The next few hours were still hard for the Doctor and Rose. Although showing her those memories had allowed her to finally let her guard down, they still had much to work through. Feeling that it would be best to clear things up completely before retiring for the night, the Doctor continued to push himself outside his comfort zone. He asked her if she would show him the events of that weekend, since he still had such sparse memories of what had taken place. Rose wasn't particularly eager to relive some of that but after what he had just gone through to reassure her, she knew it was something she needed to do.

Allowing him to enter her mind again, Rose concentrated on reaching out to him as well this time, and began sifting through memory after memory of the past couple of days. She held nothing back and eventually relinquished control, permitting him to search freely. She trusted him implicitly.

She could feel him flinch as he watched himself throwing the gun aside before entering the warehouse, and again as he lay on the stretcher unconscious and bleeding, hearing her screams as she attempted to reach him, fighting against the arms of the medics that were holding her back. Then came that long night, first waiting for news of his condition, and then by his bedside, unresponsive. And of course the moment he was dreading most… confirmation that what Donna had told him was true. A small gasp escaped his lips and he recoiled as he heard himself calling out Stella's name, over and over and over, made only worse by his actions when Rose tried to comfort and reassure him. He felt her shock as his hands came up, lashing out against her, and wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole when the memory took on a blurry quality, and he realized that he was seeing himself through her tears.

The Doctor had spared her his memories of many of the hurtful things she had done and said during their early days as she adjusted to him, so Rose tried to shield him from some of her own memories, particularly the ones from the previous evening and overnight hours. However, she felt his gentle pressure from within her mind.

"Please Rose, I need to see this."

Reluctantly she let him explore, though concern for him rose within her as the memories continued and she could feel him tensing up more and more. After witnessing her visit to his office in the middle of the night, the Doctor was wound so tight that she could feel the strain through their mental link and it was becoming physically painful, her head starting to pound. Picking up on her discomfort, the Doctor quickly withdrew and for a moment they both slumped against one another, their heads seeking each other's shoulders for support and comfort.

Wrapping his arms around her again, he held her close and whispered in her ear.

"Oh Rose… I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry."

She could feel slight tremors running through him and knew without even looking at him the expression he was wearing. She could hear the self-loathing in his voice.

Pulling away slightly, just enough to get him to look at her, she placed one hand on his cheek and gave him a sad smile.

"I know you are… and it's ok, really it is."

Shaking his head he stared down at the floor.

"I don't ever want you to think I don't care about our future… it was foolish, what I did. I just… I don't want to be him again… how I was, when we first met… so angry and quick to destroy and kill. I did what I felt I needed to do in the Dalek Crucible, and I would do it again to save you, but… killing… it's such a weight, Rose… I just didn't — "

Rose's heart broke. She hugged him tightly and rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"Shhh, I know… and I'm sorry for putting you in that situation, Doctor. But we'll figure it out, yeah? We always do."

For a moment he stayed silent, his face resting in the crook of her neck and his arms holding her just as tightly as she was holding him. Then he gently pulled back a bit and looked at her, a sense of overwhelming gratitude washing over him as their eyes met and all he saw was unconditional love and compassion staring back at him.

He nodded and gave her a small smile. She responded with one of her brilliant ones, tongue peeking out, and he felt himself beginning to relax again… Until he remembered Stella.

His face falling again, he reached up and pulled at his ear anxiously.

"Rose… I don't really have any sort of explanation for what I was saying in my sleep. I wish I did, but I honestly don't remember anything… but please, you have to believe me when —"

That desperate look was back in his eyes again and she knew this was causing him the most grief, even after everything he had shown her. Even after feeling her acceptance. He had a way of talking himself into a tizzy and was well on his way there, so she reached out, grabbed him by his lapels (something that had quickly become a favorite pastime of hers) and kissed him into silence. At first he was shocked and for a few seconds tried to continue talking but Rose gave an impatient growl and let him know in no uncertain terms that they were done discussing Stella Evans.

Slowly the tension began to melt away as he gave himself over to the wonderful things Rose was doing to his lips, jaw and throat. He also became aware of her tentative presence in his mind. It was clumsy and a bit erratic, but he understood what she was trying to communicate. She believed him.

It was early enough still that they decided to have a light dinner after which they returned to his room so he could look over the TARDIS coral and make some adjustments to the dimensional stabilizer. They both knew they would eventually need to continue their conversation, but felt comfortable leaving things where the stood for now. It had been a long day for both of them and they were exhausted, emotionally as well as physically - Rose in particular. As the Doctor worked, she sat on the floor next to him, resting against the foot of his bed and listening to him ramble about the importance of keeping the foldback harmonic calibrated just right. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, a soft smile on her lips as the TARDIS gently hummed and she felt like they were back onboard, in the console room after another day of running for their lives. Not much later, she was sound asleep.

When she started her soft snuffling, the Doctor looked up over his glasses at her and smiled. Rose would deny that she snored until the day she died, but she did and he found it adorable. The mental exertion of what they had done, sharing all those memories and then her efforts to communicate with him, had been the last straw after such a taxing day. He was honestly surprised she had lasted as long as she did, but had been enjoying her company too much to shoo her off to bed. The past twenty four hours away from her had been the longest of his most recent memories and he was loathe to part with her, even if just for a few hours while she slept.

Tucking his sonic away, he scooted closer and gently shook her awake.

"Rose, come on, let's get you to bed."

She slowly opened her eyes and rubbed her face, stifling a yawn. The Doctor got to his feet and helped her up, keeping an arm around her waist as she sagged into his side, her eyes half closed again.

He walked her across the hall and flipped on the light to her room, before pressing a kiss to her forehead and giving her one last hug.

"G'night Rose, sleep well."

As he turned to go, her hand reached out for him.

"Wait… Doctor?"

He turned around.

"Yes?"

She paused, looking at their hands rather than his face. She could feel her cheeks growing warm. When she didn't say anything else, the Doctor cocked his head to the side a bit, his brows furrowing.

"What is it, Rose? Are you alright?"

She nodded quickly and cleared her throat.

"I was just… I mean, do you think… um… stay with me?"

For a moment they just stood there, neither one saying a word, and Rose was sure her face was beet red at this point. She was about to take it back, tell him not to worry about it, perhaps laugh lightly and claim that she was still half asleep or something when he suddenly pulled her close and kissed her temple.

"Of course, Rose. Let me just…" But now it was he who had lost the ability to articulate his thoughts. He stepped away slightly and with an awkward grin pointed back towards his room.

"Right, yes, of course! I'll just um… ok then." She turned and quickly shut herself in her ensuite, forgetting that she hadn't even grabbed a pair of pajamas. She hurried back out, grabbed her favorite camisole and sleep short set and headed back to change and brush her teeth, heart beating frantically in her chest. She tried to calm herself, there was no reason to be nervous. They had spent many nights sleeping under the stars up in the loft or on the couch for this to be awkward. Just last weekend, when she'd stayed in his room for two days, he had joined her for the few hours he slept each night and it had been fine, not weird at all.

Looking herself over in the mirror, she shook her head and grinned. They were both exhausted, it was just sleep. She was feeling a little overemotional and needed him close, that's all. Nothing out of the ordinary, nope. It was fine. As she opened the door and shut the light off, an errant thought popped up in her mind, unbidden. It was a good thing she had shaved her legs earlier...

As she was getting under the covers the Doctor came back, in his pajamas and looking every bit as flustered as she felt. He took a few steps closer, coming around the other side of the bed and then just stopped, a hand on his neck, his gaze not quite meeting hers. He looked so uncertain, almost scared, and she found that she couldn't help but smile a bit. Reaching over, she pulled the covers back and patted the spot next to her, then turned over a shut her light off.

She felt the bed shift a bit underneath her as he lay down and fidgeted a bit. She turned onto her back and looked over at him. He too was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. For one terrifying moment she wondered if this had been a mistake, but then he turned his head to look at her and she felt his hand seeking hers out. Their fingers met and for a few seconds they just lay there on opposite sides of the bed, the chasm between them breached only by their outstretched arms, hands clasped together, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on her knuckles. More than anything, this is what calmed her, and she found herself scooting over towards him. He tucked her into his side as she rested her head on his chest, reverting to the position they always fell asleep in under the stars. She could hear his heart thudding away beneath her ear and smiled into his chest, snaking an arm across his waist and giving him a light squeeze. The Doctor dropped a kiss onto the crown of her head and Rose gave a contented sigh. She could feel her body relaxing against him, her mind growing foggier by the second. She tried desperately to fight the exhaustion and stay awake, not wanting to sleep now that she wasn't so nervous anymore. She was failing miserably.

As she unwillingly surrendered the last bit of her consciousness, she could have sworn she heard the Doctor chuckle quietly as he lightly ran a finger up and down her spine, but her mind and body were too tired to even respond.

When Rose next opened her eyes she could tell by the moonlight in her room that it wasn't quite dawn yet, though the subtle lightening of the sky told her that it wasn't too far off. Sometime in her sleep she had turned onto her side, facing away from the Doctor so she couldn't see him but his arm was wrapped around her waist, his body curved around hers. She smiled to herself.

She was about to turn over to see if he was awake but his arm suddenly tightened around her, a hand gently pressing against her stomach, pulling her flush up against him. Her smile widened as she felt his breath on her bare shoulder. Then his lips began fluttering ever so lightly across from the top of her shoulder blade to her neck and then up to her ear. A shiver ran down her spine.

"Sleep well, Rose?"

His voice was casual, as if they were strolling down the street, discussing the weather. Rose took a moment before answering, determined to sound just as unaffected.

"Sure, great… you?"

Silently, she congratulated herself. She'd managed to sound almost bored.

The Doctor paused a moment, then replied.

"Oh you know, same as always."

His hand wandered from her stomach over to her hip, where it stayed momentarily and then began to slowly move down the outside of her thigh. He let his fingers lightly graze her skin all the way down to her knee and then doubled back, stopping at the hem of her shorts and lingering there. She felt his fingers twitch suddenly, as if he'd reached the end of his bold streak. When he froze there, she knew she was right… the ball was now in her court.

She swiftly turned in his arms before she could think too much about it and lose her nerve. Enough light was coming in through her window that she could make out his eyes, wide and twinkling. She gave him a coy smile as she wrapped her arm around him, casually slipping her hand beneath his t-shirt and lazily drawing random figures across his back. She could feel his lean muscles tensing and her playful grin widened.

A mischievous glint came over the Doctor's eyes and his hand found its way back to her hip and leg. He continued his ministrations, a little bolder this time as his hand slipped under the cottony material, not wanting to lose contact with her soft skin. He leaned forward and captured her lips with his, working his way down her jaw and neck. Rose felt a flash of warmth run through her, settling in her belly, and that was all it took. All of her shyness forgotten, she brought her hands up around his neck and into his hair, responding instantly and much more eagerly than she had anticipated. If she hadn't been dreaming of this moment for years she would have been a little bit embarrassed at her unrestrained enthusiasm. The Doctor didn't seem to mind one bit.

They took their time, wanting to prolong the moment, hardly believing that this was finally happening. Their initial frantic, nervous energy calmed as their kisses grew tender, their caresses gentle and reverent. Rose felt the familiar pressure in her mind and while she wasn't sure what to expect, granted him access. Slowly she began to feel her senses increase and she suddenly realized that he was allowing her to feel what he was feeling, every kiss doubled in intensity, every touch almost overwhelming her. Watching her face carefully, he reigned back a bit, leaving just enough of the link to enhance the experience without it being overpowering or uncomfortable for her.

Finally, with all barriers between them gone, they gave each other the last they had to offer, all fear and doubt forgotten. They had never felt so whole, they had never felt so safe.