I Could Spend It With You

How long are you gonna stay with me?

Forever.

~~*~~

They stood on that beach for what seemed like an eternity. They didn't speak, but merely stared blankly in the direction the Tardis had been just a few moments earlier. But now it was gone, and the bloody Time Lord with it. Only this time, he wasn't coming back.

She felt his cold nimble fingers wrap around her own, which she quickly realized were now numb from the bite of the frosty sea air. She wanted to flinch, to pull her hand away quickly. But she didn't. She wouldn't. Because at the same time, she wanted to pretend that the man standing next to her, in that wrinkled blue suit and red trainers, with his messy, crazy hair was the man that had just abandoned her, again, on this bloody beach she never wanted to see for the rest of her life and the life after. And she wanted to turn around and snog him senseless; lose her fingers in his crazy Time Lord hair... human. Crazy human hair.

"Rose," he sighed. "I meant it. With you... For the rest of my forever."

She looked up at him. "You aren't him. I know you say it, but you aren't."

Her words pierced his single human heart.

"What makes me so different?" He asked, the pain evident in his voice.

"You were just... you were just a hand!"

His brows knit together in curiosity... accusatorial curiosity.

"All those adventures he and I had... When we faced the warewolves, and when we stopped the cat nurses, and we got in that fight and... and..." She turned pink, not able to admit to their scandalous act.

"Shagged", he said simply, his mouth curling into a grin, that smirk that was so characteristic of the Doctor. Why couldn't he be him?

"Yeah! You weren't there! You were just a hand! In a jar!"

He sighed, a soft smile on his face. "C'mere." He opened his arms only to wrap them around her as she settled into the warmth of his chest.

"It's me," he began as he pressed his lips into the top of her head, breathing in her scent. "I remember it. Really, I do. How on earth could I forget? That was the most brilliant night of all of my lives."

She sniffled.

"Rose."

"'M fine."

"You're crying."

"No. It's fine. I'm fine."

He pulled back just enough to look down at her. "You aren't fine." He used his thumbs to gently wipe away her tears.

"I'm sorry." She hiccupped.

"Don't you dare, Rose Tyler. If anyone's to be sorry, it's me. I'm the one that grabbed your hand and made you run. I never let you stop running."

She smiled fondly at the memory.

"Oi! You lot! There's plenty of time for that sorta thing back at home. Cab's pulled up, we gotta go! Tony's still at home with the nanny!"

He groaned. "Please, please tell me that you have your own flat, Rose Tyler. Preferably one that sets a reasonable distance between you and Jackie Tyler."

"No such luck", she smirked, her tongue touching her teeth and rendering him helpless at arguing. "Glad to see there's some part of you still there for sure."

He smirked.

What should have been a 5 hour journey to get back home took nearly 12 hours. This was due, in part, to Jackie's insistence that they stop at nearly every clothing store on the way to get the Doctor a new wardrobe of clothes so he could finally ditch that blue suit, so she thought.

When they finally reached home, Pete raced out to hug Jackie and Rose, but froze dead in his tracks when he saw the Doctor.

"Holy hell. It's you. It's really you, then."

He smiled shyly. "Suppose so, yeah."

He gasped and suddenly turned to Rose. "Tony."

Rose shot him a glance. "What about him? Mum said he's with a nanny."

"Uhm. Yeah. He is. But-"

"Pete, darling." Jackie cut in. "I'll go get our son. It's time for him to get to bed. Can you show them inside? I think that man is properly starving." She said, nodding at the Doctor.

"Son, right. Yes. My little boy Tony." He said, proudly. "Right then, inside this way. We'll talk tomorrow. It's late."

The Doctor looked puzzled, and Rose noticed.

"Probably just flustered to see ya", Rose offered.

The Doctor didn't look so convinced, yet with Rose followed Pete inside.

"Rose, shall I give him the guest room, er..."

She looked up at her Time Lo- human.

"Doctor, would you rather your own space?"

"Er, that's fine. Yeah. Thanks." He said, uncertain.

Pete nodded and handed him blankets and showed him the room, just across from Rose's door. "Jackie get you jimjams?"

"Uhm. Yeah. She did. Thanks, Pete."

He nodded, clearly avoiding eye contact. He gave a quick hug to Rose. "I'll uhm... I'd better go help your mum with To- er... your brother."

"Thanks, Pete."

The Doctor and Rose. Once again alone. In silence. Yet, this time in a hall way. They faced each other, uncertain of what to say. But one thing was for sure, the Doctor smelled something fishy about her brother, Tony. And he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Tomorrow.

"You gonna be alright?" She asked, rubbing her arm.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, puffed out his cheeks and rocked back on his heels. "Yeah. Why not?"

"Alright... well... just..." she sighed. "I'm here. If you need anything."

"Thanks." He smiled softly. "G'night."

She smiled softly. They each turned into their rooms and laid down, eventually drifting off to sleep.

A knock startled her out of a dead sleep. Not that she really minded being woken from a nightmare. However, her door creaked. Indicating that someone was entering.

"T-Tony?"

Silence.

She reached for the gun hiding under her pillow.

"Tony, say something if it's you." Her nervousness couldn't be concealed.

"No. Not Tony. Just me, Rose." She closed her eyes in relief and hid her gun in her nightstand.

"You scared the hell outta me. You alright?"

"No I'm not. I'm so sorry, I know this sounds childish. But can I please sleep with you? I've spent so long apart from you that I can't stand to be distanced from you at all. I just need to hold you."

He was never this forward. She knew he had to be either drunk off his arse, still sleeping, or somewhere in between. But she didn't really care.

"C'mon then. There's room for two."

He slid under the covers next to her. "Can we have a cuddle?"

"If you're still you, then you know I love those."

He took it as an invitation and wrapped himself around her, pulling her as close as he could without hurting her. He breathed in the scent of his Rose and thought for the first time that perhaps, he'd make it in this human life.

"Rose Tyler, I love you."