I do not own Doctor Who.
Rose sighed as she loaded her clothing into the basket. The Doctor hadn't been able to stop by her mum's so that she could do her laundry, so she had begrudgingly accepted to do it in the TARDIS laundry room. It wasn't that she didn't trust the brilliant machine; she just didn't like the idea of washing her 'delicates' in a washing machine that was technically alive. Plus, doing laundry was the one excuse she could regularly use to visit her mother.
She finished collecting the now dry articles of clothing and shut the machine door. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something pink and lacy on the floor, just under the dryer. She figured that she must have simply dropped one of her items, so she picked it up and tossed it in the bin, not even bothering to look at what it was.
She carried the bin through the endless corridors of the TARDIS, until she eventually reached her room. Dumping the contents of the bin on her bed to fold later, she retreated to her bathroom to have a nice refreshing shower. The water was warm and soothing after another long day of running for her life.
She wrapped herself in a towel and headed towards her bed. She rummaged through her impressively large pile of clothing and came across a foreign item. It was a smooth cream colour with a layer of silky pink lace coating the front. Upon further inspection, she noticed that it was exactly her size. She had no clue as to who it belonged to – or had belonged to – but that was neither here, nor there. She put it on. It was snug in all the right places, yet still seemed surprisingly roomy. It was the most comfortable thing she had ever put on her body. She no longer cared who it belonged to; it was hers now.
She had discovered it by accident, right after a planet had been saved and the nefarious aliens defeated. One of the little girls who had been involved in the rescue had drawn Rose a lovely picture as a thank-you. She was quite sweet and adorable, so even if Rose didn't have any pockets in her dress, she took the image anyways. She folded it up and tucked it away in her 'female pocket', where she had earlier that day placed some spare change, just in case. When the Doctor and she returned to the TARDIS, and she went to take it out, she had a start. She couldn't find it. She had to stick practically her whole arm into the space before she felt the paper between her fingers. And where had the money gone?
Since then, the delicate item had become invaluable on many occasions. She stuck anything and everything in there. She was no longer the only one with 'pockets' that were bigger on the inside. Though, the Doctor didn't know that.
Yet.
With an aggravated sigh, Rose kicked the trunk of a passing tree and turned to face the Doctor.
"Just admit it, we're lost."
"I don't get lost Rose! I've got superior Time Lord senses; I'm brilliant, you know. I know exactly where we are."
Rose huffed as they passed the same formation of rocks for the fifth time. They were wandering through a forest on Donix 7, which seemed to have trapped them in a never-ending loop of pathways. Only, they weren't actually trapped, the Doctor truly was lost. Not that he'd admit it to anyone, least of all Rose.
Rose's legs were starting to hurt and she just wanted to get back to the TARDIS, change into some comfy clothes and sip a nice, warm cuppa. It would be getting dark soon and she really didn't fancy having to navigate in blinding darkness.
"Doctor, this way," she said, pointing northeast as opposed south, the direction he had been travelling in.
"Rose, I think I know where I'm – hey! Where'd you get that? Is that a model 22Z?"
She looked up at him and grinned. "Yup! The most accurate galactic GPS ever made is telling us to go that way."
Ignoring his protests, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along in the right direction. They were almost to their destination, when furious thumps were heard approaching nearby. Soon, a group of twelve imperial guards appeared before them, riding on their bear-like, eight-footed beasts.
"Halt in the name of Emperor Tarind!" the head guard cried. He extended his sword in their direction in a threatening manner. "What is your business in the sacred forests of the Goddess? Trespassing is prohibited by law. Any resistance will result in prompt decapitation. Tell me now, who are you?"
The Doctor stepped up before them and handed the main guard his psychic paper.
"I'm so sorry, Sir Doctor, for disturbing your afternoon patrols. I didn't realize you're military coordinators for the forest's army division. Please, accept my sincerest apologies."
With a casual wave of the hand, the Doctor replied, "No problem. We'll just be on our way then."
"We'll escort you."
The Doctor stared at them confused.
"Escort us where?" Rose asked.
"To the palace of course! It's almost 37 o'clock; you're due in to make your weekly report."
"Uh…"
"Come along then."
The guards half turned and looked at them expectantly. The Doctor's first instinct was to run, but the riding beasts would surely catch up far too quickly.
"Come on Rose, we don't want to keep the emperor waiting!"
Rose sighed heavily and reluctantly followed the Doctor. Oh, she was so very tired. She pulled out a bottle of water and had a long swig. "Do you want some, Doctor?"
"Where did you get that?"
She shrugged and passed the bottle to his eager hands. They walked in silence and she was getting increasingly bored. She searched her 'pocket' for her funPod8 (the sequel to the iPod, which she had acquired in 2578) and her mindphones (a patch that goes on the temples and transmits the music right into your brain – freaks the heck out of you the first few times but Rose now preferred them to earphones from her century). She also popped a piece of minty gum into her mouth and found her mirror.
The Doctor looked over to her and furrowed his brow in confusion. There was Rose, his little human Rose, listening to music, chewing gum, and retouching her eyeliner. Where was she getting all of this stuff? He slowly ran his eyes over her figure, as he was very accustomed to doing when she wasn't looking, and found no indication that she could have kept these items on her person. Her jeans were far too wonderfully tight for it to have been in her pockets and her purple shirt was too incredibly thin and fragile to hide anything – including her marvelous figure. He shook his head to get the intruding images out if his thoughts and looked away. Oh, his brilliant Rose.
It didn't take them long to reach the palace. It was an elaborate white structure draped in yellow banners. They were adorned with ribbons and ornate blue symbols. On the inside, there was an abundance of beautiful artwork lining the walls. There were relics and precious items everywhere; it looked more like a museum than a castle.
"This way," the guard directed. Through a secret passage, they were led down a winding staircase to one of the lower levels. The underground was quite a contrast to the above area; everything was grey and metallic and dismal. The guard led them to one of the 'integration rooms' and locked them in, with an assurance that the imperial advisor would be down shortly. The Doctor gulped. The room's only furnishings were two chairs and a table, metallic and cold. He took out his sonic, but the door was deadlocked. It seemed more like a prison cell than a place for debriefings.
"Well, we might as well make ourselves comfortable; where not getting out of here any time soon."
Rose grinned and took another bite of her banana. "Already taken care of," she replied as she patted the chair next to her, which now had a fluffy pillow on it. He sat.
"Where do you keep getting all these –"
The door swung open and in stepped a very sophisticated and militarized looking man with a folder.
"Greetings," he looked down at the file, "Sir Doctor and Lady Rose."
"Greetings. Now, do you mind telling us why we're here?" the Doctor asked.
As the advisor explained, Rose noticed that the door had been left ajar and decided to act. Sure, another adventure could be interesting, but she really wanted to relax in some jammies. Sighing, she pulled out a small aerosol can of knock-out mist which she had nicked from the infirmary. She sprayed it in the fit man's face and reached for the Doctor's hand, indicating that they leave.
"But we just got here!" he pouted, but obliged nonetheless.
They ran up to the main door and managed to roll under it just before it closed, effectively sealing the infuriated guards on the other side. The duo continued running until they were well into the safety of the trees. It was cool in the forest, the ruffling breeze making Rose shiver. The Doctor was a few paces ahead of her and was intensely focused on finding his way.
"Doctor, how much longer?"
"Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long. I just have to figure out exactly… where… we… are…" he trailed off as he took a good look at her. Her skin was illuminated in the pale silver moonlights coming from the three celestial bodies above, making her glimmer incandescently. Her hair haloed around her face in beautiful swirls of delicate yellow, her lipstick standing out breathtakingly against her pink skin. But it wasn't that which caused his sharp intake of breath. She was wearing his scarf. Where had she gotten that? The multicoloured stripes were looped loosely only once around her neck, leaving the rest to trail down her sides to her feet.
"What? Do I have something on me?" she panicked, automatically assuming the worst.
"No." He cleared his throat. "No, you're fine; that's fine. Um. Where did you get that scarf?"
"Oh this? I found it in the wardrobe room. Isn't it lovely?" She looked down at it and swayed slightly, the ends swirling around her ankles.
He gave her a pointed look. "You know what I mean, Rose. Where have you been getting any of this stuff? I don't think you've been casually hiding pillows and water bottles under your shirt all day," he joked, but she stayed oddly serious. His eyes widened and he swallowed as she lifted her hands to her chest and began unbuttoning her shirt. Her mischievous look stayed locked onto his wandering gaze until her shirt was wide open, exposing her pink bra.
"I really don't understand why you don't use your pockets more often. Time Lord technology is fantastic." He barely registered what she was saying. His mind was wandering places he knew it shouldn't, having thoughts even Capitan Jack would find scandalous.
"Hey! Eyes up here!" she reprimanded. He vaguely nodded, but showed no indication that he had actually heard her. She stared at him with amusement and frustration. She wanted to leave this planet now; why was this holding them up? It was just skin; he had seen her several times in a bikini before. Ugh, men.
"You know, the clasp has been getting stuck lately. I might need your help getting it off when we get back to the TARDIS…" She barely had time to finish her sentence before he was taking off through the forest with a newfound urgency.
They made it back in record time.
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