Over the next few weeks the Doctor and Rose settled into a surprising and fairly comfortable routine of domesticity. No one was more shocked at this than the Doctor, except perhaps Rose. In the back of their minds they were both secretly waiting for something to disrupt their happy new life together, unable to really accept that this could actually be theirs forever... or at least for the rest of their lives. Their years apart had reaffirmed to them how very cruel the universe could be, particularly to the Doctor. Nine hundred plus years of losing those he loved had convinced him that this was just the way his life worked, a touch of the bitter old Time Lord he used to be shortly after the Time War remained tucked away and reminded him of this constantly. It was this part of him, along with the new slightly more human and much more insecure side of him that kept cropping up and planting dark, intrusive thoughts in his mind… particularly when he was at his happiest.

Rose watched him wearily during those first few weeks. She had expected him to have a much harder time adjusting to being part human than what had actually occurred. Sure he had had a few meltdowns over seemingly trivial things, but all in all it had been a relatively easy transition to what Rose assumed would be their new normal. He seemed to be settling in nicely at Torchwood and everyone loved him immediately. The R&D scientists were like euphoric children after having had too many sweets. The Doctor, ever the show-off, didn't seem to mind all the attention one bit.

Growing the TARDIS had begun once Pete arranged the covert transport of all the materials and equipment to their flat. The Doctor immediately built what looked to Rose like a kind of aquarium and terrarium side by side and then set to work on creating some sort of liquid he explained would be the nutrient and catalyst that would allow him to shatterfry the plasmic shell of the TARDIS coral. Once complete, he began a carefully scheduled alternating of the coral, submerged in the nutrient matrix for a few days followed by short bursts of time in the terrarium under a source of very precise and controlled xtonic light. The Doctor made sure to explain the dangers of this light to Rose and how the Fenito glass could only protect them for a few seconds if the small beam were to shift off the coral and onto them for any reason. Recounting his perilous adventure on the planet Midnight ensured that Rose barely peeked into his room during those light treatments and the Doctor did nothing to encourage her to come any closer. Even he was weary of those tense moments.

"So how will you know once you've shattered the plasma shell?" she asked one evening, as they sat together, cross-legged in front of the faintly glowing aquarium.

"It's plasMIC shell, Rose, and I'll know when it's shatterFRIED once the coral begins emitting a kind of pulsing glow. That and my psychic connection with her will immediately increase."

Rose rolled her eyes good naturedly at his correction.

"And how long do you think that will take?"

"Weeeell, like I've mentioned before, it really all boils down to her and how well she takes to it… this isn't exactly the perfect set-up, far from it actually. Back home TARDISes were grown in Hyper Looms and Neural Construction Docks, not these… well, fish tanks."

Smiling, Rose patted him on the knee. "Well, ideal set-up or not, I bet she'll be magnificent!"

He raised an eyebrow and grinned back softly. "You really think so?" While his expression was perfectly serene, his eyes betrayed the doubt and fear that he wrestled with daily.

"Yes, of course I do. You're brilliant, if anyone can pull it off, it's you!"

His grin widened and reached even his eyes this time. Leaning forward he stole a quick kiss.

"Only with you by my side, Rose Tyler."

"Better with two, yeah?" Her tongue-touched grin reminded him of the first time she had asked him that.

Intertwining his fingers with hers, he gave her hand a light squeeze and winked.

"Oh yes!"

Over the next month, the Doctor maintained this meticulous routine and Rose often joined him in the evening where they sat against his bed and talked leisurely while he fussed over the coral like an anxious mother hen. There were no signs that indicated that anything was going amiss with the process, but the Doctor grew more and more restless with each passing day. Some nights he would spend hours scribbling equations furiously and muttering to himself about something that sounded like block transfer mathematics, whatever that was. Rose knew better than to interrupt him when he was in these moods, opting instead to sit quietly by his side with a book for a few hours until it got to be too late and she had to retire to her bedroom to get some rest. Some mornings she would wake to find him still up, sitting almost exactly in the same spot she had left him in but when she would question him about getting any sleep, he would smile tightly and reassure her he was fine before gently shooing her off to get ready for work.

One morning in particular, Rose found him in such a state that she decided enough was enough. Sure he didn't need much sleep, but if her hunch was correct he probably hadn't slept more than an hour or two that entire week by the looks of him. After a few calls she brewed them a cuppa and headed back to his room with a tray. Before entering she took a deep breath and steeled herself for what would probably turn into an argument with how his moods had been as of late.

"Doctor? Hey… morning."

Not looking up, he gave a slight nod of his head and a grunt to indicate he was aware of her presence, but only just. Rose sighed. She let herself in and carefully lowered herself to the ground, taking care not to spill the tray of tea and platter of biscuits, a lone banana alongside them.

"Here, I brought you a nice warm cuppa, good for the synapses, right?" This made the Doctor look up and earned her a quick smile. But the grin did nothing to hide the exhaustion in his eyes.

"So… long night? Is she ok?"

Putting down his pencil and paper, the Doctor reached for the tea and biscuits. Taking a sip, he closed his eyes momentarily and leaned back against his bed, shoulders sagging.

"Yes, she's fine… it's just taking too long. She probably should have started pulsing by now, I must've made a mistake with the calculations. It's what I've been trying to work out."

Rose scooted herself a little closer and peeled the banana before handing it over. He took it gratefully and downed it in a few seconds. Smiling, she offered him more biscuits.

"But I thought you said you weren't sure how long it would take to shatterfry the shell… so this could be normal? How long it's taking I mean?"

Mouth full of biscuits, he mumbled a reluctant, "Well… yes."

"Right then, so is she showing any signs of distress that you can see?"

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, knowing where she was going with this. He hated when she tried to talk sense into him.

Putting her tea down, Rose turned to face him fully and reached out to run her fingers lightly over his face, just below his eyes. He closed them and leaned into her touch.

"Doctor… how long has it been since you last slept properly?"

He opened his eyes but refused to meet her gaze. Instead he looked down at his lap, his brows furrowed and his fists beginning to clench.

"Too long, yeah? You look terrible."

Still he said nothing.

Rose took his clenched hands and gently pried them open the way she had countless times before when he was upset. He could hardly remain cross for long once she got her fingers through his.

"Why don't you shower and get some sleep? I already called work and told Pete we wouldn't be in today. I can stay here watching her if you like, I promise to wake you if anything changes."

Sighing, he pulled his hands away from her and rubbed his face wearily. His shoulders sagged even more and Rose knew he didn't have the energy to fight her on this. Smiling encouragingly, she placed a hand on his knee and gave it a little pat.

"Go on then, up you get. I'll have a fresh pair of pants and jimjams ready for you when you get out."

The Doctor's eyes widened for a split second. Rose gave him a cheeky smile, got up and began rummaging through his drawers.

He hadn't realized just how tired he was until he stood under the showerhead, allowing his eyes to close under the steady hot pounding water. His neck and shoulders ached from sitting hunched over for so long and he was becoming ever more aware of the increasing throb in his temples. The Doctor really hated this part of being part human, his Time Lord body never succumbed to these petty frailties. He knew he needed to be more careful but his impatience was getting the better of him and he felt like he was going to go insane if the TARDIS coral didn't show any signs of progressing soon. If there was one thing the Doctor was terrible at, it was sitting around waiting for things to happen. He had to stay busy, had to be doing something or he would go mad. Torchwood had kept him busy enough at first, but as the weeks had worn on and the coral sat unchanging, even his work projects were beginning to lose their appeal.

There was a soft knock on the door followed by a hesitant inquiry from Rose. "Doctor, you alright in there? You've not fallen asleep, have you?"

Opening his eyes, he chuckled quietly and turned off the water. "No Rose, I'm fine, thanks. Just lost track of time is all." He pulled the shower curtain aside by just a fraction, enough to shove his head through to see her.

Rose had just peeked her head in, eyes trained on the floor. She looked up quickly and thrust her arm in, clothes in her hand.

"Oh, right. Well then, I'll just leave these here for you. Take your time, I didn't meant to rush you… just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Grabbing a towel and wrapping it low on his hips, he pulled aside the curtain and stepped out to take the clothes from her. She allowed herself a brief glance up before quickly lowering he gaze back at the floor. The Doctor smiled as he watched a deep flush settle over her face. As their fingers brushed at the exchange of clothes, he heard a faint intake of breath from her and he grinned even wider.

Over the past two months they had grown quite comfortable with one another. They often slept together on the bed-like couch upstairs and their kisses were now just as common an occurrence and habitual as their long standing handholding custom. They teased and flirted, sometimes quite overtly. Yet they maintained carefully constructed boundaries, each waiting on the other to signal that they were ready to press forward. Neither was brave enough to make the first move however, and so they settled into a routine very much like the one they had had years previously aboard the TARDIS when even kisses were forbidden but often times thought about. Having come a very long way since those days, neither one was in too much of a hurry, and knew now that that it was only a matter of time before they took that final step. However, every once in a while they would find themselves in slightly awkward situations such as this, and then it was all they could do to just keep themselves from doing something incredibly stupid and quite possibly much too forward.

Refusing to even look him in the eyes, Rose stammered out an excuse and left the Doctor to finish drying off and getting dressed. Eyes sparkling merrily, he watched her go, a wide grin lighting up his face.

When he emerged from the steamy shower, Rose was sitting on his bed, leaning against its headboard with her laptop open. She glanced up at him and patted the bed next to her, covers already turned down.

"Feel a bit better?"

A great big yawn erupted from him before he could answer. Rose laughed quietly.

"Yeah, a bit. Guess I'm more knackered than I thought. You sure it won't be a problem though, missing work? " He nodded at her computer and peered at the screen as he wearily sunk into the bed.

"Nah, I didn't have anything big planned today, was just going to work on a report, and I can do that from here just as well. Probably even better, less interruptions and all that."

Turning over on his side to face her, the Doctor flung an arm over her waist and smiled up at her. "Oh I don't know about that, Rose Tyler, I can think of a few ways to interrupt your work…" he gave her a cheeky wink before another great big yawn overcame him.

Feeling her face grow hot and her stomach clench, Rose closed her eyes momentarily. Softly, she stilled his hand which had suddenly found its way just barely underneath her jumper, one lone finger drawing circular patterns across her now very sensitive skin. At her touch his finger halted and they both stayed absolutely still for a full minute, waiting for something to turn the tide. Rose was sure he could hear her heart thumping away, faster and more erratic with every breath she took. Knowing that the report could wait, she smiled to herself and decided to throw caution to the wind. Slowly and keeping her eyes closed for fear of chickening out if she saw his face, she removed her hand from over his and began to run a few fingers up and down his arm, tickling his hairs ever so lightly. She had recently discovered how very much he enjoyed that particular sensation. When he did not continue his ministrations, she cursed herself for having stopped him so quickly. Hoping all he needed was a little encouragement to continue, she gave his hand a slight nudge further up her jumper. Still he remained impassive. Starting to feel embarrassed, Rose opened her eyes and began to mutter an apology but when her gaze fell upon his face she found that his eyes were closed and his lips were slightly parted, his breathing slow and steady. He was dead asleep.

With a frustrated groan, Rose let her head fall back hard against the headboard and she couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of it all. For a Time Lord, he sometimes had the worst timing.

Ten days later it finally happened. The following morning the Doctor awakened long before Rose as usual, happier than he had ever been since that initial kiss on the beach when his life had changed forever. Glancing over at her, he smiled to himself, still quite unable to believe what had occurred and what this now meant for them.

Their night had started off much like any other. They had gotten back to the flat after a particularly long day at Torchwood. Rose had been away on a diplomatic mission most of the day with a friendly alien race they had traded with numerous times before, so the Doctor had stayed behind at Stella's request due to a fast approaching deadline. Everything had gone without a hitch and after grabbing a quick bite to eat on the way home, they had arrived at the flat and immediately changed for bed. They settled in for a movie but within twenty minutes Rose was falling sleep, so the Doctor shook her gently and then half walked, half carried her down to bed. After tucking her in and kissing her goodnight, he retired to his own room and read in bed for a while. Eventually he too began nodding off and decided to get some rest.

Sometime later he awoke with a start. At first he thought Rose had called out to him, but as he shook the last bit of sleep from his consciousness, he became aware of a presence in his mind that hadn't been there before. His eyes widened and before he even laid eyes on her, he knew his TARDIS coral would be pulsating softly. When his gaze fell upon her, his single heart felt as though it would explode. His eyes confirmed what his mind already knew. Jumping out of bed, the Doctor knelt by the coral and watched in awe as waves of soft glowing light pulsed out from her and into the nutrient matrix she was still in. Small ripples disturbed the otherwise serene surface of the light green liquid with every wave of glowing light.

Reaching in, he gently scooped her out and held her in his shaking hands, head bowed and mind open to her hum, now amplified tenfold. So engrossed was he in his now strengthened link with his TARDIS that he didn't even hear the quiet knock on his door half an hour later.

"Doctor? What is it? Is she ok?"

Rose hurried to his side and knelt down beside him, anxiously looking back and forth between his face and the softly glowing coral in his hands. When he didn't open his eyes or answer, she reached out and placed a hand tentatively on his knee.

"Doctor?"

Head snapping up, his eyes wide, the Doctor's gaze remained unfocused for just a second longer but then he came to and beamed.

"Rose, look! Look at her!"

She looked at the coral once more but suddenly closed her eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed and she had to grip his shoulder to steady herself. Voice a bit shaky, she asked, "Is she alright? Is she hurt or something?"

Confused, the Doctor placed one of his hands on Rose's waist and guided her into a sitting position. Scanning her face, he registered discomfort there and for a second this dampened his excitement as concern for her pushed its way to the forefront of his thoughts.

"She's fine Rose, it's her plasmic shell, it's finally done! But what's wrong, are you alright? Did I wake you?"

Leaning against the end of his bed, she shook her head and opened her eyes again, focusing on the pulsating glow emanating from the coral. "No, I just… I woke up all of a sudden and my mind… it felt weird, all this pressure. Doctor, I think I can feel her. Like a buzz… or a hum? I'm not sure, but I think it's what woke me up."

The Doctor just stared at her mutely.

"Doctor?"

Placing the coral back in the nutrient matrix, he turned to face Rose straight on, his face a mixture of fear and hope, in horror yet awe.

"Doctor, what is it? What's wrong? You're scaring me."

Reaching out with his hands, he extended them towards her temples but then stopped himself, letting them fall down to his side. Rose looked down at them and then back up at his face, confusion and fear plainly written across her countenance.

"Rose, may I? If you can hear her, I need to make sure you're alright… that your mind can handle this."

At those words Rose drew back away from him suddenly, terror in her eyes. In that second they both had the exact same thought… Donna.

"Rose, I promise, I will not do anything to your mind. I just need to confirm that my hunch is correct. I am fairly certain you'll be just fine. Please, do you trust me?"

Tears clouding her vision, eyes still wide and terrified, Rose slowly nodded.

Closing his eyes, the Doctor extended his hands again and placed them lightly over her temples, leaning his forehead against hers. For a few seconds they stayed locked in that position and then Rose gave a small gasp and the Doctor pulled away… beaming.

Shaking his head and smiling, he pulled her into a hug and kissed her temple on one side. "My Bad Wolf, you'll never cease to amaze me!"

Pulling away, Rose searched his eyes again, a bit less frightened now.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the TARDIS is able to reach out to you and you can hear her in your mind because of Bad Wolf. When you looked into the heart of the TARDIS and took the Time Vortex into your mind it almost killed you, yes, but after I removed it you somehow managed to retain some part of it… unbeknown to both of us! Apparently it was just enough to remain linked to her and it's how you were able to sense her just now. Her ability to reach out to us has increased so while you couldn't hear her before, you can now!"

Rose was stunned.

"So… so this is what it's like for you then? To hear her? All the time?"

"Well, yes… and no. I can sense her much clearer and stronger than you can, but for a human to be able to even do what you can do is… well, practically unheard of! You may have had some low level psychic ability all along, how could I have not realized it? That morning when... well, when I heard your thoughts, I thought it was me... that I'd accidentally invaded your mind, but I think it may have been the complete opposite."

Suddenly he jumped up and began to pace around, muttering to himself. Rose just stayed where she was, staring between the coral and her pacing Doctor.

"So… so I'm ok though? My mind isn't going to burn like… like Donna?"

This brought his pacing to a halt and in an instant he was kneeling beside her again, her face in his hands, smiling so wide it looked painful.

"Oh Rose, no, nothing like that! Quite the opposite really! I think… well, I'm not sure and I could be completely wrong, but seeing as I'm brilliant and almost never wrong… Rose, this is wonderful!"

And with that he kissed her like he had never kissed her before.

When he pulled away, his eyes were brimming with tears. Bringing his fingers slowly back up to her temples, he smiled gently and asked again, "May I?"

Confused but trusting him implicitly, she nodded and closed her eyes. Slowly she felt his presence in her mind again, gentle, warm, and fluid like. It was almost as if her mind had been submerged in a deliciously warm bath.

"Rose," she heard him say within her mind. When she opened her mouth to answer, she felt a gentle pressure again on her consciousness.

"Rose."

Again she attempted to answer him but before her lips could form any words she felt the gentle pressure there once more.

"Not with your voice, with your mind. Go on, try."

Confused, Rose shook her head slightly but his hands kept a firm yet tender grasp on her face and once more she felt that gentle pressure within her mind. Not knowing what to do, she sat silently and took a moment to analyze his presence there, what it felt like, how it brushed alongside her consciousness almost wavelike. He waited patiently and demonstrated several times, each thought accompanied by that same gentle pressure extending outwards, as if they were fingerlike tendrils.

After what seemed like ages yet no time at all, Rose imagined her thoughts taking on the same tendril-like appearance as the Doctor's and hesitantly reached towards him.

"D-Doctor?"

Gasps emerged from them both and before she could try again, his presence in her mind overwhelmed her and at the same time she felt his lips make physical contacts with hers again. He was everywhere and it was too much and not enough all at once.