Reign of the World

Chapter 6

The survivors were already panicking to some level, seeing the ship dip below the surface of the water, and many of the other passengers with it.  Rose turned to the Doctor, a puzzled look on her face.

"Isn't the water shallow there?" She asked, "The ship shouldn't be able to be completely submerged, should it?" 

The Doctor twisted over his shoulder and glanced at the sinking boat.  "No, it shouldn't."  He turned to look at her.  "But it is.  Which means something most definitely wants us here."

Rose watched him for a moment, her face intent.  "I was really worried about you back there.  I thought you were going down with the ship."

A soft smile graced his face and he gave her hand a tight squeeze.  "I worry about you all the time.  Now you know what it feels like."

She rolled her eyes and he laughed as they reached the group at the tree line.  Mr. Kelly and Lyssk approached them, looking calm but worried.

"Well done, Doctor Smith," Lyssk commended, nodding slightly.  "You and your assistant would be the only ones alive if you hadn't saved any of the others."

"Just doing the right thing, Lyssk," the Doctor replied.  "It's really that simple.  Or, it should be."

Mr. Kelly glanced around.  "Yes, Doctor Smith, I have to say I admire you.  I think you should be put in charge of this little motley crew until help arrives.  I can speak to the others."

The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Rose was quicker.  "He'll never tell you to do that himself, Mr. Kelly," she said, "but he's our best shot."

"I agree," replied Tiffany from where she had sauntered up to Mr. Kelly's side.  "We should all talk to the others."

"I think what Rose and I will do is start gathering firewood," the Doctor diverted expertly.  "You all do what you want, I won't stop you.  But it's the dead of night and people must be cold.  Mr. Kelly, I suggest you and Lyssk gather wood for a second fire."

And with that he tugged Rose off into the forest, leaving a very stunned little party behind them. 

"You were being rude again," Rose chastised as he dragged her through the forest in search of firewood.

"I don't want to be the leader, Rose, I had to be the leader during the Time War and I-" he turned to her, his lips pursed.  "You know how that ended."

She laid a hand on his cheek, her brow furrowed, trying to get him to relax, to understand that this was a good thing.  "Doctor, you're our best shot.  I wasn't lying when I said that.  The Time War doesn't define everything you do after.  Got it?"

He studied her face for a moment, allowing her words to sink in.  She slowly dropped her and from his face and nodded slowly.  "Got it," he said quietly, and released her hand to start picking up wood. 

Rose followed his lead, sensing that that was all that needed to be said, and started tucking fallen branches under her arm, trying to accept the situation at hand.  She never thought she'd be in a shipwreck, but then again, she never thought she'd be travelling time with a 900-year old alien, but there it was, after all. 

They gathered enough to start a good fire and the Doctor saved room in a pocket to put stones in to line the fire pit with.  He was so clever, and every time he proved that Rose had to be a little proud of him, in the way a woman in love is proud of a man.  So every time she had to shake it and follow along after him like she hadn't just been thinking about kissing him or loving him forever. 

They returned to the beach to see people already shivering, holding onto themselves and Rose helped the Doctor set up the first fire.  Lyssk and Mr. Kelly emerged from the forest and started setting up a second on a little ways down.  Both fires would be big enough for the people on the beach, and hopefully they would keep through the night.

The Doctor started chattering to the people who watched them build the fire, easing their nerves and making them feel at home. 

"Rose Tyler, that's my assistant here, A class cuddler.  I could rent her out for cuddling, I could.  If any of you want to snuggle up next to her tonight, though, you can forget it.  Once I get this fire going she's all mine.  Are you two a couple?  Well, you should be, you're both very lovely, you should try having a cuddle once we get this fire going."

The couple the Doctor was talking to blushed, and Rose found herself blushing too at the Doctor's words.  She couldn't tell if he'd meant what he'd said, if he was going to stay with her through the night or not. 

Rose handed him another branch for him to snap in half and asked, "What time is it?  We didn't go to sleep that long ago, on the boat."

The Doctor paused, and she could practically see the wheels in his mind whirring.  "It's about midnight," he sent her a grin.  "Time sense."

She smiled in response.  A useful thing, time sense.  Let you know how long you were going to be in jail for on a foreign planet.  It also let you cook without using a timer because you could just take your Time Lord timer into the library with you.

They finally got the fire going, and Mr. Kelly and Lyssk got the other one lit, and the survivors immediately crowded around them, holding each other, laying down, trying to get some much needed rest for the days ahead.  Rose noticed that the two people the Doctor had been talking to earlier had ended up cuddled up together by the fire.

She smiled and nudged his shoulder as they sat down.  "A right matchmaker, you are," she teased. 

He hummed and his arm went around her shoulders instantly and they watched as everyone settled in for the night, an uneasy air passing over the group. 

"You don't think something's going to eat us in the middle of the night, do you?" Rose asked worriedly, tilting her head to look up at him.

"No, I don't," the Doctor said confidently.  "I think we'll be safe tonight."  He lay back, dragging Rose with him so her head was pillowed on his chest.  "Now hush, Rose Tyler, this is my one night of sleep on our lavish cruise."

She giggled and cuddled into him, and his arms wound tightly around her, shielding them both from the chill of the night.  She could've sworn she felt him kiss the top of her head before they both fell into an uneasy sleep.