplation. "But as soon as I realised just how much you care about her, I accepted the fact that nothing's ever going to come between you. I just want you to know that she's got my approval. Not that either of you asked for it, mind, but still." Jackie nodded her head firmly, offering him a warm smile. "Alright?"
The Doctor was silent, mouth hanging open.
"Alright?" Jackie said again.
"Yes," he replied emphatically. "Yes. Um. Thanks."
"You're welcome," Jackie smiled, before standing up as Rose walked back in, taking her mug and leaving them alone.
"That was...well. Surreal. Did that really just happen?" the Doctor whispered to Rose.
"Yep," Rose grinned, sipping her tea.
He shuddered, then looked at her pointedly. "Hey, where's mine?"
"You were asleep."
He smiled gently, then patted the space next to him. "Come back to bed," he murmured.
"My mum's in the next room," she pointed out, arching an eyebrow.
"It's alright. We have her approval," he beamed, reaching out to lace his fingers with hers and pulling her down next to him.
"I don't care," Rose laughed, settling into his embrace as his arm looped around her shoulders snugly. "You'll have to restrain yourself 'til we get back to the TARDIS now. It'd be way too embarrassing to, um, continue anything here."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Fine," he huffed half-heartedly. "But I hope we're planning on going back to the TARDIS soon. Soon as in, now, preferably. Yes? Maybe? No?" Rose shook her head. "Oh. Alright then. S'pose we might as well stay for breakfast."
She giggled and snuggled further into him, mindful of not spilling her tea. "Don't worry, it seems Mum was exaggerating her symptoms a bit yesterday. She ought to be fine by the end of the day, and then you can whisk me off into the vortex again."
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "And oh, have I got plans for when we do," he chuckled into her hair.
"I'm gonna hold you to that," she announced, immensely pleased.
"You'd better," he retorted, equally delighted with the imminent development brewing in their near future. "'Cos I've got some brilliant ideas. I'd hate for you to miss out."
...