a/n: This chapter is rated M.

Many thanks to bittie752 for her beta on this.

Chapter Thirteen

Late the next morning they loaded up Rose's Mini Cooper with what they'd need for the next few weeks in Cardiff. Even though neither Rose nor the Doctor owned many possessions, the car would hold only a tiny fraction of their belongings. The only things they decided were necessary to bring were some suitcases, a box of Rose's photos, and the tank holding the Doctor's small branch of TARDIS coral. Jackie was going to make arrangements to send some of their boxes to the flat Pete had bought as an investment for Vitex and the rest to them when they found a permanent place to live. Rose wasn't even bringing her tablet computer, since she insisted that the Doctor had broken it and it needed to be replaced anyway.

They had intended to leave the mansion without a lot of fanfare, but as was usual with their plans, reality didn't work out that way.

Pete had picked up Tony at Mrs. McDonald's home earlier that morning, and since they had gotten back the little boy had been constant motion, running back and forth between the house and Rose's car, insisting at the top of his lungs that he could help carry the luggage. As he followed the Doctor into the house for the third time, Rose decided to take advantage of the lull in the chaos to talk to her mother alone. Looping her arm through her mother's, she led her into the garden, to a bench placed near a bed of Japanese irises. It was far enough away from the garage to be private, but close enough to be able to monitor Tony when he came back outside.

"How are you doin', Mum?" she asked as they walked. "With the break-in, are you sure you don't want us to stay an extra couple of days?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart," Jackie answered. "Don't you worry about me. What about you? Have you got everything? Do you have your mobile? Do you have money for the toll? Oh! Do you have enough clothes? Cos I know you still had some of your knickers in the wash."

"Mum, I've got everything I need," Rose assured her. As they sat down, she saw the Doctor exit the house with Tony tagging along on his heels. The Doctor had taken off his jacket and was carrying the tank that contained the TARDIS coral. His snug, dark blue tee accentuated his build, and she grinned as she admired the view.

She turned back to her mother before continuing. "And if I've forgotten something, Cardiff has a Tesco's just like everywhere else. We'll just buy it or have you send it to us with the rest of the stuff you're shipping."

"I know," Jackie said. "I just worry about you."

"I know you do, but I'll be fine, Mum," Rose told her. "And I won't be that far away. The Doctor and I are just moving to Wales. 'S not like we're moving to… Mars or something."

"I know," she replied. "But ever since that first time you went off with him, I get worried." Jackie pursed her lips. "I know you love him, and it's obvious he adores you. He always has, even your first him. But Rose, are you really sure that you two are ready for this, seein' that you both have only been back together for a couple of weeks?"

Rose bit her tongue as she thought of the irony of that statement. Tony had been born less than a year after they had arrived in the parallel world. She would have thought her mum hypocritical, if she didn't know that her mother just wanted the best for her.

"Mum, I think I've been ready ever since I met him," she said softly. She looked over at him and smiled. He was attempting to place the tank in the back seat of the car, which was a more difficult task than it would be normally due to Tony's help. As if he knew she was looking at him, he turned around and grinned at her before he returned to what he was doing. "We've been apart for so long I don't want to wait another second."

"I understand, sweetheart. When I met Pete, this Pete, I didn't want to waste a second either. It was a second chance for both of us." Jackie paused for a moment. "You know I just want the two of you to be happy."

"I know you do, Mum. And we are."

Back at the car, Pete cornered the Doctor just as he finished stowing the coral and the last of the luggage.

"When you're in Cardiff," he said, "if you or Rose need anything, anything at all, you just call me."

"Thank you, Pete," the Doctor replied. "I'm sure we'll be fine. But with the break-in, are you certain you don't want us to stay for a bit longer? I'm sure that Gwen would be able to handle running Torchwood Three for a few extra days."

Pete smiled. "Rose asked me that very same question last night, and I'll tell you what I told her: Jake and I can handle it. You just worry about getting set up in Cardiff."

~oOo~

After hugs all around, a promise to Tony that he could visit after they found a house, and what was to the Doctor an extremely unnecessary, and disgustingly wet, kiss from Jackie, they climbed in the car and headed off. Rose was behind the wheel again, not because it was her car, not because he couldn't drive, but because he was so tall that he didn't quite fit in the driver's seat, at least not well enough for a three hour drive. It reminded her that they'd eventually have to get an additional car just for him, or at least sell hers and buy a bigger one. High class problem, she told herself. After all, she had bought this one never expecting that he'd be in this universe with her and ever even see it, let alone drive it.

The last time they had traveled to Cardiff, which had been only two weeks earlier, they had spent the time catching up, telling each other stories of their experiences while they had been apart. But this time, after a couple of awkward attempts at conversation, an unnatural silence descended between them.

It wasn't as if they hadn't traveled together before. Most of the time they had been together they had traveled. But this time they both knew that they weren't just starting on a new journey. They weren't just traveling; they were moving. By moving to Cardiff together, they were taking a new step in their relationship. A big step. A step that involved all those things the Doctor had disdained for years: real jobs, houses with carpets and doors and curtains, a permanent address in a fixed location. Domestics.

And they knew they would be taking another big step in their relationship, a step they had been dancing around for years, a step that had almost happened impulsively a number of times. But this time, taking this step would be deliberate. They would be knowingly and intentionally crossing a line between them that once crossed, they couldn't go back from.

Living together in the TARDIS had been very different than them living together in a house or a flat would be.

Things were getting very real, very quickly, the closer they approached Cardiff.

Finally, having driven in silence for over an hour, Rose glanced at him. He was staring out the window, restlessly tapping his fingers on the edge of the door. He had never done well with inactivity, she reminded herself. He was probably bored. But he didn't really look bored to her. He looked uncomfortable, maybe even edgy.

"Doctor, are you okay with this?" she asked. "I mean really, really okay."

He turned to face her. "Okay with what?"

At the last minute she chickened out, and she didn't ask what she really wanted to ask.

"You know," she said lightly. "Carpets. Curtains. Jobs. A place to live that isn't bigger on the inside."

He swallowed nervously as he considered how to answer her. The truth was, it was nerve-wracking. Although he usually thrived on new experiences, this one was different. He had joked about being terrified of living in a house while they were on Krop Tor, but there had been more than a little truth to his comments. And if he couldn't get the TARDIS coral to grow, living in an actual house with carpets might very well be permanent.

But he knew what she was really asking, and that it had nothing to do with carpets.

And at the last second he chickened out as well.

"Carpets really aren't so bad," he said. "And there are always hardwood floors." Coward, he told himself. "And linoleum. And tile! Tile is very good. Did you know that some of the best tile in the universe was actually produced on the Lost Moon of Poosh? Colorful, hard wearing…. Real loss to the universe when Poosh disappeared. On the other hand, now that it's back, tile lovers everywhere will be able to enjoy the benefits of a really long-lasting tile floor."

The Doctor continued in that vein for a bit, branching into the benefits of stonework over frame construction, the price of marble on Barcelona (the planet not the city), and the health benefits of apple grass over ordinary turf for gardens, among other things. Rather than irritating her, Rose found his rambling comforting. It had broken the awkward silence, and it was so him. So normal between them. She began to relax, feeling encouraged that things would work out.

~oOo~

The flat Pete had purchased was on the top floor of a tall steel and glass building only a couple of blocks from the bay, on the other side of Mermaid Quay from the Hub. Both succumbing to nervousness again, they made their way silently through the lobby and up the lift, Rose carrying a couple of suitcases, the Doctor carrying the tank holding the TARDIS coral in his arms. The flat was only one of two on their floor and was at the end of a long hallway. After setting the luggage on the floor, Rose reached into her jeans pocket to pull out the key that they had picked up from the estate agent when they had arrived. Because it was Sunday, they had picked it up at her home rather than her office. While there, the agent had assured them that everything was ready for their arrival. Pete had made arrangements for it to be fully furnished and she herself had stocked the kitchen with groceries just that morning.

Rose unlocked the door, feeling that the whole situation was a bit surreal. Three weeks ago, she was still using the dimension cannon to locate the Doctor. Two weeks ago, she had traveled to Cardiff so that Owen Harper could help him determine the details of his part human physiology, not believing that the man she was with was the Doctor. Just over a week ago, he had finally convinced her beyond a shadow of a doubt of his identity.

And now they were moving into a flat. Together.

Had anyone tried to convince her a month ago that she'd be moving into a flat with the Doctor in the parallel Cardiff of Pete's World just a month later, she would have strongly recommended the person seek psychiatric help.

She gestured towards the door after it had swung open. "You first. After all, you're carrying the baby," she joked, trying for levity to counteract the oddness of the situation.

He grinned at her and carried the tank through the door. She picked up the luggage and followed.

And stopped in the doorway.

The estate agent had told them that the flat had an open floor plan, with the kitchen, dining and living areas being a part of a single great room, and that it had a beautiful view, but that description didn't do the place justice.

A long leather sofa, flanked by matching reclining chairs, was at one end of the room and faced a large plasma screen television. A gourmet kitchen sat on the other side of the room. It had an island which served as a work station and eating area as well as to separate the kitchen from the rest of the room. Flower arrangements had been placed on the black enameled table in the dining area and on the low coffee table in front of the sofa. But Rose hardly noticed any of it. Instead all she could see were the floor to ceiling windows on the far wall which had a breathtaking view of Mermaid Quay and the bay.

"Wow. This is gorgeous," she said, awestruck.

"A far cry from the Powell Estate, eh?" the Doctor said while putting the glass tank on the shiny granite countertop of the kitchen island.

"Oh, yeah." She looked around in amazement as she entered the flat. "I think Mum's whole flat would have fit in just this room alone."

"Not quite, but close to," he responded. "After the mansion, I would have thought you'd be used to living in places like this."

Rose shook her head. "Don't think I'd ever get used to something like this."

While the Doctor checked the coral for any possible damage that could have been caused by transporting it, Rose wandered the flat, gently touching things and seeing where things were. The estate agent had told them that the flat was a two bedroom, and Rose discovered that one of the bedrooms had been set up as an office with a sofa in it that converted into a bed. Peeking into the second, she saw a king sized bed with a blue and burgundy duvet and matching throw pillows. Their room, and their bed. She bit her lip and grinned, looking forward to the evening and all its possibilities.

~oOo~

They decided to have dinner at one of the restaurants in the area. Afterwards, they slowly walked along the path that hugged the edge of the bay, holding hands with fingers entwined, enjoying the balmy evening and each other's company.

They returned to the flat as night began to fall. Rose laughed as the Doctor immediately sat down on the sofa and put his feet on the coffee table without taking off his trainers.

"I'm just gonna get changed, yeah?" she said to him, and he nodded.

Earlier, when she had put their personal items in the en suite, she had marveled at the room. Marble countertops, gold fixtures, a huge whirlpool bathtub and a large freestanding shower with multiple showerheads. The only bathroom she had ever seen that was nicer had been in the TARDIS.

Originally planning on taking a quick shower, she changed her mind and decided to indulge in a bath. After a long soak, she stepped out the tub and dried herself off, using one of the thick towels that had been in the room when they had arrived. Then she opened the bag she had left on the counter earlier. Inside was the nightie she had purchased specifically for this night.

She pulled it over her head and surveyed herself in the mirror. It wasn't much more than a slip. Made of gold colored silk with an interwoven pattern in deep red, it had spaghetti straps and essentially no back, a plunging neckline and barely fell to mid-thigh. Somehow it managed to be both sophisticated and incredibly sexy without being slutty. Or at least she hoped that was the case.

Taking out the pins that had held up her hair while she was in the bath, she brushed her hair out and fluffed it up a bit. Biting her lip anxiously, she considered both makeup and perfume, eventually deciding on neither. Overcoming a wave of nervousness, she opened the bathroom door.

To her surprise, the Doctor wasn't in the bedroom. She wasn't sure what she had expected, perhaps for him to be waiting for her in bed or something, but it wasn't as if they had talked about it. As she slowly folded down the duvet, she had a pang of doubt and returned in her mind to the conversation she'd had with her mother earlier. Were they really ready for this?

Well, ready or not, here they were. In Cardiff. In a flat. Living together. And hiding in the bedroom wasn't going to change that. She crossed to the doorway and paused. He was still seated on the sofa and was bent over, glasses on, working on something. It was such a familiar sight. How often had she seen him or his previous selves working on some project or another? For a split second she saw shorn hair, strong features and piercing blue eyes concentrating on repairing the TARDIS, and then brown pinstripes and crazy hair polishing the console. And now it was blue pinstripes, dark, spiky hair, and chocolate brown eyes behind dark framed glasses. And she felt an overwhelming wave of love for him. Every him, and particularly this him who had promised to stay with her for her forever. And then nothing felt so right than them being together. In every way. Her heart began to pound and a sense of warmth began to spread to her belly and lower in anticipation.

From his position on the sofa, the Doctor heard her come in but didn't look up.

"Doctor," she called softly as she crossed the room to stand next to him. "What are you doing?"

"Just programming my sonic, Rose," he said. "This one doesn't have nearly the number of settings the old one had."

Tucking the nightgown under her first, she sat next to him on the sofa.

"Maybe you could do that later, yeah?" she suggested quietly. She put her hand over his and gently took the screwdriver from him, placing it on the low table in front of them. He still didn't look at her, and in a rush she realized he was as nervous as she had been.

"Doctor? Are you alright?"

He didn't respond immediately, and when he did he didn't look at her.

"Rose, it's just, this…" he said, waving a hand between the two of them, "isn't something I've done for a very long time. And, well… once we do this, there's no going back, not for me."

"There's no going back for me, either." She paused for a moment. "This is what you want, isn't it?"

The Doctor closed his eyes. "Oh, yes," he breathed. You have no idea how much, he added silently. "But you need to know something else as well. This has never been a major part of my life. In fact, I've had entire lives where it wasn't any part of my life. I haven't done this in a very, very long time and never with someone who I…." He took a deep breath. "Never with someone who I loved like I love you."

"I guess we're even, then," she said softly, taking his hand in hers. "Because I haven't done this in a very long time myself, and never with someone who I loved like I love you either." She was quiet for a moment before continuing. "Doctor. Please. Open your eyes."

He opened them and turned to look at her. "Oh, Rose," he said softly, whispering her name as if it were a prayer, "you are so, so beautiful."

With a gentle smile for him, she stood up and pulled him to his feet.

Threading one hand in her hair, he slowly leaned forward and softly, softly kissed her. With the other hand he reached up and stroked her hair, her cheek, her neck. He lost himself in that kiss and with it he tried to communicate to her everything she meant to him but had trouble saying.

And as they kissed she reached up and took his hand. And slowly moved it to her breast.

He froze. He knew they stood on a precipice. Retreat to familiarity and safety, or fall forward into the unknown. In that instant time stopped, as if the entire universe held its breath, waiting for his choice.

Time snapped back into place as something snapped inside of him. He had spent years denying his feelings for her, denying them this, and still their separation had nearly destroyed him. But their separation was over. And the time for denial was past.

Pulling her roughly into his arms, he compelled her mouth to open beneath his, letting him explore the inner recesses with his tongue, and for a moment, he was overwhelmed by the taste of her and the feel of her lips and tongue on his.

They had kissed passionately before, but this was different. This was more than passion, more than desire. This was intent.

He moved from her mouth to her jaw. She dropped her head back and he continued, following a path down her throat. He heard her moan in response and the sound shot through him with a tidal wave of desire.

"Oh, Rose Tyler, you have no idea…" he growled against her skin, his mouth never leaving her neck. And then he swept her off her feet, carried her into the bedroom, and placed her gently on the bed.

"Doctor," she whispered, holding her arms up to him.

After he shrugged off his jacket and toed off his trainers, he joined her on the bed and she wrapped her arms around him. Suddenly he found himself on his back with her straddling him. She smiled at him mischievously, tongue between her teeth, before she bent down and captured his lips with her own. When she finally broke away to breathe, he grabbed her shoulders and reversed their positions, with him now straddling her thighs just above her knees. She let out a cry of surprise and then giggled. He smirked at her.

"Turnabout's fair play, Rose Tyler," he said, drawing her name out slowly. He bent down and kissed her again.

Quickly the playfulness turned into something else. The urgency to kiss her, caress her, was almost overpowering. His hand moved to the hem of her nightgown and then moved upward, along the outside of her thigh to the curve of her bottom. And stopped.

"Miss Tyler," he said in a low voice full of amusement, "you aren't wearing any knickers."

"Was hopin' I wasn't gonna need them," Rose said with a cheeky grin. "And I believe you are overdressed."

Returning her grin, he backed up to pull off his shirt, and she sat up to unbutton his trousers. While she unzipped him, she intentionally brushed her fingers against him. His grin faded and he involuntarily thrust his hips forward, seeking more. Pleased with his response, she slipped her hand into his trousers and tentatively cupped him through his pants, eliciting a groan.

He quickly shrugged out of the rest of his clothes, probably faster than he ever had in any life, and tossed them over the side of the bed where they landed in a lump on the floor. When he turned back to her, she was beginning to pull off her nighty.

"Please," he said, reaching for the hem. "Let me."

She lifted her arms and he pulled it off slowly, revealing her body inch by inch. Once it was off, she lay back down in front of him. His heart thumped wildly out of control, and he reminded himself that since he was now part human he needed to remember to breathe. For a moment he knelt next to her and stared at her in silence and wonder, at her warm brown eyes and soft curves, at her dusky nipples, the creamy perfection of her skin and the dark curls at the apex of her thighs. Her blonde hair was spread out across the pillow, framing her face which was now flushed with arousal. Pink and yellow, a tiny memory whispered in the back of his mind. He had called her that once, even though at the time he had had no idea how apt the description was. But it fell far short of the reality of her. She was exquisite. Utter perfection.

"Rose, I would tell you that you are beautiful, but those words seem so inadequate right now."

As he moved to lie down, he realized with a start that he was still holding the small strip of silk she had been wearing and had been tightly twisting it in his hands. He forced himself to drop it, and it landed on top of the pile of his clothes on the floor. After he lay back down next to her, she rolled on her side to face him.

As bold as he had been before, now he was tentative, lightly tracing the length of her arm with his fingertips. While he caressed her, she placed one hand on his chest, running her fingers through his light smattering of hair, and he shivered in response. Slowly she moved her hand up to his face, from his chin along his jaw to his sideburn and not stopping until it was buried deep in his hair.

It was too much, it was just too much, lying naked next to her, chest to chest, hips to hips, skin touching skin, her warmth and her scent surrounding him, her fingers caressing his scalp and the back of his neck. The Doctor felt his control slipping further and further, rapidly disappearing in wave after wave of desire. He placed one hand under her head to thread his fingers in her hair and moved the other to her breast, gently cupping and squeezing it before he moved lower to grasp the curve of her bum and pull her more tightly to himself. He wanted… oh, he wanted to touch her there and there and there, the nape of her neck, the curve of her breasts, the softness of her folds, everything all at once, but mostly he just… wanted. Wanted her. Wanted her desperately. He closed his eyes for a moment due to the sensory overload.

Leaning forward, the Doctor kissed her throat and then ran the tip of his tongue down her neck, tracing a line along her collarbone to her shoulder. Rose mimicked him in reverse, touching her tongue to his shoulder, bringing it up to the strong, corded muscles that joined at his neck. She kissed him there, openmouthed, tracing the spot with her teeth, and he fought off a growl that threatened to escape from deep in his chest.

Rolling onto her back, Rose pulled him down with her. He slipped between her thighs and closed his eyes at the feel of her hands running down his back. She roughly cupped his arse, pulling him towards her and grinding against him, and he groaned again. He hadn't thought his desire for her could increase, but when he felt the warmth, the moisture of her sex against his hardness, he discovered he was wrong.

"I'm sorry," he murmured against her neck. "I wanted to make this slower, but I don't think I can wait anymore."

"God, whatever you do, don't slow down!" Rose said with such vehemence that he chuckled.

Taking himself in hand, he moved into position and slowly, slowly entered her, trying to allow her body time to adjust to his, and desperately fighting instincts he hadn't even realized he had to take her as hard and as fast as possible. Her heat, her tightness felt so, so good, beyond anything he had ever dreamed it could. It was a pleasure almost painful in its intensity.

The Doctor slowly rocked forward, moving deeper and deeper inside of her. It had been a very long time for her, since before they had begun traveling a decade earlier. She felt filled, almost uncomfortably stretched to capacity, but at the same time she had wanted this, wanted him, for so long that the discomfort quickly gave way to need. Her eyes closed as she quietly moaned.

"Rose, please," he pleaded, his voice strained, "please, look in my eyes. I want to see what you are feeling. I want you to see…."

His voice trailed off. She opened her eyes again and nodded breathlessly, understanding what he couldn't put into words.

After he had moved as deeply as he could, he paused a moment and Rose shifted beneath him, trying to get a little more comfortable. He hissed, noisily sucking air through his teeth.

"Blimey, Rose," he said breathlessly. "Give me a tick. I don't want this to be over before it even starts." He laughed ruefully, and she smiled.

His expression changed and she saw him gazing at her, his dark brown eyes filled with passion. It was a look that she had never seen, never truly expected to see, and had only dreamed about for all her adult life. He was so… beautiful. Yes, he was handsome and sexy, but somehow for her he was the definition of male… beauty. She lifted a hand to caress his face.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

And with that, the last remaining sliver of his control vanished.

"Oh, Rose." Kissing her with a bruising intensity and unable to hold himself back any longer, he thrust into her quickly, deeply, repeatedly. Gasping, she clutched at him almost in desperation, trying to bring him closer, deeper. She wrapped her legs around his waist and moved to meet him stroke for stroke.

The first time was hard and fast and desperate, and filled with urgency and the sense that they had waited far, far too long for this. She cried out in release and he quickly followed, with the musical words of his native language on his lips. Afterwards, even before the effects of their lovemaking had entirely left their bodies, they stared at one another, panting, and were overcome by the magnitude of what had finally happened between them. Rose moved her hands to run her fingers through his hair and lifted her head to his in a quick kiss.

"I love you," she said, crying as she had on that long ago beach, but the tears were tears of joy this time.

And as he wiped the tears from her face, he swallowed thickly and sniffed.

And then laughed, as he was happier than he ever remembered being, and she joined him.

He rolled onto his side and carried her with him, still chest to chest, arms wrapped around each other and legs still entangled.

"Oh, Rose Tyler," he whispered, his eyes glistening, "Five billion languages, and there are no words… no words to express…. "

The Doctor had always been good with words, even when she had first met him, and when he had regenerated words almost seemed to flow out of his mouth unbidden most of the time. After the metacrisis he was really no different. She was always surprised when words failed him.

"Why don't you show me then, yeah?" she suggested quietly.

"I think I just did," he said with a little bit of a laugh and a grin.

"No," she responded in a more serious tone, taking one of his hands and placing his fingertips on her temple, "why don't you show me?"

His breath caught as he stared at her wide-eyed, overcome by her offer.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice both concerned and hopeful. He knew that she had initially objected to the TARDIS in her mind, and after Cassandra had possessed her on New Earth, he had never wanted her to feel as though he was putting her in a similar situation. He had had to contact her telepathically twice, but he had never shared anything with her mentally. "Are you really certain you want me to show you?"

She nodded, and he felt tears of happiness spring to his eyes again. Closing his eyes and leaning forward, he gently rested his forehead on hers. As he felt her consciousness just begin to touch his, he felt the all too overwhelming silence lessen as it always did when he had telepathic contact with someone else. But this was Rose Tyler, and the joy he felt in touching her mentally was almost overwhelming.

He had no intention of truly entering her mind, instead just wanting to brush the surface and show her part of his. But then he heard her invitation, both aloud and internally.

"It's okay. I promise. It's okay."

And after a warning to her about privacy and closing doors on anything she didn't want him to see, with a quiet sigh of pleasure he joined with her telepathically.

Rose had never done anything like this before, deliberately permitting someone into her mind, so she wasn't quite certain what to expect. And then she felt the Doctor's mind touch hers. And she realized why this was so important to him. It was the most intimate experience she had ever had, feeling she was not just hearing his thoughts but touching his soul. And she opened herself to allow him to enter her mind more deeply.

Time seemed to slow around them. Suddenly she could feel the spin of the Earth on its axis, the motion of the stars and the planets overhead, millennia passing and no time passing at all. And in that moment, she felt his love for her. It surrounded her, cocooned her, penetrated her to every atom of her existence. She felt completely known as no one had ever known her before, and in the same instant completely, utterly cherished. She was so humbled by the experience it brought fresh tears to her eyes.

When he eventually pulled his head away from hers and withdrew from her mind, Rose almost sobbed at the loss. She wasn't able to tell whether the experience had taken a minute, or an hour, or a lifetime, but however long it was, it didn't seem long enough. He gazed at her, an unreadable expression on his face, and then bent forward to kiss her slowly, leisurely. And she closed her eyes and responded.

Later, they made love again.

The first time having taken the edge off their hunger for each other, the second was slower but no less passionate.

They took the time to explore every inch of the other's body, to touch and to kiss, to caress with fingers and lips and tongues. And when he entered her again, this time with slowness and gentleness, they came with the sounds of passion and the other's name on their lips.

And now, this time, it wasn't about hunger or lust or craving or even passion, but was simply about being in love and wanting to express it.

You are so beautiful, he thought, gazing at her. Leaning back against the headboard, her arms around his neck, he held her as she moved oh, so slowly above him. He had seen some of the most beautiful places in the universe. The hanging gardens of Babylon. Victoria Falls before it had been discovered by humans. The crystal forests of Rhondia. The Eye of Orion. The swaying mountains of Felspoon. And of course, possibly the most magnificent, Gallifrey at suns set.

But he had never seen Rose Tyler in ecstasy. Until now.

Oddly, or perhaps not so oddly, a phrase from the wedding vows in the human Book of Common Prayer came to his mind, a phrase that had an entirely new meaning for him now. With my body I thee worship. And he did.

He leaned forward to kiss her, and with that slight movement, her breathing sped up and she softly moaned. And he was convinced that he had never seen true beauty until that moment.

"I love you, my Doctor," she whispered.

And then his own breathing quickened, and he came undone.