Title: My Doctor
Author: Arabian (JenniferH)

Rating: PG

Word Length: 1,803

Characters: Rose, TenII …

Spoilers: Specifically: Rose, The End of the World, Tooth & Claw, The Impossible Planet, Journey's End

Disclaimer: I don't own them; BBC, Rusty, you know, the usual gang

Archive: Anywhere, but do let me know, please

Notes: Eek! My first Doctor Who fic.

Summary: What happened after the TARDIS disappeared on that beach in Norway?

The first thing she noticed was that while his hand was still cool, it was warmer than the hand she'd held only a few hours ago aboard the Crucible. And that was it; she knew that everything was different. He was different. This wasn't her Doctor. This wasn't the man who'd told her to run, who took her to the end of the world, Victorian England and an impossible planet. This wasn't –

"Hello," he said. His voice was bright and cheery and yet soft, vulnerable at the same time. And so familiar. It brought her back from her thoughts and Rose focused on his face, his eyes, and felt her chest tighten. Like his voice, they were bright, slightly manic and yet there was vulnerability there, and her certainty of only moments ago began to crumble. She reached out with her free hand and placed it on his chest again where his one heart beat, all the while her eyes locked onto his, seeing not only the recognisable shape and shade, but the centuries of living, of pain and laughter, of knowledge and weariness shaded in their depths. And she just did not know. She didn't know anything. The tightening in her chest ballooned and she let out a gasping breath. With it came a heavy sob, her eyes filled with tears and she found herself in his arms without thought. Whether she came into them or he pulled her to him, she didn't know.

She was just there, her face pressed against his one heartbeat, his too cool/too warm body pressed against her, his arms wrapped about her. His scent was the same, the feel of his body holding her close a beloved memory brought back to life. And the tears just came. She tried to speak but couldn't find the words, didn't have the breath to say them even if she could. The world shrunk down to just the two of them on that stretch of beach in Norway. All she could hear was his beating heart, all she could feel was his body holding her and then …

And then she felt his lips against her hair, his hands were on her back, his fingers drawing loops, and then he was shifting, the angle of his head moving, nudging against her until hers was raised and his lips were on her face, soothing the tracks of tears with soft kisses, murmuring sounds of hush. Suddenly, his lips were pressed against hers. He was drawing in her breaths and gasps, it was a new kind of familiar. Familiarity created only moments ago when there were still two of them in her life, and then she just stopped thinking because his lips were so soft, suckling at her top and then bottom lip, his tongue slipping between to taste her, tangle with her and Rose was swept up in the dance, in the taste of him. Her arms slipped around his neck, her fingers grabbing onto the ends of his hair and then roaming in the dark strands. All she could hear was the single beats of their hearts, and then came words, at first unintelligible, and then the meaning began to filter and a joy began to mingle with the passion.

"Rose," a press of lips. "How could I have …" a pause to lick her lower lip, a sensuous slide of his tongue. "What was I thinking? This. You. "A muffled groan as he captured her lips again, kissing her with all of the passion previously reserved for hand-holds and hugs and saving a world. "How you taste. So good. I," a soft, slow searing brush of his lips against the line of her jaw. "Insane to have waited. I just want to kiss, and lick and nibble and savour every single inch of you. Rose." And once more he dove in for another thorough snog. After, she pulled away, her tears gone now. Her eyes were wide, a quiet joy filling her as she found herself laughing through her gasping breaths. He leaned in for another quick kiss before pulling back slightly to rest his forehead against hers and whisper quietly, "What?"

Shaking her head, Rose drew back completely to look at him; her eyes were dry and everything was clear once more. "It really is you?" And then she had to laugh again because he looked genuinely perplexed, his brow furrowed.

"Well, of course, it's me," he finally said, the confusion evident in his voice. "I thought we'd established that already what with all of the snogging. Nice, that." And putting action to words, he swiftly captured her lips in another nice kiss. He pulled back with a merry grin, his eyes beaming down at her. And then a look of concern crossed his face. "Why? You didn't think it was me?" Before she could answer, he continued, "Well, I suppose it's understandable to have another moment of doubt or two. After all, this is a highly unusual situation, even for us. Still, I would have thought the first kiss did the trick, but you do think it now. Yes? Of course, yes, but why the need for the verbal confirmation? Again, I would suppose that the fact that you were quite consensually engaging in the snogging with me …" he trailed off at her look. "What?"

Shaking her head, she couldn't help the smile that was breaking so wide across her face, she could feel the stretch, and it was a wonderful burn. "You're you … so you. You're just …" He was silent, his eyes prompting her to continue. "You're talking and talking and just babbling away and your eyes, and your scent and your arms and … your babbling and babbling," she broke off, laughter bubbling.

"And the snogging." He winked. "That makes me even better than the other me. Oh, mustn't forget the snogging, Rose Tyler." Making it all that easier to remember, once again he pulled her close to him, and leaned down to deliver a softly devastating kiss, parting her lips with his tongue, dipping in and slowly, deeply suckling, exploring, tasting her until her knees felt weak, her toes curled and her stomach began doing flip-flops. And then he stopped, pulling away, slightly out of breath.

"I'm going to have to get used to the lack of a double respiratory system now, aren't I?" He grinned down at her, and then his eyes lit up, clearly struck by something that filled him with surprise. "Rose Tyler, I think, no, no, I know. Yes, I absolutely know that I do want to shag you senseless right now." He cocked his head slightly to the side, considering. "Which is really quite odd, the sensation. Not to say that I've never had sexual relations before, but they were few and far between because you understand that in humans the sexual urge is driven by the biological need to perpetuate the species and Time Lords have a completely different form of procreation. Looming, it was. Quite fascinating, really. Well, I don't know that you would particularly find it fascinating, especially not now, at this very moment."

He smiled brightly down at her. "Perhaps we can discuss it later. Must be the Donna in me; I want to share. Blimey! Anyway, as a full Time Lord, I never really felt an overwhelming desire to have sexual intercourse, not that I didn't think of doing so with you, because I did. But it wasn't about finding my own pleasured release. No, it was more about what kind of sounds would Rose make if I licked her here or there? Would she scream, or quietly moan? And then of course, your orgasmic pleasure would be from whence I derived my pleasure. But since it wasn't an urge, per se, with me being a Time Lord, I never really thought about it much beyond the abstract. But now, yes, I really do have the urge. I want to shag you senseless, right here, right now, on this beach, in Dårlig Ulv Stranden, Norway. Which isn't a good idea, I'm sure, but I can't quite find any logical reasonable for that to be so. Why are you laughing?"

The pained certainty she had felt when she had held his not-too-cool hand had completely dissipated and was replaced with a fantastic faith in him, in them. The smile stretched across her face once more and it filled her entire body. "It really is you." Reaching up, she pressed a quick, exuberant kiss upon his mouth.

He grinned in response, and then frowned in exasperation. "Yes, it really is me. How many times are we going to establish that?" But he was smiling again and she was smiling and all was good in the universe and then …

"What about him? What happens to him?"

His smile dimmed slightly, a touch of melancholy flitted through his eyes and his voice grew tender, emotional and reassuring. "He saves the universe, he rights wrongs, helps the little guys out all the while knowing that he gave the love of his life," His smile brightened and he threw her another wink, "Consequently, the love of myl ife," and again, he snatched a swift kiss, " the love of her life -- in a couldn't-have-been-scripted-better made for Rose Tyler -- Doctor Ten, version 2.0 …" Breaking off, he looked into the distance, a considering look on his face before he met her gaze again. "I say that because you know I, well, that is to say, we were the tenth regeneration and since it wasn't a full regeneration, I wouldn't be the eleventh because I'm still technically him, the tenth. Same tastes, same whims. Same likes, dislikes." He paused, giving his next statement the proper amount of importance, she thought. "Same hair. So, I think that's a perfectly appropriate sobriquet, don't you think?" That glorious smile lit his face again as he waited for her response.

"Oh, lord, does he ever shut it?" Jackie spoke instead, irritation, albeit laced with a trace of fondness, in her voice.

Rose stilled for a moment, and then turned to look at her mum. A blush heated Rose's face, both for the activities of the last few minutes and for the fact that she actually had forgotten she was even there.

The man still in her arms stuttered. "I – I …" He began, the look on his face so familiar, so him, offended to his core at Jackie's words, and joy overwhelmed her. A smile wasn't enough, laughter burst forth from her mouth and she looked between the two of them before settling her gaze, filled with such, such happiness, upon him. The Doctor.

"No," she responded to Jackie finally, without taking her eyes off of him. "Not my Doctor."

THE END