"Doctor?" Rose's voice sounded small in the cavernous pit that was their prison. "Do you really think the Grud will listen to you?"
"Of course!" the Doctor replied, smiling cheekily in the direction of Rose's voice , even though he knew she couldn't see him. "The Grud and I go way back! He'll be pleased as punch when he sees us tomorrow morning."
"Do you think he'll give us back our sight?" Rose asked, voice caught somewhere between fear and hope. The Doctor's manic smile softened, turning into something real and warm. His Rose was so brave. He sometimes forgot how young she was, and the fact that she had been a simple shop girl before coming to travel with him.
"Oh yes," he said, answering her question cheerily. "It's only a simple organic compound. It would wear off in a few days even without the antidote. We'll be right as rain, I promise."
"Well, that makes me feel a little better," Rose said, trying to sound as carefree as the Doctor, though he could hear a note of unease still lingering in her voice. She was scared, and trying not to show it, just like always.
The Doctor reached out his hand, trusting his instincts to locate Rose in the dark. Sure enough, he felt something warm and solid meet is fingertips. After a moment of fumbling, he finally found her hand and grasped it tightly. Rose returned the pressure, squeezing his hand, as if to assure herself that he was really there. The Doctor could feel her pulse start to slow and the tension begin to leak out of her.
A sudden surge of undeniable affection coursed through him. Rose trusted him so much, had been there with him through the good and the bad, and he didn't know what he would do without her.
"C'mere," the Doctor murmured, pulling Rose towards him, wrapping his arms around her.
"I don't need coddling, Doctor," Rose said, even as she pressed closer to him, wiggling over so that she was curled up in his arms, head resting against his chest, his chin on her head.
"Well maybe I do," the Doctor said, pressing a kiss to the soft yellow hair that always smelled like wildflowers. Rose didn't reply, nestling her head into the crook of his neck and lacing her fingers with his. The Doctor squeezed her hand and held her tenderly as they waited for the sun to come up.