TenxRose One-Shots

It Hurts A Little Less With You

Rose had gone to bed remarkably early after the events of Krop Tor, after giving the Doctor a very long and teary hug.  He stroked her hair awkwardly, tried to reassure her, but he was shaken as well.

She padded to her room, and changed without having a shower because she just couldn't handle it, and she'd probably fall asleep in there.  She fell into her bed, curled up and shivering, several blankets and a duvet over her.

"I'm gonna die," she whispered to herself, quaking with the cold of shock and fear.  "In battle."

It wasn't two minutes later that her bedroom door was thrown open.  "Rose? I... I could hear you, being distressed, I wanted to check on you."

She sat up in her bed, the tears finally having shown up, and reached a hand out to him. 

He didn't waste any time in receiving the invitation.  He toed off his trainers and threw his suit jacket and tie on her chair before crawling into her bed with her and pulling her against him.

She gripped at him, grateful for the contact and, if she was honest, a little embarrassed that she was crying in front of the Doctor.  She'd almost never seen him cry, and she hated it, and she didn't like to think that he didn't like seeing her cry.

"Rose, please talk to me," the Doctor asked pleadingly, his fingers curling into her pajama shirt.  "What's wrong?"

"I'm gonna die, Doctor," was all she could get out before burying her face in the crook of his neck.

He was careful when he shifted, bringing them to lay down on the bed, him curling around her protectively.  "Rose, hush, let me say something."

Rose tried to calm herself, and was able to stop the tears, but her breathing was still erratic and she clung to the Doctor like a lifeline.

The Doctor paused, waiting for her to finish calming down.  He kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hands up and down her back as her breathing slowed to a semi normal pace.

"You're not going to die in battle, I promise," the Doctor said, his tone hushed, like it was a secret only she was supposed to hear, even though there was no one else in the room.  "There'll always be monsters, and I'll always protect you."

"How can you know that, Doctor?  You can't!  You can't know!"  She knocked her forehead against his chest instead of looking at him. 

"No, I can't.  But," he bit back tears of his own, unwilling to allow himself to break down in front of her, not when she needed him like this.  "I can be here, always, for you.  Always."

"You're only halfway here, Doctor."  Her voice was quiet and timid, and somehow he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Rose, you know that I-"

"Do I?" She lifted her head to look at him, her cheek pillowed on one of his arms, her gold hair spilling over the sleeve of his shirt and her pillow and he couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful she looked.  "How am I supposed to know, then?  If I guess, it's just that, a guess, but if you, I don't know, tell me, or show me someway, then I-"

His sudden shift so that he was eye level with her stopped her words entirely.  She clamped her mouth shut, sensing he had something to say.

He didn't say anything.  But his hand moved up to one of her cheeks, the other still under her head, and he tilted his head forward, brushing his nose against hers.  "Your move," he whispered. 

She gasped a touch, then tipped her chin forward, pressing her lips to his.  He immediately wound both arms around her, crushing her to him, the angle awkward since they were laying down.

They played at that, this new feeling of each other, but the Doctor pulled away shortly after beginning because he had more to say.

"Ida said you said my name," Rose whispered across the darkness.

"I did," the Doctor agreed.

"What did you say?"

"I wanted them to tell you that I... Oh, don't you know?"

She snuggled in closer to him, the shivering slowing as his body heat encased her.  "Yes, I do.  You know it goes the same for me.  Right?"

"Right.  And, Rose, when I say that I'll protect you, I mean all the time.  Right now.  I'll stay in bed with you, if that's what you want-"

"It is."

"Okay, then, that's settled.  Glad to be in our room, Rose Tyler," he smiled at the notion.  "And I swear to everything, Rose, that when I sleep here, with you, I'll protect you, and I'll always sleep between you and the door."