A Bedtime Story

The room looked as if a bull had charged through it. End tables were flipped over, vases were broken, and books were torn apart, their pages scattered randomly all over the floor. A woman in her mid-thirties lay on the couch, clearly worn out, while the Doctor went about the room with the energy of someone who hadn't just fought off a mind-controlling alien, scanning different parts of the space with his screwdriver.

"It looks like that parasite is gone," he said, looking at his screwdriver intently. He turned to the woman and pocketed the instrument. "You should feel back to normal after a good night's sleep, but do be careful about where you buy your produce next time."

"Thank you, Doctor," she said weakly, wiping the sweat from her brow. The Doctor nodded and turned to leave, but stopped when a hand caught his wrist.

"Wait, do you think you could do one more thing for me? I know I've caused you enough trouble already, but I don't think I have the strength to do it myself."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, bending down to her level. "What is it?"

The woman pointed at the stairs with a shaking hand. "Would you check on my daughter and see if she's alright? The commotion down here might have scared her."

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. You just rest." he told her. She mouthed a 'thank you' before she closed her eyes and sighed, immediately falling asleep. The Doctor stood up and turned around, immediately freezing in surprise. A small figure stood at the top of the stairs, regarding him with curious eyes. Her night gown reached the floor, and her hair fell around her face, tousled by sleep. In one hand she held the arm of a worn out teddy bear, and the thumb of her other hand was in her mouth.

The Doctor slowly walked to the bottom of the stairs and leaned against the railing. "Hello," he greeted with a smile, "What's your name?"

The girl took her thumb out of her mouth. "Rose."

There was a small pause before the Doctor smiled wider. "Rose. Oh, I like that name. It's very pretty; one of my favorites, in fact."

The little girl smiled pridefully at the compliment, then looked over his shoulder with that same curious look that she had before. "Is Mummy okay?"

The Doctor followed her gaze and realized how scary it must look for her, to see her mum unconscious among the chaos of their sitting room. But the Doctor spoke his next words with a reassuring, confident tone that he didn't get to use as often as he liked.

"Yes, your mum is going to be fine." he replied, turning back to face Rose. "Something bad was making her feel sick, but I made it better."

The girl tilted her head to the side, studying him. "Like a doctor?"

This got a chuckle out of the Time Lord. "Sort of." he replied before he started up the stairs. "Your mum asked me to make sure that you were okay, too, and," He paused to look at a clock on the wall. 1:45 A.M. "I believe it's past your bedtime."

"But I'm not tired." Rose said stubbornly, but was betrayed when a yawn escaped her.

"A likely story. C'mere." Now at the top of the stairs, the Doctor scooped the girl up in his arms and carried her through her open bedroom door before setting her down on the tiny bed. She curled up underneath the covers and let him tuck her in tightly. After making sure that she was comfortable, he straightened up and turned to leave again.

"Mister?" The Doctor turned back around when he heard the small voice. Rose shifted awkwardly under the covers. "Would you tell me a story? Mummy always tells me a story before bed."

The Doctor was a bit surprised at the request, but smiled and sat down on the side of the bed nonetheless. "What kind of story do you want to hear?"

The little girl smiled when he agreed to tell her a story. She yawned and snuggled in under her comforter. "One with a happy ending."  

The Doctor had a thousand stories to choose from; some with happy endings, and some with not-so-happy endings. But he immediately knew which one he was going to tell, and exactly how he was going to tell it.

"Once upon a time," It seemed proper to begin with that. "There was a princess named Rose."

"Like me." the little girl grinned.

"Yes, like you." He rested his arms on his knees and clasped his hands together. "She lived in a large kingdom with her mum, who loved her daughter and did her best to make sure that she was safe. But the princess was lonely, and her life was rather uneventful. Until one day, when monsters attacked the kingdom."

"What kind of monsters?" Rose's voice was groggy with sleepiness.

"Monsters made out of plastic, that looked like people but weren't. The kingdom was in a lot of trouble, until a knight called the Doctor showed up, and saved the kingdom with the help of princess. And after it was all over, the Doctor asked the princess to travel with him and help other people. She agreed, and she was never lonely again. The end."

With a sigh, the Doctor looked over at the girl, who was fast asleep with her teddy bear held tightly to her chest. Without thinking, he reached out to brush the hair from her face, and couldn't help but wonder if he would see this girl again. He didn't think he could handle traveling with another Rose, but it would be nice to know how her life turns out. Maybe that was his next stop.

After a moment, he stood up and went to leave for the third time that night, but not before stopping in the doorway to take one last look at the sleeping girl. "Good night, Rose." he whispered for the first time in a long time. With that, he left the house, and the sound of the TARDIS dematerializing was the last noise made in the village that night.