"Right! Where shall we be off to next?"
And with that The Doctor flipped a large lever on the control panel of the TARDIS and with a mechanical groaning the ship was off into the time vortex.
"Fall of the Roman Empire? Ooo, or something more modern? Septarian 5, home of the great and powerful hivemind king, though not technically a hivemind... Well, partially, Well, not really at all, Well..."
The Doctor continued to ramble on as he dashed about the controls of his time machine, frantically flipping switches and pressing buttons. Rose could only look on in wonder at the wonderful impossible man before her. It seemed like ages ago since he first grabbed her hand in that cellar and told her to run. He was a different man, back then. Different face, different clothes, different speech...but still the same wonderful and impossible man underneath.
"Or!" The Doctor exclaimed. "The future!" Swinging his leg up and over the console he kicks a large switch with his Converse clad foot and the TARDIS jostles into a different direction.
Rose held on tightly to the railings around the main console, brushing her blonde hair out of her face. "Doctor?"
"Did I ever tell you about the Gargantua planet?" The Doctor continued fiddling about having not heard his companion. "Brilliant planet, best little shops in the universe!"
"Doctor!"
The Doctor turned to Rose with that same dumb quizzical face he wore whenever she broke his concentration. A face that seemed to have forgotten who he was even talking to in the first place.
"Should we be shaking this much?" Rose asked, still holding tightly onto the rail. The Doctor turned his eyes to the console and looked it up and down.
"Oh yeah." He said with his trademark overconfidence. "This is totally normal."
At that same moment the lights cut out.
The Doctor and Rose stood in dark silence.
"...Doctor...?"
"Yep! Don't worry! Everything is under control!"
With a loud mechanical groan the TARDIS violently jostled from side to side throwing The Doctor and Rose to the ground. The two travelers bounces around the main console room as the TARDIS struggled. The Doctor grabbed hold of the mounted chair and held his hand out for Rose who was being violent drug around by the momentum of the ship. Just as Rose grabbed his hand the time machine came to a sudden halt which threw the two against each other in the middle of the control room floor.
The Doctor looked up and around, waiting for any sign of further movement. "It seems she's stopped." He said finally. "What could have," The Doctor went to stand and investigate but found himself being held too tightly. "Rose, it's okay."
The young Earth girl didn't say anything but continued to clutch The Doctor, her Doctor. The Doctor laid down and put his arm around her. "There...see. We're fine now, well, probably for now anyway." The Doctor gave her his big toothy grin and she chuckled despite herself. "There we are, are you alright?" Rose nodded. "Right then, Allons-y." The Doctor stood and looked over the controls.
Rose took a moment to collect herself. Yes, the TARDIS malfunction had frightened her and she was shaken by the violent stop. But that was not what distracted her. She and the Doctor had never embraced like that before, it was a side to him she had never really seen. This strange alien Time Lord, so different from her yet from just looking you could never tell.
His skinny frame, his big brown eyes, and truly fantastic hair that stuck up and out like it could take an eye out. It seemed impossible to believe that he was truly over 900 years old, so he says anyway. He could easily pass for her same age, no one would question them together.
"I can't tell what could have happened." The Doctor returned to his rambling and fiddling. "Just going along and bang, it's like she's just stopped for no reason." The Doctor ran his hands through his hair and took a step back. He looked down and realized that Rose had wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Rose?" He turned around in her arms to face her. "Are you alright?"
Rose kept her face buried in his chest. He ran his hand through her hair and held her. She couldn't stand it anymore, with one swift action and with all the courage she could muster she threw herself into him and kissed her wonderful impossible Doctor.
The Doctor stood in shock for a moment before pushing her off. "Rose, no, we can't."