Jack grinned slyly as he, the Doctor and Rose all toasted their last night on yet another foreign planet and knocked back the shot of alcohol. He winced as the shot burned his throat for a second, then snorted with laughter at the revolted look of disgust on Rose's face as she tried to swallow.
"What the hell was that?" she spluttered, coughing into the back of her hand. Jack chuckled and patted her on the back, smirking at the Doctor, who had a similar reaction. The Doctor shook his head wordlessly, staggering away down the bar and more importantly, towards the jugs of water.
"Not exactly like Earth alcohol, is it?" Jack asked with a winning grin, and she shook her head.
"More like petrol," she groaned, then eyed him suspiciously. "How come you're not chokin' on it?"
Jack shrugged. "Compared to some of the stuff I've drank, that stuff's like water." He grinned again, and Rose gave him an exasperated look, rubbing her head and sliding down from the bar stool.
"Think it's time we head back… where's th' Doctor?" Rose's head was spinning; that drink, whatever the hell it was, was definitely stronger than anything she'd indulged herself in back on Earth. "'m feelin' a bit…"
"Whoa, Rose, you're a lightweight!" Jack laughed as he reached for her arms to steady the tipsy blonde. "How many have you had?"
"Jus' th' one… or… wha' comes next? Oh, two…. bloody alien drinks…" Rose took a hesitant step and teetered to the side, losing her already precarious balance. Jack moved forward quickly and caught her around the waist, pulling her close and pinning her to his steady frame. A loopy grin dawned on Rose's face and she giggled, unashamedly running her hands over his broad chest.
"This's kinda how we met, 'member?" she said slowly, and looked up at his face curiously. She bit her lip as she examined him. "You've gotta really good lookin' face, Jack," Rose slurred with a tongue-in-teeth smile.
"You're really a lightweight," Jack repeated, grinning as he saw the effects of both the potent alcohol and the truth serum he'd slipped into both his companions' drinks start to affect Rose. He gently took hold of her hand, which was coming up to wander over his face, and gave it a kiss on the back before placing at her side. "Save that for the Doctor," Jack advised the dazed human, and she nodded obediently, still holding his arms for support as Jack lowered her into a proper chair. "Where is h- ah, there he is."
The Doctor made his way towards Jack and Rose, face dripping wet after making a trip to the bathrooms to try and splash away the fogginess that the drink had caused. He dropped into a chair beside Rose, whose face lit up at the sight of him.
"Doctor!" she crowed happily, and promptly got up from her chair, sat herself in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gave him a peck on the cheek, then her nose crinkled as she wiped off the excess water. Jack's face grew more and more gleefully bemused with each second, and while the Doctor shot him a look, he definitely wasn't complaining about Rose being in such close proximity. In fact, it felt right.
"Hello, Rose." The Doctor gave her a smile, easily curling his arms around her waist to hold her in place. "You comfy there?" She nodded and leaned back slightly to survey him; slowly at first, then with more confidence, Rose ran her fingers through the Doctor's wild brown hair, almost massaging his head. He hummed contentedly. "Hmm, that feels good…" A wondrous, almost embarrassed smile appeared on Rose's face; her teeth toyed with her bottom lip.
"I've always wanted t'do that," she admitted, soft hands coming down to explore his face in more detail. He grinned as she fingered his lips, glided her thumbs gently along his cheekbones, and she found she rather enjoyed the slightly rough feeling of his two-day-old stubble on her palms. She leaned in closer, and her breath tickled his ear as she tried to whisper.
"You've gotta really nice face too, Doctor, an' I like it better than Jack's," Rose told him seriously, shooting a secret (not so secret) look at Jack, who was nearly doubled over from laughing so hard. "But don' go tellin' 'im or 'nything 'cause I don' wanna hurt his feelings," she added, nodding earnestly. The Doctor nodded along with her.
"I won't tell him, I promise. Like his head needs to be any bigger anyway," the Doctor responded with a smirk, but Jack was enjoying himself too much to be offended. His face aching from grinning so much, Jack wiped his eyes and stood easily to his feet, offering a hand to Rose.
"Should we get back to the TARDIS, then?" he asked gallantly, and Rose gratefully took his hand to pull herself to her feet.
"Whoa…" Rose swayed as the room tilted, but the Doctor's hands on her waist kept her upright. "Thanks, Doctor."
"It's alright, Rose, I've got you," he responded, testily eyeing Jack and Rose's linked hands. Jack noticed, quickly releasing her hand and stepping away as the Doctor curled his arm around the unsteady blonde. The Captain chuckled as he let the Time Lord and his companion stagger on ahead; it seemed that while the truth serum made Rose even more loving and doting than usual (the alcohol certainly helped that along as well), the serum brought out the Doctor's possessive side. He was completely gone for Rose, Jack mused, smirking and shaking his head. Their conversation floated back to him; Rose was giving the Doctor a run for his money on who could talk the most.
"…eally love this, Doctor, I really do," Rose told him earnestly, one hand clinging to the back of his long tan coat as she tried to walk along the straight line of a floorboard. "Can't even walk straight," she giggled, almost losing her balance once again. The Doctor smirked, keeping his arm tight around her shoulders. He kept his own stride slightly wobbly, letting Jack believe he was too under the influence. Truth serum; ha! Did the Captain really think something as weak as truth serum would affect a Time Lord? The Doctor shook his head; he was going to have words with Jack later, but for now, he decided to play along. Rose wouldn't remember any of this anyway - in fact, the Doctor was sure she would have a wicked hangover tomorrow - so he was safe in whatever he said. "Doctor?" Rose tugged at the lapel of his jacket, like a child looking for attention. He grinned at her. Oh yes, she would definitely have a hangover tomorrow.
"Yes, Rose, what're you on about now?"
She pouted childishly at his condescending tone.
"'m only talkin' Doctor, don' need to get all…" She bit her lip, searching for the right word. Unable to think of one, and forgetting what she was trying to say anyway, an easy smile found it's way back onto Rose's face. "I was gonna say-"
"Door," the Doctor interrupted, pushing open the swing door and leading his tipsy- not to mention drugged - companion out into the snow. His grip tightened even more as Rose stumbled over the ledge; behind her, the Doctor saw Jack getting prepared for an armful of blonde should she fall over. Their eyes met. I'm onto you, the Doctor mouthed, nodding down at Rose, who was oblivious to the whole exchange. Jack grinned unapologetically, and the Doctor rolled his eyes. The man really did have no boundaries.
"Tha's uneven… anyway, was gonna say, what's your favourite part? 'Bout travellin' an' stuff? What d'you love most?" Rose looked up at him inquisitively; innocently. The Doctor decided to ignore Jack.
"Best part about travelling?" He pretended to ponder the question. Then he met her gaze. "Travelling with you. You're the best part," he decided with a nod, and Rose's expression turned surprised, a smile lighting up her face, making her eyes sparkle. Then she gave him a playful shove.
"You're jus' sayin' that," she told him, chuckling at his "joke" and tucking herself back firmly under his arm. The Doctor frowned slightly, but didn't let her see; how could she not believe that?
"No, really; you are," he told her earnestly, keeping his tone light. She just nudged him again; the Doctor heard Jack snickering behind them. "Alright then, what's your favourite part?" he asked Rose, and she craned her neck to look up at him.
"You are, of course!" she replied, laughing.
"You're just saying that," he echoed teasingly, squeezing her shoulders.
"I love it with you, Doctor, honest. Actually I think I'd be a'right even without the space and TARDIS an' stuff, I just love you all by yourself," Rose said matter-of-factly, nodding to herself, pleased with her conclusion. The Doctor stared at her; despite his own admission, he hadn't expected that.
"I'm just gonna go on ahead," Jack interjected, a smug look on his face, and jogged ahead towards the TARDIS, just visible in the distance down the street. The Doctor glowered after him for a second, then turned back to Rose.
"What did you say?"
"I was jus' sayin', I love you more than space an' the TARDIS… they wouldn't be much fun without you, Doctor." Rose smiled at him, having no idea how her admission was affecting him. This, the Doctor realised, was Jack's plan all along. Her happy eyes examined his face, and her smile started to fade. "Maybe I shouldn't'a told you that… don' know why I did…" Her expression grew confused as she started to pull away from him.
"Wait Rose, it's fine, really." He gave her a honest smile, then quickly grabbed her arm as she lost her balance off the edge of the sidewalk, pulling her close. "What would you do without me, ae?" She gave him a small smile.
"Still be workin' at…." Her brow furrowed for a moment, but she couldn't remember the name of her old work. "That place," she finished, waving a hand. Then she yawned and leaned heavily into his side as they walked slowly towards the TARDIS. "'m a bit tired…" The fatigue had hit her out of nowhere, and her feet suddenly felt like they had weights dragging on them. Rose blinked, the snowy street in front of her starting to grow fuzzy.
"Rose, hey." He snapped his fingers in front of her face and her eyes focussed again. "We're almost back to the TARDIS. Just a little longer." He pulled her along the short distance to the TARDIS and kept one arm wrapped around the sleepy human while he unlocked the doors.
Rose felt her eyes drift closed and welcomed the darkness; it was much better than the ever tilting world her fuzzy vision kept showing her. She vaguely heard the Doctor saying something, but she didn't care anymore; all she wanted to do was sleep, and so she did. Still standing in the snow, leaning against the Doctor, Rose's head drooped onto his shoulder and she fell completely asleep.
"Rose?" The Doctor tapped her cheek, but no such luck; she was out like a light. A very drunk light. He chuckled exasperatedly, shaking his head and in one deft motion, scooped the unconscious blonde into his arms. She didn't stir as he carried her through the halls of the TARDIS to her room, shooting a certain smug ex-time agent a glare through the library door as he went past. The Doctor busied himself with slipping off her shoes and tucking the blankets around her limp form, making sure to not yank on her hair or strain her neck as he positioned her comfortably. Knowing she wouldn't remember, and not caring that it would really only cause him further heartache, the Doctor leaned over his sleeping pink and yellow companion and kissed her lightly on the forehead. His words were barely a whisper: "I love you, Rose."
*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*
The next morning, Rose shuffled into the kitchen where the Doctor and Jack were already seated and having breakfast. Well, Jack was having breakfast. The Doctor was fiddling with a compartment in the sonic, and he laughed out loud at the mussed up state his companion was in.
"Shut up," she grumbled, punching Jack on the shoulder before heading towards the coffee pot.
"Hey!" he complained around his toast.
"That's for getting me completely smashed," she told him, sitting heavily in the chair next to him, placing her coffee a safe distance away and resting her head on the table. "Ugh, my head is killing me."
"What d'you remember?" the Doctor asked casually, and Jack's mouth quirked upwards, glee over his relatively successful prank coming back to him. Rose sat up and rubbed her eyes, then took a sip of the black coffee. Her nose crinkled as she screwed up her face at the bitter taste.
"We did that disgusting shot… right? I remember it tasted horrid… then somethin' about Jack an' water." Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember, then shook her head, giving up. "I don't know. No idea. Did I do anything stupid?"
"No more than usual," snickered Jack, this time knowing he deserved the shove she gave him.
The Doctor chuckled as well. "Fell asleep standing up when I was unlocking the TARDIS," he remarked, nodding at her incredulous look. "Just like that: one minute you were talking - well, slurring by that time - then next, bam: unconscious Rose Tyler." He grinned openly at her, enjoying her embarrassment. Her cheeks flushed pink and she covered her face with her hands, hiding her embarrassed smile.
"That…. that was it? I didn't, y'know.. say anything else or do anything stupid?"
"Well," Jack began, a mischievous glint in his eye. Then he shrugged. "Like I said, you were louder than usual," he said, looking to the Doctor for confirmation. He nodded in agreement with Jack.
"But other than that, nothing out of ordinary," the Doctor finished, smiling tightly and going back to fiddling with the sonic. Rose breathed a sigh of relief; apparently even her drunk self knew the Doctor would never really return the amount of affection and love she knew she had for him, and so had remained quiet. She went back to taking small sips of coffee and grimacing, not seeing the Doctor's mouth open slightly, as though about to speak, then shake his head and look away.
Maybe one day, he'd tell her. Jack, he knew, would keep his trap shut, if he knew what was good for him, and so for now, he would let Rose remain innocent. He wouldn't put her in that position; he couldn't, not when he knew it couldn't last and it would only end up hurting her. And he couldn't hurt her, not Rose. So the Doctor let her think her secret was safe, and went back to aimlessly fidgeting with the sonic, feeling more depressed than ever before, letting the woman he loved go on thinking hers for him was unrequited.