Saviours

Chapter 3

The Doctor rolled up his sleeves and trousers as he grinned like the idiot he is, watching Rose wander about by the seashore. The starlight that illuminated the planet was almost as golden as the Earth's sun, and it lighted the pale pink sands, making it seem to glow beneath her feet. She set her eyes back on the forest she left, watching how the yellow light rested on the silver leaves and the deep blue vines, the scene easily reflected in her watchful hazel eyes.

She set her gaze farther off into the distance, taking in all the landscapes her eyes could see: far off, the woodland slanted up, higher and steeper, until it ended as a cliff covered in light blue and deep indigo, as if trying to reach up for the deepening of the golden sky. Farther off, on the other side of the immense waters, the vast plains of blue stretched on, past the horizon where the eyes can see, and it was speckled with patches of the forest, glimmering and shining under the fading light. The grasses swayed with the winds that thread its fingers through the fine strands on the ground, letting them free to the sky above, reaching, in slow movements as their tips try to pierce the above.

At last, she let her eyes rest on what he brought her here to see: the planet's sunset, just before twilight sets upon the alien soils, as the young star illuminates the crystal clear waters of the seascape. He heard her gasp as she approached the edge, clearly seeing the more vibrant pink pebbles beneath as the light struck through the sea and bounced off the almost fuchsia seabed, making the crystalline waters glow all the more. She could see very clearly the pastel violet and green and blue creatures swimming in the seawater, and they glided and drifted among the waves like a dance.

"It's a bay, actually," the Doctor said softly as he approached her, as not to break her reverie. "It's connected to its vast waters, which is, at the moment, basically just one, if you don't count the lakes and rivers and waterfalls and whatnot." He felt her eyes move from the horizon with the graceful sea creatures moving in the clear waters beneath it to settle on him as he explained, and he let his own gaze settle on hers as she tried to drink in whatever explanation he would provide her.

"If you think about it, this planet is actually quite similar to your own, only the chemical composition of most of the things here," he gestured to the place around him, "is different, hence the blue grass, silver leaves, pink sand and everything else." She smiled her tongue-in-teeth smile, and he paused for a moment to relish the sight of it.

"Its history won't be much different, not until the dominant inhabitants of this planet will finally evolve, at least. Tectonic plates and such, plates will drift apart… you know the rest. Then the Arrotatorius civilisation will rise, with their pale grey skin and golden hair, and they'll build empires and great cities that will last for millenniums, and like you humans," he stopped to grin at her, "they will reach amongst the stars, and they'll spread throughout galaxies. Granted, they're faster in technological advancements." Rose elbowed him with a smirk on her lips, which he only returned with a sad smile. "But they were faster to die out. Humans, they last until the very end of time."

He drifted off with that, leaving Rose to stare at him blankly as he forced himself to look back unto the seascape, trying to hide a gulp.

"It sounds so beautiful," she settled on saying. "But it's so sad. They won't be forgotten, though, will they?" She never left her eyes on him, not one moment as she waited for his answer. "Everyone's so busy saving themselves. All the years that will come, all that history… is there anyone who's going to look?"

He couldn't help it. His eyes were drawn to her glassy orbs, her words almost echoing those she said back then, when they had first met in his ninth body, to the first adventure he really took her to show just how impressive he was. She stood with her eyes, glazed as they were right now, glued to where her planet stood exploding and her star expanding, and she did not lament on her planet reaching its end. She mourned not for the loss of her home, but that no one was there to see it, to be its company in its last moments, as a last salute for the life it sustained.

And right now, offering his hand and holding hers doesn't seem enough.

He took her in his arms, sweeping her into his embrace that she returned tightly, trying to show her that everything is alright, that everything will be alright, and that he would protect her. With her face pressed to his shoulder, he whispered into her hair, echoing, too, his words before. "Come with me."

She looked back at him through those long lashes, a watery smile on her lips, and she nodded, letting him brisk her away to the wonders of the universe.

They walked and treaded on the shallow waters, his arms still around her and one of her own wound around his waist. Her eyes remained on the setting star, enchanted with the waters glowing golden with the pink soils beneath it that supported the sea life it contained. The soft waves glided across their feet, warm and comforting as they reflected the light, and they reached a cove beneath the cliff.

He helped her climb the rocks that perturbed beneath the crystallised stalactites, so similar to that of the Earth's. She sat on a smooth, flat, pale pink rock near the entrance, the Doctor sitting down beside her, and she eyed the twisting and gnarling deep blue vines that clung to the mouth of the cove. Large white petals and small flowers alike grew from the indigo veins of the earth, exuding drops of white liquid from their nectars that set off a fragrance. Behind her, the pink rocks and walls grew deeper in hue and colour, until the darkness swallowed all of colour.

Rose let herself focus on the view in front of her, and she took the Doctor's hand in her tight grip, and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"Its dusk," he announced moments later as the waters dimmed. "The sunsets here are brilliant, but the night is just as much, too." He let himself wear a lazy smile as he looked over to her, and she glanced at him before setting her eyes off once more into the distance with her lips curled upwards to match his own.

"And I don't want to miss a moment of it," she whispered.

He outstretched his arms in invitation, his grin never-wavering, and she saw from the corner of her eye. She accepted with a chuckle and she laid her head on his lap instead of letting him cradle her in his embrace. The Doctor raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, but smiled still, and as he watched her adjust her position on the rock and on his thighs, he draped his arm across her waist and stomach. He felt her pause in her breath for a moment, but then she laid her fingers atop his as he began to rub circles on her belly.

Silence fell between them, as well did the darkness, as the skies above their heads succumbed into a deepening red. But as the dark descended and the yellow gold star sunk deeper into the clear waters, it revealed the stars that hid behind the veil of light, so very different from the constellations and asterisms seen from her home planet. The distant massive balls of burning gas grew brighter and brighter against a red sky almost black, as the crystalline waters below it shone like rolling diamonds on a vast expanse of rose quartz grains. The patches of forest seemed to burn beneath the stars as the Earth's moonlight burns, and the sea of blue grass beyond looked as if glowing with the light they seeped into their veins from the star of their solar system.

She shifted her head from the horizon to look above her head and unto the glimmering stars. The Doctor looked to steal a glance down at her and looked back at the waters, but he saw her smile from the bottom of his vision, and he knew he was caught.

"There're so many stars here, with so many colours," she breathed. And when he opened his mouth to reply, she grinned with her tongue between her teeth.

"No, don't you dare. I got this one," she said as she pointed at him with her finger to stop him from explaining anything. She hummed as she looked back at the stars in thought. "No civilisation yet, no technology, so there're no torches or streetlamps to block out the stars?" she guessed, and looked back up at him with a thoughtful expression. He gave her a triumphant smile.

"Yep!" he said, giving a brief tickle to her side. She squealed and batted his hand away, squirming a bit on his lap. He couldn't help smiling down at her as she beamed up at him, and he felt his insides warm up.

"Come on, then," she said, standing up and offering her hand. He sent a confused expression to her hand, and she let her tongue peek from the side of her mouth.

"I bet there's a better view if we move out from the inside of this cave-thing, right? Thought we were going to make the most of it, then!" He grabbed her hand at that and she led him out of the cove, sitting down on another flat stone and patted the space beside her. He plopped down as soon as she retrieved her hand from his spot, and grinned as she lied back down on her lap. She let her eyes drift back onto the sky, burning with all those infinite number of stars, and began to hum a tune. The Doctor's eyebrows lifted to his hairline.

"And stars fell on Alabama last night," he sang along with her tune, his voice low and soft, watching as her eyes lighted as he recognised the tune.

"Didn't realise you'd know that," she smiled. He rolled his eyes at her as he reached for her hand, clasping her smaller one with his.

"Over nine hundred years old, Rose," he reminded her as he started rubbing circles on her wrist. "Who would have known that you listened to jazz?" The Doctor raised his other hand and started to stroke her hair, and her eyelids lowered as she leaned into his touch. It was like he was possessed, really. Why in the world was he doing this?

"Found a record of it a couple of years ago, hidden inside some boxes," she muttered. She frowned when he paused in his ministrations with her hair, relaxing only when he continued caressing her golden strands. "My dad's, apparently. Was curious." Her eyelids became heavier and heavier, until they shut closed, obviously please as the Doctor stroked her with his hands.

They let moments tick by, and he couldn't get his gaze off of her, losing track of his sense of time and of the world around him. Rose's lips parted, only the slightest bit, and he couldn't help licking his own, if not leaning his face closer to hers just a little.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open, and she grinned up at him as she inhaled deeply. He jolted his head away and stopped his hands, confused by her… excitement.

"What's it?" he inquired.

She sniffed the air, taking a moment before answering. "Don't you smell it?"

"Smell what?" he asked, his tone cautious. She'd never smelled anything before he did. Ever.

Her eyes remained on the sky, and her silence unnerved him a little. He let his gaze fall skyward, and his jaw slackened as fast-moving clouds approached their direction. He looked back down at Rose, incredulous.

A drop of water landed on her cheek, making her smile stretch even wider.

"Rain."

Rose leapt up and twirled on the suddenly slippery rock, making the Doctor yelp as he panicked at her slipping from its surface. To his relief, she sat back down, pressed to his side, as she revelled on the fantastic view.

It was as if falling stars fell from the sky, burning as the atmosphere turned them into specks of shining jewels. The rain fell upon them in a gentle shower, but it instantly made them dripping wet. Yet the pink and yellow human at his side didn't seem to mind.

"Careful there," he scolded her as he held her wet body closer to his, wrapping his arms around her waist and moving to sit behind her with his legs on either side of hers. He was doing this to prevent her from moving any more and causing any more trouble, he told himself. Of course; what other reason would be there? He tucked her head under his chin, doing his best not to press his nose against her hair and neck. He felt her breath hitch as she shivered and stiffened for a while in his embrace, only for her to slowly melt in it seconds later. She leaned back on his chest, resting her own arms on his. "You could slip and hit your head there," he continued after a while, tightening his hold on her a little bit more, as if protecting her.

"We should get in the cove," he told her into her ear, making his voice loud over the rain. Rose pouted as he moved to lead her undercover, stopping him by putting her hand on his arm.

"Why? But I want to stay here," she breathed out the last word, the wonder evident in her voice as she held out her hand and caught droplets from the rainfall.

"You could still get sick, you know. This planet still being similar to yours and all," he reminded her.

She snuggled a little closer into him, if that were even possible, and he heard her elicit a sigh that seemed to spell out her contentment.

"What's a little cold? And besides," she answered him and looked back to turn her face to his, their lips oh-so-very-close, and she shot him a cheeky grin, making his hearts stop in his chest. "I've got a doctor."

They sat there, under the glimmering rain, and they watched in wonder as the droplets splashed on the clear waters, making it gleam all the more, and some of the creatures in the sea leapt up and danced midair, falling back into the waters in grace.

Soon, the rain fell more softly on their heads, until they couldn't feel it at all. Finally, they could see the fast-moving clouds drift further away from them, and in mere minutes, it was out of sight as it disappeared from the horizon.

Their eyes stayed on each other, and he watched as her eyes drifted to his lips. Her mouth parted and licked her lips, biting it as her gaze flicked from his eyes to his mouth. She leaned ever so slightly closer to him, and she tilted her head a little to the side.

He sat there with his arms wrapped around Rose, his breaths shallow and quick, and he wasn't quite sure of what to do next till she faced to the side and sneezed, and then start to shiver in his embrace.

The Doctor was up on his feet in an instant, pulling Rose up with him. She yelped as she was led from the rocks and back on to the shallow gentle waves of the waters, then her feet dug into the damp, darkened pink sands from the recent rain.

"Where're we going?" she asked as they walked with the Doctor's arms still around her.

"Back to the TARDIS," he answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. He sighed. "You humans; you catch a cold so fast, you lot."

•

The Doctor made her jump into a hot shower and go to bed upon reaching the TARDIS, giving her a disgusting glass that looked and tasted like urine that, according to him, was "better than any pill".

When she had refused to go to bed after half an hour of his insistent prodding, he had dragged her to her door and tucked her into her bed himself, which, admittedly, was feeling quite comfortable at the moment.

"You need to rest," the Doctor mumbled under his breath, exaggerated as Rose had been difficult and had refused to comply with his orders that really were for the betterment of her health.

"What's wrong, Doctor?" she asked, frowning, as she lifted herself a little bit from her bed, letting her elbows support her weight. "I've been through worse before, worse than a cold. I almost died a couple, no, a lot of times and you've never made this big a fuss over it," she asked suspiciously. He sat on a chair by her bed, a defeated look on his face, his back slumped, and her heart clenched at the sight.

"What're you not telling me, Doctor?" she asked, reaching out with her hand as she stroked his cheek and followed the line of his jaw with her fingertips. "What's wrong?"

He leaned into her touch for a moment, just a very brief moment, before gingerly taking it with his own, and placed a gentle kiss on her palm. Her breath hitched as she watched him, and he put her hand to rest on the duvet above her stomach.

"Rest, Rose," he said softly as he stood and strode out the room, pausing only for a few moments by the door, looking at her with those eyes that held emotions she just couldn't place. "Rest."

She let herself toss and turn under her duvet for the better part of an hour or two, before she finally fell asleep. It wasn't long, though, till she woke up again, and she couldn't take it anymore.

She tossed over the sheets that covered her body and slid her feet in her slippers, feeling herself if she was a little too warm or something. When she found nothing, she shrugged, and chalked it up to another of Doctor's very effective concoctions.

Rose stood up and sneezed again. Alright, maybe not as effective as she initially thought.

She walked over her door and opened it, careful not to make it creak, and poked her head out to check either side of the corridor for any sign of the Doctor. She wrinkled her nose. He probably would reprimand her with his most commanding voice that she should go back to bed if he found her up, since she was sick.

Her soft footfalls echoed on the ship's walls as she had one destination in mind, the TARDIS leading her through her corridors, to the place where she went to find her first Doctor at times.

Breathing in deeply, she took in the smell of old and new books alike as she padded into the TARDIS library, letting her eyes sweep across the vast expanse of books and other of the Doctor's collections. She walked past shelves of books, going deeper into the library, and didn't stop until the very end of it, which took her quite a while to get there. She went behind one of the larger bookshelves in the room, entering a dark area lit only by an already warm fireplace.

The TARDIS laid out a fuzzy rug and a heaping of pillows for her on by the fire, and peeking in the pile was a thick TARDIS blue blanket.

She smiled at the ceiling, mumbling a "thanks" as she trudged to the comfortable-looking rug, lying down with a sigh as she wrapped herself around the blanket. She let herself sink into the soft pillows, letting out another breath of contentment.

She had lain their for god knows how long, and she felt herself begin to drift as the heat radiating from the fireplace seeped through the thick fabric around her and warmed her to her bones, only to jolt awake when a voice ran out from somewhere behind her.

"Getting comfy there seems like it," the Doctor said softly, but his voice echoing loudly and bounced off the walls, nonetheless. Rose turned to and watched him plop down into the pillows beside her, his tie and jacket missing, with a mug of steaming tea in his hand. He had a sheepish expression directed to her, and offered her the mug. She smiled at him to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about, graciously accepting the mug with a thanks and blowing at the hot beverage with her fingers curled around the ceramic.

"Why's it that you're here, then?" he asked her as he sank into the cushions beside her, their arms pressed against each other, and she moved closer to him. Rose gave a small shrug.

"Dunno. You used to come here a lot before in your previous body, yeah? Used to find you here more often than not, if you weren't out tinkering with the console. I don't think I've shaken off the habit of coming here." She smiled, her eyes glimmering in the firelight as she reminisced on memories not so long ago. "You used to read to me, I remember."

"We could still do that, if you want to, you know," he answered as he smiled down at her. She nodded, sipping at her tea as she looked back at him.

The silence that fell between them was comfortable, and she decided to break it.

"Will you tell me what a while ago all was about, then?"

He broke his stare and settled it on the fire, the flames reflecting on his brown orbs as his jaw clenched. She caught his hand with her own, laying her mug down on one of the nearby tables, then sat in front of him with the blue blanket still wrapped around her.

"Come on, out with it."

AN: Hey guys! I've updated with a longer chapter (not long enough, though) in less than a week since the last to make up for neglecting this story for over a month. I'm so, so sorry for leaving it with a cliffhanger. I'll try to update as fast as I can, though, so you guys wouldn't have to wait so long for what happens next!

Unbeta-ed, not proofread, so please forgive any mistakes that will be noticed. Please leave reviews! :)