I will be with you forever-a TenRose fanfic

Part 14: Rescue

A/N PSYCH! please don't hate me! I know I'm a terrible human being but you stuck with me this far, so keep going! There are some big developments in their relationship in these next few chapters. Thanks to _bridgeyjane and   36dobbs for commenting and generally being my only two readers 😂 enjoy!

I roll over on my side, coughing up water. Air fills my lungs and I take several deep breaths to steady myself. Then I notice the Doctor kneeling by me. I look up at his face, confused, until it comes flooding back to me. The monster. The ocean. I whimper and grab the Doctor's arm. I push myself up to sit with my other arm, and a throbbing pain surfaces in my ankles.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor asks, his expression conveying his worry.

"Yes," I say, taking a deep breath. "Nope. Doctor, I was dead."

"Not on my watch," he says proudly. "I saved you."

I wrap my arms around his sun warmed body, and he crushes me in a tight hug. "I would never let you die," he whispers into my hair.

"Doctor," I say, breaking away, "why did you leave? You were right beside me. What happened?"

He turns bright red and glances over to where our towels are. "Um, just had to get something from the Tardis."

"What did you need? You could have just told me," I say.

"Trust me on this, Rose. It's not important." He notices the goosebumps on my arms and the cuts from the coral and says "Let's get you cleaned up, shall we? You look cold."

I struggle to stand, the wounds on my ankles bleeding painfully. The Doctor leans down and I put my arm around him and he helps me to our little camp. He helps me into my towel and quickly shoves something into his bag. He pulls something else out of his bag, a first aid kit.

"Right then. I'll fix you up in no time!" He begins cleaning and dressing my ankles, then moving up to the minor cuts. Only then do I notice there are lots of rips in my swimsuit. Rips in rather inconvenient places. Not inappropriate, but almost. The Doctor cleans them up somewhat awkwardly, and tells me to roll over onto his towel. I oblige, as there are several cuts on my back. He is gentle as he works, patching me up. I roll over again once he is done and look into his eyes.

"Thanks," I say, grateful.
"No problem. I love helping you."
"And I love you," I say, leaning up to kiss him. The Doctor leans into the kiss and puts his hands behind my back. I place my hands behind his neck and pull him closer. He mumbles into my mouth "I love you too, Rose Tyler." I pull him down beside me onto the towels.

"But, um, Rose, you might want to get changed into an unripped and non-bloody swimsuit," he says. I fake pout and rummage through my bag and find exactly what I'm looking for, my other suit. I slip on my sandals and run towards the bathrooms to change.

"So, Doctor, what do you think?" I strike a mock model pose and kick off my sandals.

"I think you look beautiful, Rose, but are you really okay? What happened to you was awful."

"Y-eah, I'm fine," I say, shuddering as I think about it. I lay down beside him and he wraps his arm around me. "I definitely do not want to go in the water again, Doctor."

"Alright, that's perfectly fine with me. Do you want to go home?"

"Yes, actually, I would love that. Could I stay with you tonight?" I ask.

"Rose, you are always welcome to come stay with me! Don't be ridiculous."

"Great! Sorry for ruining your beach day, though," I say guiltily.

"Rose, any day with you is a good day," the Doctor replies as we pack up and start walking, hand in hand, towards the Tardis.

"You really do look incredible in that swimsuit, though," the Doctor smiles.

"Well, near-death experiences do tend to do that," I laugh as we walk into the Tardis again.