"Rose? You going out?" asked the Doctor, as he walked into their bedroom to find her in front of the mirror applying her make-up.

"Uh-huh," she affirmed, concentrating on not stabbing herself in the eye with her mascara wand. "Donna rang. Wants to go for a drink."

"Am I invited?" he asked, stepping closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, unable to resist touching her when she was in Those Jeans of hers, which required capitalisation they were so tight and gorgeous.

"Nope," she answered, leaning back into him and smirking into the mirror when he pouted.

"Why not?"

"Dunno. But she specified my company, and added that you were not to attend under any circumstances."

He shrugged a shoulder and nuzzled her hair out of the way to press a kiss on her neck. "Is this some sort of girls-only evening, then?" he asked.

"I guess so," she agreed, tilting her head to give him better access.

His lips trailed up to her jaw, which he then licked experimentally. "Yuck. This foundation of yours ruins how you taste," he mumbled, going back to her neck which was thankfully free from the effects of the chemistry of makeup.

"Hides the blemishes, though, which is what counts," she giggled.

"I don't think you have any blemishes to hide," he countered, slipping a hand down to her thigh and walking his fingers back up, tickling her lightly and making her shiver.

"Doctor," she sighed contentedly. "I'm s'posed to be meeting her in ten minutes. You'd better let me go."

"You know I can't take my hands off you when you wear these jeans," he replied, pausing to nibble at her collar bone. "Which begs the question," he continued. "Why are you wearing them if you're not going to be with me?"

She smiled seductively into the mirror and he met her gaze with curiously raised eyebrows. "So that while I'm out," she informed him. "The only thing you will be able to think about is - "

"Taking them off you," he finished for her, nodding in agreement. "Fair enough."

"Let go of me, then," she said pointedly, when he carried on hugging her.

He sighed and did as he was told. "All right, all right." She grinned at him cheekily and he patted her backside. "You'd better run, then, before I go all caveman and throw you on the bed."

Rose laughed and gathered up her jacket and handbag. "Like to see you try. I'll try not to be too late," she told him, kissing him sweetly on the lips. She dashed away and out of the room before he could take the opportunity to distract her with a snog. "See you later!" she called out to him as she closed the front door.

The Doctor put his hands on his hips and looked around the room. "Right. So what do I do now?" he asked himself in bewilderment.

"Hiya Donna," Rose smiled in greeting, as she came into their local pub and saw her sitting at the bar.

Donna grinned back and grabbed her into a hug. "Hi! You all right?"

"Yeah I'm good thanks, you?" Rose replied, sitting on the bar stool next to her.

"Great, great!" she enthused. "Met a man!"

Rose laughed and quickly ordered herself and Donna a drink, then said, "So, is this why you didn't want the Doctor to turn up tonight?"

"Well, he already knows that I had a date planned, but..."

"Yeah, he told me – Shaun, isn't it?"

"Yep! But yeah, I don't want him to know anything else. Some things just shouldn't be spoken about between him and me. I wish he'd realise that."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, he's always going on about what you two get up to, and quite frankly I don't wanna know."

"He does what!" Rose demanded, flushing pink.

Donna started laughing. "No, don't worry, nothing detailed – just an implication here and there. But still; that's enough."

"Right," Rose replied, joining Donna in laughing. "I see. So! How did the date go?"

Donna smiled sheepishly and took a sip of her drink. "Oh, it was...it was lovely. He's so sweet, so funny and nice and...Rose I think I'm in love," she rushed out quickly.

Rose's eyes widened. "Woah. One date and you're in love?" She sounded dubious.

"It's possible!" Donna retorted.

"In fairytales maybe," Rose laughed.

"Well maybe this is my fairytale," Donna suggested.

"Fair enough," Rose replied, smiling encouragingly.

"You got yours, after all," Donna added.

Her friend giggled and shrugged. "I s'pose I did, yeah. Eventually."

"The Doctor told me that he fell in love with you on your first date," Donna pointed out. "Over chips or something."

Rose's eyebrows shot up. "He said that? Really? That's...odd. How is it that he is able to say such romantic things about me to you, but never to my face?" Rose wondered.

"Typical alien-man," Donna sniffed dismissively. "There's no hope."

"True," Rose giggled. "It did take him three bodies to tell me he loved me, after all."

"Does he say it much nowadays?" Donna asked curiously.

Rose sipped at her drink thoughtfully. "Only in the bedroom, really - "

"See, this is what I mean!" Donna interrupted. "That's what he does, he mentions stuff about bedrooms and – eugh, I do not. Want. To. Know."

"Yeah, but I'm not him, you implied that it was all right for us to talk about it."

"Yeah but it's about him and..." Donna shuddered. "No offence, but I don't want to imagine what that skinny streak of nothing looks like under his clothes."

"You'd be surprised, Donna," Rose said dreamily. "He's actually really - "

Donna slammed her hands over her ears. "La, la, la, can't hear you."

Rose laughed and conceded to her point. "All right, all right, I'll stop. Although to be honest, the lady doth protest too much, methinks," she teased.

"Please, please," Donna begged, pausing for dramatic effect. She even shook Rose's shoulder a bit. "Don't ever insinuate such a thing again. You have my word that I am absolutely not interested in him like that."

"I know. And you're probably the only woman on the planet – no, in the universe – who isn't," Rose muttered, taking another sip.

Donna rolled her eyes. "You've nothing to worry about," she said gently. "He's devoted to you, anyone can see that. He's not the sort of bloke who has his head turned by other women fancying him."

Rose arched an eyebrow, clearly dubious about that.

"What?" asked Donna. "He's never...he hasn't cheated, has he?"

"No..." laughed Rose. "No, he – well, he - no, he hasn't."

"There you are then," Donna smiled. "Anyway, I'm seeing Shaun again next week."

"Yeah?" Rose beamed. "Good for you. I'm glad you've found someone you really like."

"I'm going to marry him," Donna joked quietly, confiding this as if it were a big secret.

Rose giggled. "I bet you are."

"You reckon you and the Doctor will ever get married?"

"Nah, I don't think that's really his sort of thing," Rose replied.

"Would you want to, though? If he asked?" Donna persisted.

"I think I'd think that he only wanted to do it 'cos he thought it'd make me happy. I don't want to marry him if he doesn't want to bother. We don't need that, anyway. Fine as we are."

"But what if he does want to marry you?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at Donna. "Has he said something to you?"

"What?" Donna mock-gasped. "No, course not. Never said a word. I was just wondering, that's all."

"Right..." Rose replied slowly.

"So back to Shaun," Donna said next. "I think me and him would make beautiful babies."

Rose smirked. "Really."

"Yep. Do you reckon you and the Doctor will ever have kids?"

"I don't think that's really his sort of thing, either," Rose answered, now completely suspicious of Donna's intentions with her line of questioning, but willing to see it through. "Anyway, neither of us can sit still for long. We're always travelling around the world and getting into trouble on Torchwood missions...that's hardly a life for kids to be brought into."

"Oh," murmured Donna. "Right, yeah."

"So!" grinned Rose. "Tell me more about Shaun. What's he look like? What does he do for a living?"

As soon as Rose left the pub, Donna rang the part-Time Lord. "Doctor?"

"Yeah?" he answered.

"I don't think she's interested in the wedding-and-babies idea. Doesn't think it's your 'thing.'"

"Oh," he replied, sounding a little disappointed.

"I knew you'd be disappointed," Donna retorted.

"I'm not! I just...well."

"What?"

"It could be our thing, if she wanted it to be. We could make it our thing."

"Sorry, Doctor. I don't think it's on the cards. Not yet, anyway."

"Right. Right."

"You okay?"

"Yes, yeah, I'm fine. Well, thanks for being my spy."

"No probs...listen, are you sure you're all right?"

"Course I am! All I want is for her to be happy, Donna."

"You've got to be happy, too, Spaceman, or else she won't be happy."

"I am happy. Very happy. In fact, she'll be back soon in Those Jeans, so I'm very, very - "

"Woah, all right, hanging up now, bye!" Donna said quickly, flipping her phone shut. "That was close," she muttered, downing the rest of her drink.