Journey's Beginning

"Will this bloody storm ever let up?" Rose nervously hissed from the couch, bundled up in their extra duvet with just her head poking out the top.

"What's wrong with you, then? Don’t fancy storms? Lightning bolts racing across the sky with a large BOOM, rain falling from the clouds slowly then you can't even see across the street, power outages, and the smell of sulfur and steam afterwards- what's not to love?" he went on happily lighting a fire in the fireplace.

"I'm not scared if that's what you're asking," she protested in defense.

"Scared? Did I say scared? Don’t think I said scared," he teased putting his hands in the pockets of his sleep pants. His jumpy wife gave a nod, hoping it would end the conversation. "Thought it would be quite comical," he merrily continued. "Rose Tyler-well, now Smith- defender of Earth. You've seen other planets, oods, defeated the Dalek emperor, fought against various deadly species, and all sorts of trouble in-between- no problem. Then some thunder and heavy rain and you're nearly shaking on the couch."

"Oi! And you aren't scared of anything, Mr. Time Lord?"

"Part Time Lord, and yes!"

"What are you scared of?" she asked out of curiosity in a more serious manner.

Their battle of wits turned quiet and The Doctor's playfulness quickly faded. Taunting comments were replaced with darker unspoken thoughts. Another crash of thunder rattled a few decorations on the wall. Their conversation was keeping her mind elsewhere and seemed to be helping. Before she had time to be further frightened by the storm again, he answered.

"Losing you," he replied staring right at her.

"Other than the obvious," she lightly giggled, not fully understanding.

There was a pause. Rose could tell that he was about to explain himself and it wasn't going to be easy. The Doctor loved on her continuously and they always shared thoughts on a variety of topics. But when it came to the past, the little things he never told her about their days on the TARDIS, he was more careful of what he told her. She thought maybe he had trouble expressing his hidden feelings or maybe he was still embarrassed for not getting into a proper relationship with her sooner.

"No, really. Of everything I've ever been through, everything we've ever been through, those times I almost lost you, the day I lost you, those were the scariest hours of my 906 years."

His words shocked her. It was quite the confession, one she almost couldn't accept.

"But there was always so much more to fear than losing little old me." They had been married for a whole week yet she still had only a fraction of an idea how much she meant to him.

"Regenerating as some sort of odd creature, getting lost in time and space, those deadly situations we always seemed to find ourselves in… All of it was nothing compared to times we were separated."

When he looked back towards her, tears were trickling down her soft cheeks. There was no way he could possibly know how much his words touched her heart. As he spoke, she remembered each of the times he mentioned- especially the time he left her at Bad Wolf Bay.

She unleashed her expression that told him she was remembering, he knew it all too well.

"I love you," she quoted from that horrible day.

"Quite right too," he played along using the identical tone he used that distant day. They smiled, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. "That was the worst day of it all."

"Agreed," she laughed, glad that it was now just a memory. "I guess what we've been through, a bit of wind and rain can hardly be seen as a threat."

The lights in the flat flickered and then stayed off. It was exactly what every storm-loathing person feared, a power outage. Rose pulled the blankets close and made a little gasping noise in reaction to the sudden dark. All the light in the room came from the small fire across the living room.

"You know how to overcome a fear?" he gently and optimistically asked. "Face it and make a good memory of it instead of being afraid."

"Yeah, I guess that would help," she agreed, knowing everything would be alright as long as he was with her. He had never let anything happen to her and had always gone out of his way to keep her from feeling even the least bit uneasy.

The Doctor crossed the room and took a seat next to his wife. Rose began to bloom from the thick blanket and seemed more calm than she had been since the storm started. They looked at eachother, neither knowing what to say or do next.

"So what shall we do?" he asked, trying to think of something that would end her fear during future storms, a memory she could always go back to and smile at the next sign of thunder or heavy rain.

Of everyone she had ever known, she knew without a doubt that he was the only one she could ever call soulmate and they only one she ever could have married. His hair didn't always hold the way it did when he was completely Time Lord and every now and then, she would see the glimmer of a new lighter colored hair. The way he went on about things and got excited never changed, that part of him was the way she had always known him. The Doctor was still highly intelligent and didn't mind being clever whenever the many opportunities came. His body was still slim and he would often pull out a suit for work, always one similar to the one he wore on the TARDIS- she thought maybe he didn't wear one everyday because it would somehow make her sad to think about the version of The Doctor she lost. But here he was, they way he had always been just in a different body. Would she ever completely wrap her head around this unbelievable concept?

Tonight, he looked just the way she used to imagine him if they ever found a way to spend their lives together. His hair was styled perfectly tonight, the few Time Lord genes he had left at their best. The blue stripped pajama bottoms he wore complimented his mood without flaw, easy going and carefree. He was wearing one of the shirts they had bought during his first shopping trip in London as a human, forest green flannel material with three small buttons lined vertical up to the rounded neckline. Those types of shirts were worn under his suit many times but now were saved for lazy days and nights at home; but she loved to see him in them. Besides his pinstriped suits, the flannel nights shirts were her second favorite on him. They made him look rugged and… entirely sexy. Then again, he was a bit older than her even as a human.

She met his eyes and gave a quick little mischievous grin. After crawling out of the blanket, she disappeared into the black kitchen and returned with a lighter. With a racing heart, she lit each candle in the living room and moved them around until the room was glowing with flickering lights and small dancing flames.

He watched her thinking how beautiful she was and how lucky he was to share his new life with her. The muscles of her legs moved as she got on tip-toes to light candles atop the fireplace and other high places. Her long hair fell in front of her face like a curtain when she lit the tea lights on the tables. She had something in mind but what? The next time they caught eachother's eye, The Doctor shot her a questioning expression.

When she returned beside him on the couch, they just stared for a few seconds, watching light bounce on and around them. He couldn't remember when his heart began beating fiercely in his chest or when the hairs on his arms raised. She moved her body to face him as he realized he couldn't move anything except his head.

With a pounding heart and his recently favorite sensation washing over him, he grinned and softly whispered, "I know that look, Rose Smith." The Doctor swallowed hard, fully realizing what was next. "Now?" Was this really the memory she wanted to go back to every time it stormed? If so, it was perfect and beautiful. The perfect memory to replace the simplest of fears.

Instead of answering, she gave him a single sweet kiss. He finally found a way to turn his trembling body towards her. Placing a hand behind her neck, he stared at her for the last time before everything faded into incredible bliss.

"Still not used to this bit just yet," he admitted, loving this new part of their relationship a little more each time it happened. He loved loving her, ravishing her, and simply holding her after hours of making love to her.

"Me neither," she blushed. "But it's becoming more familiar each time, yeah?" That smile.

"Yeah," he chuckled before quickly pulling her and the duvet to the floor in front of the fireplace.

Another crackling of thunder as lightning filled the sky moments at a time. The fire made the room warm and cozy. All fears faded and were replaced by their most romantic night yet; one neither would ever forget.

---

The storm had dissipated hours ago and Rose's head rested on his damp chest. He played with strands of her hair as they both remained motionless completely naked under the blanket. Time stood still and they were the only ones alive in all the world, despite the few noises from the streets below.

Their very first time making love, it was as natural as breathing. Even tonight, they each knew exactly where to lead the other, when to stop, and when to proceed. Rose always knew, even in her days traveling with him in the TARDIS, it would be this way if ever and whenever it happened. The Doctor, on the other hand, had no idea what he was getting into their wedding night. But they were eachother's first in many ways and their romantic life was to be envied.

"You kept your word," Rose ended the silence in her thoughtful timbre. She placed a single kiss on his chest and let her head fall between his neck and shoulder.

"I did, didn't I?" The Doctor smiled wide and spoke confidently as if he knew exactly to what she was referring to. "What word did I keep?" His tone was the opposite as it was before. Confidence turned into curiosity. What was she talking about?

Rose giggled against his neck, tickling his skin.

"You traveled with so many companions and now here you are." She paused, the very thought almost unimaginable. "You promised that you wouldn't leave me like you did this others. And now look at us. You’re stuck with me now, Mr. Smith."

The phrase reminded him of a night long ago when they were staring up at a black hole. They had thought they were forever lost in space with a few strangers. At the kitchen table, she had looked up with those wide beautiful eyes searching the swirling clouds and stars.

"Eh, well…" he began, remembering. "Stuck with you isn't so bad."

The distant memory came back to her as she let out a bashful chuckle.

"Quoting me now?"

"You're quotable," he teasingly replied. Rose began ticking him and they shared several playful minutes in the dancing candlelight. "Quotable, ticklish, and breathtaking."

They stared into eachother's eyes with the intensity that came before and after they made love. He placed a warm hand to her pink cheek. In times like this, he wondered how he had gotten so lucky. Their official courtship didn't begin the way they had always wanted. On the other hand, the way things had happened was far better in many ways. If the extra body had never been made, he would of had to leave her there on Bad Wolf Bay a second time. What should have been was too painful and he felt blessed for this undeserved opportunity. Living a real human life with the woman he loved was far more than he had ever earned. His life of killing, tricking, and misleading a multitude of races should not have brought him to this perfect moment.

"About that night," she sighed, bringing him back to this fantastic reality. He placed a quick kiss on her forehead before she continued. "You said my name before you went into that pit?"

Someone had told on him. Though times like this were most amusing, he always felt embarrassed. He had been such a coward in those days. There had been so many times he wanted to tell her how he felt. Some nights, in their days of traveling in the TARDIS, he would watch her sleep; the words would always be on the tip of his tongue. It would have been safe to tell her he loved her while she was fast asleep. Then again, there was always the chance she would hear.

"Not quite. I was about to send a message to you and decided against it, last second."

She heard his heart speed just a few inches below her ear. As always, there was more than what he was telling her.

"Go on," Rose smiled, snuggling just a bit closer. Maybe if she was extremely sweet to him, he would let her in on this secret she had always wondered about.

"What?"

"The message. What was it?"

Sam took a deep breath and fought with himself for a while. If he told her the absolute truth would she be cross or hurt? Would she be happy and then hurt? Or would she be hurt at all? He moved his body around until they were staring at eachother with Rose's head resting on his outstretched arm. Those ever curious brown eyes were staring into his soul. Most of the time, he felt that even if he told her lies in moments like this, she would see right through.

"I was about to tell you the three horrifying words I couldn't tell you after our little adventure with Queen Victoria, the ones I couldn't get the nerve to tell you when you asked if I was going to leave you like I did Sara Jane, the ones I was too excited to tell you when we got your face back, the phrase that made me sick to my stomach thinking you didn't feel the same, and the three words I was about to say when I ran out of time at Bad Wolf Bay."

"All the way back then? You were in love with me then? We were just getting started when we met the Queen," she blushed in amazement.

"Oh, I don't know. We were going on our second year together. I hadn't regenerated yet but even the man you first met loved yo-"

Before he could say another word, she kissed him. Kisses were returned until the first traces of sunlight began to shine through the last of the storm clouds. For a while, they simply laid in the floor with their eyes glued to the window admiring the yellows, oranges, and pinks that came with late summer sunrises.

"I love you, Rose," a soft voice whispered behind her.

"And I love you. Always have and I always will. Forever," she promised before drifting off to sleep. They only had a couple of hours to sleep before they were off to work but the night before had been the most romantic of nights they had shared yet. In those quiet morning hours, there was no way to tell what miracles and what trials were in their near future.