TenxRose One-Shots

Meteor Shower of Dreams

This was a request of the flip-side of "Nightmarish", in which Rose is the one with the nightmare and Tentoo comforts her.  Suggested by @gracewilliams16

She'd been having the dreams since Norway, which was stupid, because he was right next her, in the bed, his face pressed against her neck and his arm around her waist.  Still, some nights she would wake up covered in cold sweat and her breathing erratic.

However, the Doctor turned out to be an incredibly deep sleeper and Rose was loath to ever wake him to talk about her dreams.  But he always seemed to know exactly what was going on, even without being awake, and when she would wake up with tears on her cheeks, he would pull her closer and nuzzle her neck.  And she'd turn into his chest, one hand gripping his shirt just to make sure he stayed there, and fall back asleep with his breath ruffling her hair. 

But there was a night she hadn't been anticipating.  A night when he was called from London to Cardiff, a two hour drive without traffic, to fill out a bunch of alien paperwork to give some Allik'ons a safe ride home. 

She'd kissed him goodbye and held him a little too tight when she hugged him, which made him undeniably nervous.  He held her close, nearly lifting her off the ground.  "I'll be back in the morning," he reassured her. 

She nodded against his shoulder.  "I know," she whispered, not wanting to admit why she didn't want to let him go tonight, or any night.  How she wanted him here, wanted him to stay here forever, not to go, not to ever go.

The Doctor stroked her back comfortingly, kissing her hair and trying to push away the worry at her behavior.  "I love you," he said quietly, his voice practically dripping with sincerity.

She pulled back and cupped his face in her hands.  "I love you too," She replied firmly.  She pulled him down to kiss her again, and he smiled at her as they pulled apart.

"I'll see you later."

She bit her lip and smiled a little, in spite of herself.  "Not if I see you first."

He threw her a wink and left the flat, shutting the door behind him.  She had the notion, only for a moment, to stay with her mother for a night, but her pride wouldn't allow her to.  No, she was an adult, and she was going to handle a few dreams like any adult would.

She ate dinner alone, reading a book as she did so, as she had done so for years before she had returned to the Doctor and brought him home with her.  It made her a bit panicky, wondering if she'd imagined the Doctor, her Doctor.  She checked her phone several times just to make sure his name was still in her phone with a new mobile number and not the number marked "TARDIS", which she saved for pure nostalgia of the Doctor having entered his number in her mobile.

She took a shower, checked her phone, brushed her teeth, and checked her phone twice more.  Deep down she knew she was being ridiculous to think that she'd made the Doctor up.  He was two hours away, for God's sake, and she was acting as though he might never come home, like he'd never been there in the first place.

But he had been there, they'd cuddled that morning and had breakfast together.  They'd laughed over more conspiracy theories that both of them knew weren't really aliens, because if anyone knew aliens, it was the Doctor and Rose. 

They'd kissed about a thousand times today.  The Doctor existed, and he was here, and she loved him still, even though he was two bloody hours away in her time of need.

When she finally crawled into bed, she couldn't resist praying that there would be no nightmares to night, not when the Doctor wasn't with her, she needed him.