Rain was starting to fall. The Doctor, long brown trenchcoat billowing as little scurries of breeze whipped fallen leaves into whirlwinds at his feet, looked up at the darkening sky as Rose tugged her hood over her blonde hair.

“This could get bad,” he said, shielding his eyes from the sharpening raindrops. “We’ve got to get inside, come on!”
“Why can’t we just shelter in the TARDIS?” Rose asked, breaking into a jog as the Doctor did the same in front of her. The reason for this, however, became apparent; as Rose looked around at the streets of Bristol the sheets of rain intensified, until she could only see as far as three feet in front of her. Everything else was a mass of fuzzy wetness, and produced the horrible sensation of partial blindness. They could never locate the TARDIS in this.

“I think I’ve found somewhere!” came the Doctor’s voice, faint over the constant roar of the rain. Rose hurried over to a vague brown blur which turned out, luckily, to be the Doctor, and followed his gaze. Squinting through the stinging drops, she could just make out ‘Bristol Travel Lodge’ in rain-streaked letters on the front of the building above them.
“Excellent, this will do,” said the Doctor gleefully, rubbing his wet hands together. He wrenched open the glass entrance doors, grabbed Rose by the hand, and pulled her inside.

When the doors swung smoothly back into place, it was oddly quiet in the Travel Lodge foyer. The rain was a distant hiss outside as Rose peeled off her drenched hooded jacket and emptied her shoes of water. Meanwhile, the Doctor, Converse squeaking on the linoleum floor, stepped up to the reception desk and rang the bell. The little tinkling sound was answered surprisingly quickly by a tall, thin woman emerging from a back room. She glided serenely to the desk, glittering shawls trailing from her neck and arms.

“Hello there! I’d like to book a room for two, please.” chirped the Doctor.
“Name?” The receptionist’s voice was oddly light and dreamlike.
“The Doctor.”
“Doctor who?”
“Just the Doctor.”
“Okay…and how many nights?”
“Just the one, ta.”

She began to tap frantically at the computer sitting on the immaculate wooden surface between them.

“We’ve got a double or two singles available, which one-”
“Double, please,” said the Doctor, without letting the receptionist finish. She glared at him slightly behind her huge spectacles, which magnified her eyes to about three times their normal size. Rose started as she heard his answer.
“What? A doub-”
The Doctor held up a hand to silence her.
“Come on, Rose, do you really think I’m gonna pay the thirty pounds extra to get two singles?” he hissed between his teeth.
Rose sighed sceptically – she knew the Doctor could afford almost anything, should he choose to.
“Room forty-two is free,” breathed the receptionist in that odd way of hers, handing the Doctor a silvery key attached to a blue plastic tag, bearing the number ‘42’. “You may pay when you leave. Sleep well.”

Together they traipsed, dripping, up the plush staircase. A maid gave them a look of disgust as they climbed, mopping the steps after them. They ascended another flight, and the Doctor stopped, causing Rose to bump into him abruptly.
“Right…thirty-eight…forty…aha, forty-two!” He thrust the key at Rose then delved into the inside pocket of his trenchcoat, the hand that returned bearing his trusty Sonic Screwdriver. He pointed it at the lock and pressed the button on the side – the familiar ‘squee’ sound and flash of blue light preceded a satisfyingly resounding ‘click’, and the wooden door of Room 42 swung open to allow them both entry. Rose followed the Doctor inside, grinning and shaking her head at his idiosyncrasies.

“Ahh, this is great!” the Doctor threw himself onto the cushion-laden double bed in glee and lay there, face buried in the quilted duvet. Rose laughed.
“Have fun in it, I’ll be sleeping on the floor.” The Doctor sat up and stared straight at her as she stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, twisting her fingers.
“What? No, no, no – you’re sleeping in here, the floor’s not fit for a lady!”
“What if I told you I was secretly a man; would you let me sleep on the floor then?” Rose grinned cheekily. The Doctor laughed and jumped off the bed.
“Maybe, but you’re not a man, are you?” His smile was impish. “And if you insist by it, I’m afraid I’ll have to check.”
Rose could feel herself blushing, and quickly looked away.
“Well, I could sleep on the armchair, that looks quite comfy…”
“No,” said the Doctor firmly, taking her by the arm and turning her to face him. “You’re sleeping in the bed, and that’s that.” Rose refused to give in.
“So you’re sleeping on the floor?”

The Doctor rolled his eyes and shook Rose by the shoulders in mock frustration.
“No, you tease! You’re just trying to get me to say it, aren’t you?”
“Say what?” Rose was enjoying this.
“You know what I mean, Rose.”
“No, I don’t!”
“Oh for- fine, Rose, it’s not a matter of asking you. It’s a demand. You MUST sleep with me.”

He had gone red. Rose gave an inward triumphant cheer.
“Any decent girl would call the police at this point,” she said, smiling. “I’m off into the bathroom to get changed, and I’m confiscating this-” she reached into his jacket and removed the Sonic Screwdriver “-just in case you even THINK about trying.” The Doctor laughed and playfully pushed her away.
“Get on with you.”

~x~

“Do they make harder Su-Dokus than the ‘Master’ ones? I’ve finished all of them already…”
Rose looked up from her armchair to see the Doctor lounging on the bed, pen in hand and Su-Doku book on his lap. She laughed.
“Unless the Japanese invent ones especially for Time Lords, I doubt it.”
The Doctor grinned and threw the pen and book onto the small bedside table. “You finished that magazine yet?” He nodded to the open issue of Closer hanging limply in Rose’s hands.
“Why, do you want to read it?” she grinned, deliberately not answering his question. Yes, she had finished the magazine, about an hour ago in fact – but she’d been trying to put off the moment she’d have to climb into bed with the Doctor as much as possible. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to – she was just extremely nervous. That, or she had incredibly bad indigestion.
 
“You’re tired, Rose. Come to bed.”
“I’m not!” She tried to protest, but knew he wasn’t buying any of it. As if to back this up she suddenly yawned widely, covering her open mouth with a weary hand.
“See?” laughed the Doctor. “Come, now. It’s already two in the morning.” He patted the bed next to him. Rose sighed and gave in; waves of fatigue threatened to overcome her, and that bed did look ever so warm…

She dragged herself out of the chair and stretched, dropping the magazine haphazardly onto the glass coffee table. She realised with a jolt that she hadn’t stuffed any night clothes into her rucksack that morning when leaving the TARDIS to explore the city, and her day clothes were much too stuffy to sleep in. Wincing with embarrassment, she removed her overwear to reveal black lacy lingerie.

“How strange!” exclaimed the Doctor, and Rose turned back around to face him, covering up as much of her body as she could, blushing furiously. “I swear I’m wearing the exact same thong.” Rose threw a pillow at him and missed, the soft stuffing emitting an audible flump as it hit the wall. He laughed. “Come on, get into bed before next-door complains, there’s a good girl.”
Too tired to protest, she clambered in under the heavy covers as the Doctor began to remove his blue suit and trousers. Rose caught a glimpse of a pair of tight black pants as he too slid in under the duvet. She could immediately feel the heat of his body and tensed, shooting bolt upright.

“What’s wrong?”
“Pillow barrier,” Rose mumbled, grabbing a handful of pillows and laying them out on top of the duvet, creating a little wall between them.
“What – why – no!” The Doctor grabbed the pillows back. “Don’t be silly, Rose. Just go to sleep.”
“But-”
“Sleep.”
 
Rose settled back down under the covers, uncomfortably aware of the Doctor’s eyes on the back of her head. He shifted slightly and she lay perfectly still, listening to the pace of her own heartbeat quicken, muffled by the many layers of soft, downy material. Where only a second ago she had been on the verge of a deep sleep, she was now wide, wide awake, listening to the tiny rustlings of the sheets as the Doctor tried to get comfortable beside her. This is insane, she thought numbly, attempting and failing to ignore the swarm of butterflies trapped in her lower abdomen. I’m actually sleeping in the same bed as him…
 
Something touched her upper leg and she tensed, senses heightened. Whatever it was was still moving, creeping forward, getting too close…then it stopped and lay there on her thigh, a warm, comforting weight. A light breath skimmed the back of her neck and Rose felt a sharp stab somewhere below her navel as she realised. Oh my God… Head spinning dizzily, she held her breath tightly as it stuck in her throat. He’s got his hand on my leg…
“Goodnight, Rose.” The Doctor’s whisper was soft in her ear.
“Goodnight, Doctor,” she replied quietly, feeling herself relax. He made her feel so safe, so calm, so sleepy…

She was walking along a blindingly light corridor, white glaring at her from all directions. She no longer wore her black underwear; a long ivory gown cloaked her as she padded barefoot across the cool floor towards a plain white door a few metres ahead. Upon reaching it, it automatically slid open for her - and she stepped inside a huge, dazzling cavern. A woman, also shrouded in white, approached her.

“Welcome, Rose,” she said. “Please, come with me.” Rose obeyed without a second thought, following the woman across the cavern. She now noticed where the light was coming from; looking up towards the huge domed ceiling she could see hundreds of spherical orbs, emitting their ethereal glow as they bobbed serenely above their heads. Other cloaked people appeared and vanished around them; some floating a few feet above the ground, some gliding along, some – like them – simply walking. Rose could not see their faces, but this did not concern her. If anything, the whole situation seemed completely normal. The woman stopped and turned once more to Rose.
“I suppose you know why you are here?”
“Not at all,” replied Rose, voice expressionless.
“You are dreaming, Rose Tyler. But not as you know it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You will know the answer to your question in due course.” The woman gave a small bow and continued to tread over the smooth white floor.

Rose began to feel the ability to think return to her. I’ve never had a dream like this before, she thought. Something’s changed… But still, she felt oddly calm and serene as she stepped after the woman into another brightly-lit yet smaller chamber, where many people were flying around near the ceiling among the orbs.
“There has been a Revolution, Rose,” said the woman, a hint of suppressed excitement lurking among her calm words. “We have evolved, and we are ready.”
“What do you mean, ready?”
“You will find out in due course.”
But Rose suddenly wanted, needed to know. “Who are you?”

The woman did not reply, but turned to a nearby man. “She’s too conscious. Send her back.”
The man, quite tall and frighteningly muscular, stepped silently over to Rose and raised his hand, placing it upon her forehead. She immediately began to float upwards, and soon recognised this feeling as the sensation of waking up.
“No! Wait, I need to ask…”

But it was too late; the light was dimming, the white turning to grey… In a last desperate attempt, she grabbed onto the nearest solid object – one of the floating orbs. The waking did not cease, however; and within seconds the light had been extinguished, the flowing white robe had fallen from her shoulders and she was lying once more in the warm bed, drenched in cold sweat, the sheets sticking to her skin.