Disclaimer: Do not own, did not make, am not making money off of Doctor Who or related characters. I write fan fiction for fun and relaxation.

DW DOCTOR WHO DW

Shadows made a kingdom of the walls, ghosting up and down, curling along the door frames and being all innocent. Silence continued on its march and nothing moved. Not even a little Spider sleeping in its web - hoping, in his dreams, that a certain person wouldn't notice him taking up space in the place that shouldn't exist.

Inside the forth corrador, into the fourth room, nineteen year old Rose Tyler sat on her bed munching on Cherry Pie. School books were strewn about. If one hadn't of known that Rose was out of school, one would think that the young human was cramming for finals.

What she was doing, was slowly learning about Gallifrey. The Doctor didn't know this, he thought she was simply in her room more often then usual. In reality the Tardis was providing her with answers. Answers to questions she had been asking for the past year but getting nothing in way of answers from her new-found bodyguard.

Pausing in her readings, Rose smiled to herself. The Doctor was like her bodyguard - and her father, and an annoying big brother, and, sometimes, almost -

'No,' she shook her head. 'He can't be that, not really. So you stop that thinking, Rose Tyler.'

Rose wished, though. She wished with all her heart that the Doctor could be what she wanted him to be - not a boyfriend, more then a lover, a . . . was there a word? Soul mate didn't quite cut it . . . Of course, if he knew what she hoped, and what she thought, then she'd get it. A whole mess of words that where meaningless like the life of a fly without poop.

That was a bad metaphor.

"I know what he'd say, though," Rose declared aloud. She could hear the Doctor in her head.

'Your a human, Rose! It wouldn't be good, or right or-'

"Hogwash," Rose answered the imaginative Doctor.

'But Rose,' He'd say before sighing and then looking at her like, like he knew so much more then her and she would never understand.

"Which of course you do know a lot more then me, don't you?" Rose asked the invisible Doctor. "You're old."

Didn't look old. He looked about forty, but not old. Older then her, but not . . . nine hundred and some change, or not quite there.

Rose continued reading. Her mind would not leave her alone, however. It kept going back to the Doctor, and wishing. After awhile she snapped the book shut in irritation, throwing it to a pile of other books. Slipping off her bed, Rose padded out of her room.

The Spider watched her walk past, thinking she might want a skirt every once in awhile. Or not, considering a skirt got in the way of running for your life. The Spider decided to go back to sleep. Some things were not worth thinking about.

Rose entered the control room, zeroing in on the Doctor's lower half as he was in his usual place - under the console. Dark words carried out from him. He didn't notice his companion until he popped out of his place, coming face to face with a human teenager.

He smiled, "Up late?"

"Reading," Rose replied. "Not sleepy, either."

"Well then," he leaped up. "Where to go?"

"Anywhere," Rose grinned.

So that's exactly what the Doctor did. Rose watched as her best friend pressed random buttons, and pulled a few levers on impulse. The Tardis landed in the unknown.

Outside looked quite boring. Peaceful but boring. Jack joined the duo, complaining with good humor, "You almost left me behind!" he paused. "Is this a date? I'll go back -" he turned to go, grinning, but the Doctor snatched Jack's arm.

"No, it is not a date."

Rose's face seemed to beg a differ, so Jack stated, "I'll go back anyhow."

As Jack disappeared back into the Tardis, the Doctor turned to Rose, frowning. "Rose, did you-"

"Lets go see what's over there, yeah?" Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand, pulling him to the forest. Nothing was going to spoil this, she would corner him and MAKE him see he loved her.

Birds sang songs, a slight wind rustled the trees. Rose thought this a good place to start in on the forced-realizations. After all, everyone - including Jackie! - saw that he loved her, so it was just a matter of time. Something that the two of them had lots of. Right?

"Nothing to run from." Rose stated. "No poisons, no mad scientists, no crazy pepperpots." She beamed up at the Doctor. "We should of brought a picnic-"

"Rose," the Doctor warned. She blinked at him innocently.

"Yes?"

He sighed, "No!"

"No what?" a voice Rose knew just too well came from the bushes. Lynda with a 'y' came out, peering at the two of them. "Oh! Hello! When you saved the Gamestation, I left Earth. Went exploring by myself." She shot the Doctor a look. He actually appeared ashamed, like he had done something wrong. Rose frowned at the two of them.

"Well, we're here now. Want to come?" the Doctor gestured to the Tardis. Lynda beamed.

"Don't mind if I do."

Rose watched, speechless, as the Doctor led Lynda into the Tardis while holding her hand. Rose followed, fighting off tears and a bunch of word bile that was threatening to come forth.

"Hey, can I share a bedroom with Rose?" Lynda wondered.

"Ask her," the Doctor grinned before leaving Lynda in the hall. He wanted to make breakfast and wanted Lynda to talk with Rose.

"He's mine, you got that?" Rose demanded, eyes narrow, anger and warnings heaping on each word. She advanced on Lynda, the latter recoiling slightly. Rose cornered the other blond in a corner the Tardis kindly created.

"I don't understand," Lynda told Rose, her eyes wide.

"The Doctor, he's mine," Rose clarified. "Don't touch him, don't look at him, don't even think about him." It was so much a demand Rose noted, in the back of her mind, she'd make a good general.

Lynda goggled at Rose, confusion very evident on her face. "But I don't want him. I wanted off Satellite Five."

"Excuse me?" Rose asked, eyes narrowed even more from suspicion. What a little liar!

"I was just being nice," Lynda's eyes returned to their normal shape. "I mean, the guy only saved me from death on Big Brother."

"You weren't flirting?"

"No."

"Oh, well . . . " Rose's cheeks turned a slight red. But it looked like Lynda had been flirting, right? Lynda was lying, no doubt -

"I get that all the time," Lynda addmited. "I don't know why, though . . . speaking of which, why aren't you two together?"

"Uhm," Rose bit her lip. It wasn't really Lynda's place, but now that she wasn't after the Doctor she wasn't so bad . . .

"Oh dear." Lynda shook her head. "Alright, Lynda with a 'Y' will fix everything..."

"But - oh - bugger," Rose watched Lynda march right to the Doctor's room, going in without knocking.

"Oi!" the Doctor protested.

Rose scampered up to the door, listening but staying out of eyesight.

"Do you love-" Lynda was interrupted.

"No, Lynda, I'm not dating you," it was said gently.

"Not me, numbskull -"

"Oi!"

"Rose!"

Silence.

"GET OUT!"

Lynda hurried out of the room, shutting the door. She looked at Rose.

"Well, in all my years of match-making I can say that has never happened."

Rose sighed, decided against asking how long Lynda has been 'match-making', and simply surrendered, "Its okay. He's..."

"Unique?" Lynda ventured.

Rose smiled. "Yeah, unique. You 'ave no idea, though..."

"Well, I'll try again in a little while." Lynda shrugged. "I've got each couple happily together that I've come across when they won't. So why should HE be any different? He's a guy. Right?"

"Right!" Jack joined in from down the hall. He came up to the girls, grinning. "Have no idea what I agreed to, but I asure you, I agree."

Lynda rolled her eyes and Rose smiled. "So you are a jackass?"

The two girls ran off, giggling. Jack frowned. "Somehow I think that was not what they were saying."

A few hours later Lynda and Jack - they were playing go-fish in the hall out of boredom - heard the Doctor shouting. He sounded right scary, and it was no wonder it was Rose he was fighting with.

"I'm not real, Rose, don't you understand that!"

Jack and Lynda hastily put the cards away, then snuck over to the corner to peer around to witness the fight.

"Your real to me," Rose pointed to herself. Her eyes were dark, and her lips were in a snarl. " - to all those lives you've saved, to-" Rose was cut off.

"No, Rose!" the Doctor seemed to be halfway between anger and disbelief.

"Stop being such a frightened little boy and be a man!" Rose shouted, turning tail and slamming her door in her wake. The Doctor spied the two snoops. This was where Lynda and Jack decided to make a run for it. The Doctor looked a little angry.

The Doctor clenched his hand into a fist, leaning on the wall. How dare Rose think she knows what is right, what is real and what is true. She knows nothing! Nothing!

He glanced up, more on something to do than any real function. Two ice-colored eyes settled on a small black critter, high up in a web in a corner. The Spider froze, then quivered a little. The Doctor watched the Spider, and the Spider watched the Doctor. Then the Doctor grinned.

"Hullo," he waved. The Spider blinked its eyes, then very tentively raised a leg and waved back. The Doctor's grin widened. "What's your name?" He reached up, but brought his hand down as soon as the Spider cowered. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not that old and mean yet."

The Spider relaxed. The Doctor must of thought he scared the little creature enough because he stated,

"Well, I've got to go . . . " and left.

The Spider was shocked to pieces.

Rose sat in her room, munching on Cherry Pie and reading a Gallifreyian romance novel. The Doctor was under the console, checking over the systems and upgrading. Or at least, taping things together. In the gardens, Lynda and Jack practiced a speech on love for the Doctor. They would get Rose and the Doctor together yet!

And a Spider sat in his web, happy that he was noticed and welcomed in this place that shouldn't exist.