The lather spun lazily down the drain, and Rose stuck the toes of her left foot into the bubbles. Strawberry shampoo. She hadn't used this stuff since her father grabbed her and dragged her into his world with him. But there it was in the bathroom, waiting for her. She wondered if the TARDIS put her things in temporal stasis while she was gone. It was heartwarming to think that the TARDIS held out hope for her return, even if the Doctor himself might not have.
"Thank you," she whispered, the heated water pouring over her shoulders. She sniffed hard and shoved at the wetness on her face.
She hadn't had a good shower since arriving here, and it was long overdue. There was no small amount of guilt, realizing that everyone outside those great blue doors had no such comfort, but it was clear that the TARDIS was struggling already. To invite others into her now would surely overtax her. Rose was grateful for every tiny thing she was given, here.
Funny, that. She'd been amazed and bewildered the first time she'd showered in this bathroom, but never grateful. How blind she'd been, not to grasp at every little ounce of this life while she could. How foolish she'd been not to tell him every day just how glad she was that he'd let her come along, just how thankful she was that the TARDIS gave everything that she did.
The towel was soft and warm. Again, Rose murmured words of gratitude. It was just flowing out of her now, that gratefulness, like the tears had when she realized that she'd found and lost her Doctor all in the same instant. Rose had brushed through her wet hair and was just pulling on a hot pink cotton camisole over her pyjama pants when a knock came at her bedroom door.
She pulled the bathroom door shut, and opened her bedroom door instead, toweling her hair as she did.