Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who
Author's Note: This is a oneshot that takes place after 'The Wedding of River Song'. Also, this is purely Doctor/Rose, and if you ship the Doctor with River, I don't think you'll like it. You have been warned.
Enjoy!
Homework
Rose lounged on the couch, lazily flipping through channels. She was so bored. It was a lazy Sunday, and though she knew she could call Mickey or any of her other friends over, she decided against it. She wasn't in the mood for who was dating whom and why those two broke up. Not tonight.
Frustrated by her boredom, Rose stood up and paced, wondering what to do. She had homework, but she was definitely not doing that. Sighing, she decided she'd call her friends. Better be around friends and get bored than do it alone.
She picked up her phone to call Mickey when a knock on her door made her pause. She frowned at her watch. Mum never came back so soon.
Setting the phone down, she went over to the door and unlocked it. A tall, lanky man in a suit coat and a bowtie stood outside. He was quite handsome, with black floppy hair, green eyes and an impressive chin. He smiled brightly down at her.
"Yeah?" asked Rose.
"Rose Tyler?" he asked. He seemed to speak her name as if he had said it a hundred times before.
"Yeah?" said Rose again.
His smile grew wider. He held out his hand. "I'm the Doctor . . . uh, Smith. I'm Dr. John Smith."
Rose shook his hand. "Hello," she said.
"Hello," he said, still shaking her hand. Rose glanced down at their interlocked hands pointedly and Dr. Smith let go.
"May I help you?" asked Rose.
"Oh, uh, no, actually, your mother sent me here."
Rose frowned. "Mum? Why?"
"To help you with your homework."
"My homework?" Rose shook her head. "I've never heard of you before, and mum never told me she was sendin' anyone."
"She just met me," he said. He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to Rose. "See?"
Rose took the paper and read what was written on it. In Jackie's handwriting, it clearly said: Rose, darling, I've sent you a tutor. He's a professor at some posh university. He's staying only for a day, though. Pity. He's quite the looker. Anyway, I sent him to help you study. Love, mum.
Rose tried not to feel embarrassed by the fact that her mum had called this man 'quite the looker'. Hopefully he hadn't read it.
She looked up to see him still smiling. "Uh, come on in."
The Doctor entered her house cautiously, as if he was entering it for the first time. Nostalgia mixed with his façade and the Doctor felt like he had come home. For a long time, he had never known home to be anything but his TARDIS, but now, oh, he missed this. He missed the smell of his leather jacket and the constant blabber of Jackie. He missed the quips he'd throw at Mickey, mostly because he was jealous of him (though he'd never admit it) and also because it was fun seeing that silly little human flounder around for a retort. But most of all, he missed Rose.
He turned to his little pink and yellow human. She was nineteen now. It wouldn't be long until she was off with him, zipping across the universe and healing an ancient, broken Time Lord. Not long until he admitted to himself that he was irrevocably in love with her. Not long until he sends her away. Not long until she looks into the Time Vortex to save him. Not long until he died, but this time, not with remorse or pain. This time, he would die with love. He would die with the image of the woman he loved seared into his hearts and regenerate with her smile in his mind. 300 years later, the Doctor still never felt so strongly for anyone as he did for Rose Tyler.
He watched as she cleared the dining table. He watched her, drinking in essence. His hearts ached at the way she pushed her hair behind her ear. She was as she had been the first time they had met. She was still a teenager, with her soft demeanor. She had none of the muscle she had built later on. Her face was still slightly chubby. She wore a maroon t-shirt under a blue jean jacket and black pants. The Doctor just wanted to scoop her up in his arms and hold her close forever, just as she had promised. Maybe, if he told her who he was now, none of what events had transpired would happen. Maybe if he told her who he was now, she would never have to leave him.
As tempting as those thoughts were, he knew he couldn't, that he shouldn't. Coming here was a bad idea in itself, but the Doctor couldn't help himself. He had been thinking about Rose lately, more often than ever. He'd see bits of what they had shared while watching Amy and Rory and the pain of her loss would hit him all over again. The pain never dulled. Time was supposed to heal, but he knew, like nobody else, that that was not the case. The loss of Rose hit him over and over again, with the same, if not improved, force.
During his marriage to River Song, all he kept thinking was that there should have been another woman beside him. No, not a woman, a Goddess. He had never been officially married to her, but he couldn't think of spending his life together with anyone but Rose. His emotions had been so intense that, after he dropped Dorium's head off, he had immediately come here. Before he knew what he was doing, the Doctor had landed at the Powell Estate, 2005. He ached to see Rose again. One last time, he told himself. Just one last time. Though, in his hearts, he knew that would not be the case.
"Dr. Smith?" Rose's voice snapped him to the present. "You alright?"
"Yes, yes," the Doctor said, silently berating himself. "Sorry. Bit of jet-lag."
Rose's expression turned concerned. The Doctor almost lost his breath. He'd forgotten how easily she could morph her expression like that, and how much she actually, genuinely cared. He was struck again by how considerate she was to something or someone she had never met before. He remembered that that was one of the qualities his tenth regeneration had absorbed from her: the ability to marvel at things, something he had lost a long time ago.
"You don't have to be here," said Rose. "You should take some rest."
"Oh, no," said the Doctor, moving his gangly self further into the house. "I'm quite alright."
"Would you like some tea?"
"No," the Doctor said, then sniffed. "Do I smell chips?"
Rose grinned, that special tongue-between-teeth grin that only she could pull off. His hearts stuttered. "Mum made chips just before heading out. She told me not to touch any, but I don't think she'd mind if we had just a few."
The Doctor grinned back and settled in a chair as Rose bustled around the kitchen.
The following evening was very eventful. The Doctor felt happier than he ever had in such a long time and his joy was only boosted when Rose commented positively to his bowtie.
They spent more time laughing than actually doing any homework and the Doctor found himself slipping into his old personality. Despite the fact that they did nothing for hours on end except sit, talk and eat chips, the Doctor found it wasn't so hard. Maybe, just maybe, going domestic wouldn't be such a bad idea, not when he was with Rose Tyler.
They were only stopped by the clock in her house chiming nine o'clock. The Doctor felt as if the Earth had been yanked out from under him. He didn't want to go. He was even willing to take on Jackie if it meant spending more time with Rose.
He stood. "I have to leave now. My flight leaves at four tomorrow morning, and I can't really stay for longer."
"Oh," said Rose, standing as well. The Doctor wasn't sure whether he should feel happy or sadder still at the despair in Rose's voice. Flipping her hair back, she smiled up at him. "Well, it was nice meeting you, John. Thanks for all this," she gestured vaguely at the table where all her books were strewn.
She held out her hand and the Doctor fully intended on shaking it, but before he could stop himself, he had pulled her into a tight hug.
At that moment, he didn't care that Rose might find him weird, or that she might fight against him. He had Rose in his arms. His Rose. The scent of her strawberry-scented hair invaded his thoughts. The warmth of her body seeped into him. Oh how he missed this.
To his pleasant surprise, Rose hugged him back. She only pulled away when it was evident he wasn't going to first.
"Um, John?" she said.
The Doctor pulled away abruptly. "Right. Sorry. I'll be off now." He turned around at the door step. "Goodbye, Rose Tyler."
Rose smiled. "See ya."