Return Visit
By Childhood Aspirations
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, any of the characters, or any dialogue that I may have borrowed.
--
She was the last person he expected to see when he opened the door that morning. And yet, there she was, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, her brown eyes sparkling, and her lips tipped up in a faint smile.
"Rose! What in the world are you doing here?"
"Hello, Adam," she said. He grasped her hand and squeezed it tightly, feeling his own lips spread cheerfully.
"How are you? Where have you been? Where's the Doctor?"
"Oh, he's in the TARDIS," she said quickly. "We stopped here so he could make a few repairs…and so I could see you again, of course."
"Of course," he repeated. His face fell. "I suppose he hasn't forgiven me for everything that happened last time…?"
"I'm sure he's forgiven you, Adam. He just isn't that social, I guess." She smiled to herself, a secret smile that made Adam wish very much that he knew what she was thinking.
"Well, come in, come in. Sit down. Would you like some tea, or something?" He gave a small laugh. "Do you ever get tired of ending up in boring places where they still drink such a primitive liquid as tea?"
Rose laughed with him, shaking her head as she seated herself on the sofa. "Nah. Doesn't matter where the Doctor takes me; I still love my good old tea." Adam grinned and dashed off to the kitchen to pour her a cupful.
They sat together in companionable, yet rather stilted silence, sipping their tea and staring at each other or the floor, depending on who you were looking at. Rose glanced up and smiled. She sat her cup down and snapped her fingers.
The skin on Adam's forehead peeled back to reveal the evidence of the brain surgery he'd gotten the last time he and Rose had been together.
He grimaced at her and snapped his own fingers. The hole closed and the skin folded back over seamlessly.
"Sorry. I couldn't help myself," Rose said, laughing.
"I haven't figured out how you're supposed to personalize these things. You have no idea how hard it is to explain to some stranger on the street why your forehead opened up when they randomly snapped their fingers." Adam's look of consternation sent Rose into a fit of giggles.
"How's your mother taking it?"
"I'm not sure she believes me about everything; well, actually, I'm pretty sure she doesn't, but she's reconciled herself to the reality of it. Who knows; she might even start showing me off in the near future."
Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"Not particularly." He eyed her. "So, how are things going between you and the Doctor?"
She reddened slightly. "What do you mean, 'going'?"
"Are you getting along…?"
"Of course," she said quickly, nodding her head just as fast. "We get along famously. Well, except when he's being stubborn."
"Or when the world's in danger?" Adam added with a laugh.
Rose's expression softened. "No, actually. We get along the best when the world needs saving. Strange, isn't it?" She got up to look out the window. "He's changed a bit, mind you, what with the regeneration and all…"
Adam frowned. "The what?" Rose explained it to him as best she could and then laughed because she said his eyes were about to fall out of his head. "So he's supposedly the same man, only in a different body?"
"Yes. I know he's the same; sometimes it's just so hard to get used to it." She took a deep breath. "But, he is the same man, or the same alien, I should say. He's the Doctor, Adam, and nothing can change that." She shrugged.
He stared up at her intently, studying her until she turned red.
"What are you staring at?"
"You, Rose." He set his own cup aside and stood up, stepping over to face her. "I never stood a chance with you, did I?"
She took a step back, frowning. "What do you mean by that?" But those two points of red on her cheeks gave her away, whether she knew it or not.
Adam gave an uncomfortable shrug and a sheepish smile. "Never mind. Forget it. It's been really great to see you again, Rose."
"Yeah…yeah, you two, Adam. I'll miss you. Take care of yourself, a'right?"
"'Course. You too. Say hello the Doctor for me, okay?"
"Sure. Goodbye, Adam."
"Goodbye, Rose."
--
"Rose, is that you? Back already?"
"Yep," she replied absently, tugging off her jacket and tossing it in the corner. The Doctor's head popped out of one of the steel gratings in the floor of the TARDIS.
"Had a nice visit with good old Adam?"
"Uh huh."
"S'pose he's the same as ever."
"No…no, I don't think so," Rose murmured.
"I never stood a chance with you, did I?"
No, I suppose you didn't, Adam. Sorry.
Both Rose and Adam knew the reason that was. It was something unspoken, but they knew it just the same.