It was difficult for Rose to fall asleep during what was left of the night. Sleep seemed to evade her since her feet were planted on the world that wasn't hers. She thought that it was because he wasn't there with her, but there he was, sleeping in the room next to hers, and still she couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was the gentle rumbling of the Tardis her body missed.

Who was she joking? It was more than just her body missing it.

She wasn't exaggerating when she told the Doctor that they had a long day in front of them. There was so much to buy and arrange. She had also promised her mum that they would be over for dinner since it was Pete arranging the Doctor's new identity. The thought stilled her – who would he choose to be, she wondered.

Rose couldn't help but feel excited, a whole day with him – mostly on their own. She'd be able to buy him necessities and whatever he wanted. And a phone. The Doctor could always be a phone call away. All she would have to do is pick up and dial. The thought made her smile despite her exhaustion.

It dimmed, however, when more thoughts catapulted in her mind. Would the Doctor be living with her? Would she want him to? Would he want to? A slight panic rose up in her throat. Obviously he was with her because he didn't have many other options, but what about tomorrow? Would he want to be on his own? To figure things out?

Rose might be confused about the entire situation but she knew that she didn't want to be without him. What if he left and decided he didn't want her after all? That thought made her panic grow.

One step at a time, remember? Was it ever going to get easier to actually remember?

Rose had become very good at compartmentalizing her thoughts and fears. She had to in order to survive in her new world. It took her awhile to succumb to it, but she did.

And with that, she tossed and turned one final time and drifted off to sleep.

xoxo

The Doctor had brushed his teeth, having decided that he'd wait until morning to take a shower. He was simply too exhausted to contemplate anything further. How could humans walk around day after day with this inferior muscle endurance without keeling over? He winced slightly at his thoughts – he was, after all, talking about himself.

When he stepped outside of the restroom, he idled outside Rose's room for a bit. The door was ajar and he peered in. She was lying down, facing away from him. There was enough room on her bed for another body to join her. His body almost shook with the want to be near her - pull her to him and hug her body against his. Sprinkle kisses in the tresses of her hair. They had never shared a bed before, but what barriers they now had between them could tumble rather easily. Of course, he chided himself, it would be better if she was conscious of it.

The thought scolded him and he quickly walked away from the precarious zone of her bedroom door. Once in his room, he turned to close the door behind him, but thought better of it and left it slightly open as well. Just in case she needed him.

He shut off the overhead light and sat down on the bed still not quite believing that she was next door. So many years he was without her and how often he'd forget she wasn't there until he walked into her room rambling about something only to be horribly reminded of it. That happened often with his beginning adventures with Martha – and then after that he'd go into Rose's room willingly to remember her scent and the way she would move. After, he tried to avoid her room – but even then, it never ceased to hurt.

An exhausted sigh escaped him as he settled down on the cool sheets. Once on his side, he closed his eyes and smiled. One thing that hadn't changed was how much he missed her.

In all those years, she was still foremost in his mind.

xoxo

Rose woke up the next morning to the sound of the shower. She was thrown a bit in her sleepy haze until she remembered the previous day's events. A pang of hurt burst in her heart, but she had to smile nonetheless because it was the Doctor who was in the shower.

She sat up, planting her feet against the cold wooden floor. It made her shiver – it was beginning to get slightly chilly. She made her way outside and down to the kitchen to set out tea, sugar, coffee, and mugs in case the Doctor wanted to prepare something while she took a shower herself. Her feet were silent against the hard floor as she headed back to her room. She could no longer hear the patter of water against tile and was about to cross in front of the bathroom door when it opened suddenly.

The Doctor stepped out quickly and bumped into her. Rose let out a yelp of surprise and then realized that he was only clad in a towel around his waist. His hair was dripping with beads of water which fell down to his naked chest and shoulders. She couldn't remember seeing so much of his skin. It was fair and looked so smooth with a sprinkle of freckles. Having realized that she was staring, her eyes darted up to his and she bit her lip slightly.

He looked amusedly at her, "Good morning Rose." The words were so simple and yet they made her insides melt. He was teasing her slightly with his knowing tone.

"Good morning Doctor," the words came out husky and she cleared her throat quickly.

His smile widened considerably.

Rose rolled her eyes, "I've set out some tea and coffee in the kitchen. I'm going to take a shower."

She smiled once more and side stepped him to get to her bedroom door. After a second thought, she turned back around, "Oh, and Doctor?"

He turned quickly towards her, "Yes, Rose?"

The way he said her name made her insides melt. It seemed like he wouldn't stop saying it – as if she'd disappear if he didn't.

Not letting her rumination of thoughts continue, she grinned and said, "Don't fix anything in the kitchen. Nothing needs fixin'. Nothin'. Got it?"

The Doctor blushed, which was a rather interesting sight. She decided that the rosy color looked wonderful spread against his skin.

"Alright," he grumbled even with his own grin on his face.

Rose laughed and made her way into her room.

xoxo

After dressing in the same suit pants, jacket and t-shirt that he had on the previous day, since he had no other clothes, the Doctor made his way to the kitchen to make some tea for himself and Rose.

How strange was it, he pondered while heating the water in the light pink kettle on the stove, that just yesterday he was in the Tardis with Donna. He had hoped beyond hope that even though the world was ending, he'd at least get to see Rose Tyler one last time…and then today he was in her kitchen, heating up water for tea. The universe had always both confused and enlightened him. For the time being, he was content with riding the wave of uncertainty. As long as he had her.

Especially if she continued looking at him the way she did when he was only wearing a towel. A quiver of anticipation crawled down his spine.

Shopping, however, was going to be a complete and utter new adventure for him. The Doctor beamed suddenly. An adventure – how fantastic that even without the Tardis he'd still be able to have new adventures with Rose. An unexpected pang cursed his heart at the thought of his home.

No, he thought, this is home now. It wasn't a difficult thought to have. Home had ceased to be only the blue box for awhile now. Home now meant something else. Someone else.

The Doctor was filling the mugs when he heard a familiar yawn behind him. Happily, he took the tea to the table, "All ready…" He looked up at her and felt a heat overwhelm him from the bottom of his toes to his scalp.

Rose was wearing tight denim jeans and a form-fitting black jumper with a modest v-neck at the opening. It was such simple attire really, but it looked so good on her. If this were one of those dreams he was accustomed to having every now and again, he surely hoped he wouldn't wake up. Having her near was too wonderful to give up again.

"Mmmm…smells wonderful," she quickly sat down and cradled a mug in her hands. She closed her eyes and took a sniff before taking a deep drink of the liquid into her mouth. It was hot, but that didn't seem to deter her from the ritual he so often witnessed in the kitchen of the Tardis each morning. Well, whatever the Tardis considered morning.

He took a seat next to her as he let the happiness of being near her wash over him.

xoxo

It had been decided that Rose would call the driver to come pick them up and drop them off near the cluster of shops in the center.

"Since when does Rose Tyler have a driver?" the Doctor asked teasingly once they had entered the sleek black automobile outside her building. He quickly wished he would have kept his mouth shut.

They both knew exactly when she had been given a driver. He hoped she would ignore the statement, which she did…in a way.

"Pete insists on it and I usually only use it when I'm running late or when it gets dark." Her tone was too matter-of-fact for his tastes.

"What about for school?" The Doctor had been looking for a way to approach the subject of school since he had most firmly stepped into it the night before.

Rose sighed, "No, I don't take it to the university."

Her demeanor had changed slightly. She turned away from the Doctor to look out the window at the passing buildings. The air was chilly and patches of frozen moisture decorated the windows. He wanted to close the sudden distance between them and hold her hand, but she had clasped them so tightly on her lap that the Doctor couldn't decipher how he would penetrate their grasp. A need to touch her welled up in him and it became so agonizing that he couldn't help the next words out of his mouth.

"Rose?"

She turned to look at him, a perplexed look in her eyes at the interruption to her thoughts, "Yea'?"

With those amber orbs staring back at him, he almost forgot what he was going to ask her, "Can I…may I…" the words tumbled from his lips, all eloquence gone. Instead of forming the words, he inched his hand toward hers, his fingertips gently grazing her skin at the knuckles.

Rose looked down at their touch and his head throbbed, waiting for the sting of rejection. The smirk that blossomed on her lips surprised him and the quickness of her hand sweeping his caused his heart to resemble the incessant beating of a drum.

She stayed looking at him, amused at his idiocy, he concluded. Now that he had a hold on her and could therefore keep her from jumping out of the moving vehicle, he asked, "Why don't you like to talk about your classes – I don't even know what you're studying." The thought saddened him suddenly – he wanted to know everything and yet he knew nothing of this Rose. He was her best friend, possibly future…something, shouldn't she want to talk about it?

Her cheeks colored and the contrast of the rosiness under her fair skin was gorgeous. "It's nothing spectacular – I'm just enrolled in a few classes. Physics, chemistry and history. All introductory courses."

Nothing spectacular? Was she mental?

"But Rose, that's brilliant! How are your professors? They aren't rubbish are they? Do you like the texts? I could have taught you all that!" a pause for the pang of guilt, and then, "Wait, you're not missing class for this, are you?" He panicked suddenly at the idea.

Rose let out a guffaw, "I can see that this human body hasn't done a thing to affect your gob." She poked him in his side which caused the most peculiar sensation in the Doctor. It made him jump and let out a giggle at the same time. It was as if his skin were more sensitive in that one area. Rose's eyes widened and she gently let go of his hand. She poked him in the same spot and sniggered as she elicited the identical response.

"Doctor," she whispered with complete glee on her face, "are you…ticklish?"

The Doctor let out an incredulous sound which quickly dissolved into laughter as Rose proceeded to dig her fingers into his side. He felt tears form in the corners of his eyes as he squirmed and pleaded with her to stop. She did so as the car pulled up outside the shopping center's parking garage. He was very relieved that the partition between them and the driver was up and opaque. How embarrassing, he thought.

He was about to clear his face of the tears when Rose went ahead and did it for him with her thumbs. The Doctor sat still as he watched her roam her eyes over his skin, careful to catch each happy tear. It was impossible not to relish in the warmth of her touch. She smiled warmly at him and pulled at his sleeve so that he would follow her out of the car, "Come on." Once outside, she walked up to the driver's window and told the young man that she'd call him when they needed to go home.

Home.

The word never sounded so perfect.

Oh, writer's block. What a pain in my butt. lol enjoy (the chapter, not the pain in my butt, mind you).