Here it is! The sequel to "Ring Around the Rosie"! Your reviews keep me motivated so I would love to hear what you think!
The Doctor nodded solemnly to the guard who buzzed him through the gate at HMP Belmarsh. He began emptying his pockets distractedly, only vaguely noticing the young guard's eyes go wide as he spent nearly three minutes pulling the various bits and bobs from his dimensionally transcendental pockets. When he finally placed the last alien-themed rubber duck on the pile, he followed yet another guard down the labyrinthine halls and to a small room. In fact, the Doctor inwardly scoffed at using the word "room" when it was really more of a "booth", with a clear divider across the middle and a single desk on either side.
Claude Giannini was sitting on the other side, looking utterly at ease despite the fact that he was remanded to a prison well-known for housing the most dangerous criminals in London. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and his blood ran cold. He had to fight the age-old instinct creeping into his spine to tear apart the room and destroy the one who had dared threatened his mate.
He forced himself to calm, to dampen down his reflexes. He sat in the provided chair, taking in Claude's appearance. He seemed composed, his hair and face neatly groomed, looking almost ordinary despite being dressed in the standard dark prison garb and the fact that his wrists and ankles were in chains.
"Dr. John Smith," Claude said evenly. "Welcome to my humble abode. I'd offer you some tea, but well...you understand."
"I do." He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. "Though I appreciate you taking the time out of your clearly very busy schedule to meet with me."
"Anything for an old friend...or foe." He smiled coldly. "And how is our princess?"
The Doctor felt his hands clench into fists while he fought to keep his expression neutral. "She's well. Just off a case, home sleeping at the moment."
"And you felt you had to come without her. I am intrigued, Dr. Smith. What can I do for you?"
The Doctor sighed, once again wondering why he had decided to come here. Information, he reminded himself. He needed information. "The ring you left at Rose's door. Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. What made you write that?"
Giannini tilted his head to the side, his expression thoughtful. Whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't that. "Not sure what you mean."
"It was different, obviously. Why did you decide to put that? It didn't really make sense...didn't fit your pattern." He leaned forward, resting his arms flat on the ledge and regarding Giannini seriously. "What did you mean by it?"
For the first time, the man in front of the Doctor looked confused. "I'm not quite sure. Suppose it just sounded good at the time. I was fairly irate, Doctor. I still hadn't calmed down. Your girl is quite a tease...gets a man all worked up and then doesn't even give him the satisfaction of a good kill."
"Yes, well, forgive me if I don't adequately show my sympathy," the Doctor replied, standing up. "We're done here. And if I never see you again, it will be too soon."
"Oh now, we both know you don't mean that. You'll be back," he told him, once again adopting his cool, collected demeanor. "And I'll be right here. Oh, and bring Inspector Tyler next time, won't you? I miss her a great deal."
"Oh believe me, Giannini, you don't want Rose here."
Before the prisoner could respond, the Doctor stood, turned his back, and was striding out of the room, his mind barely registering what his accompanying guard was saying. He found himself back at the security desk and began distractedly tucking his belongings back into his pockets, thinking back on what had brought him to Belmarsh Prison in the first place.
His dream a few nights before had been unsettling. The full memories of his regeneration were still lost to him. He'd written it off as a bought of not-unusual amnesia, but now, almost a linear year later, they still hadn't returned. He remembered he and Jack being transmatted to Satellite Five and facing down the Daleks. He'd been sure he was dead, unable to risk the entire planet in order to stop the fleet from taking over the universe.
Then...nothing. He'd woken up on the floor of the TARDIS a completely new man. Jack looked pale and shaken, but made a comment about liking his new hair before the regeneration sickness had taken over and they'd retired to the Boeshane Peninsula so that he could recover.
The only thing he'd always remembered from the satellite was the front name of the corporation. Bad Wolf Industries. And then his dream, the little snippets of Rose, glowing golden and beautiful, proclaiming herself to be the Bad Wolf. Then the ring...an addled mind using the same words from a hundred thousand years in the future.
He had no idea what to make of all this. He could feel a dull ache building in his temples, as if his mind was warning him not to probe too deeply. Maybe it wasn't time for him to know yet.
As he left the prison and made his way to the car he and Jack shared, he felt a wave of anxiety pass through him. He hadn't seen much of Rose for the past few days, and now after his encounter with Giannini he felt even more unnerved and acutely aware that she wasn't in her proper place next to him. He pulled out of the car park and headed back towards London. Rose was most likely still sleeping, having worked nights the past few evenings, but even curling up next to her and just listening to her deep, even breaths sounded like the most divine activity in all the universe.
Rose awoke from unsettling dreams filled with flashes of golden light to a weight dipping the mattress next to her. She rolled over sleepily and met the Doctor's warm brown eyes that crinkled happily once he noticed she was awake.
"Afternoon, DI Tyler," he murmured, brushing the hair out of her face and leaning in for a gentle kiss. "I have missed you."
"Missed you," she croaked, chuckling at the sound of her voice and clearing her throat. "Time is it?"
"Nearly noon," he offered, kissing across her cheek and down her neck. "All done, then?"
"Very nearly," she whispered, gasping as he found a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. "Right there, please."
He grinned against her throat and continued to lavish attention there as heat pooled in her abdomen. She'd barely seen him over the last several days, and ever since they'd returned from Glasgow they'd barely gone a day without making love. He was like a drug to her, and the last few days she'd been acutely aware of what she'd been missing.
He rolled her ever so gently onto her back, his hands cradling her head as if she were made of glass while his lips never left her neck. Rose gasped once more and wove her hands into his hair, throwing her head back and only too willingly surrendering to his touch.
Rose felt completely at peace curled up against the Doctor, skin on skin, the long, lean lines of his body fitting perfectly against her curves. This post-coital bliss was one of the greatest feelings in the universe, she was sure of it. No one had ever made her feel this way before, not even the poor excuse for a man she had been set to marry just over a year ago. The Doctor always loved to touch her, even chastely, but seemed to cling to her after making love like an overgrown, gangly koala and she loved it.
"So where were you all morning?" she asked, trailing her fingertips though the small smattering of hair over his chest.
He stiffened for a split second before relaxing once more. "I...had to go up to Belmarsh. Tie up some loose ends with Giannini."
"Oh, God," Rose groaned, lifting her head so she could see his face. "He's still alive, right?"
He huffed. "I resent that implication." She sent him a glare and he sighed before stroking her back comfortingly. "I didn't harm a hair on his head, Rose."
"'S not what's on his head that I'm worried about..."
"Rose, really, I haven't liquefied anyone's brains in centuries. I learned my lesson the first dozen times. And they all regenerated just fine, thanks."
"Yeah, well, you do have a history with this guy...and it's not like they could pin it on you..."
"I promise, he is perfectly healthy."
"And you're not going to tell me what you talked about, are you?"
He sighed, pulling her tighter against him and stroking her hair. "I'm not even sure of it myself. It's not something you need to worry about. I promise, I'll let you know if it is."
"All right," Rose murmured. "You do realize I'm cutting you a whole lot of slack here?"
"I do, and I'm a very lucky man."
"Glad you realize it," she said, fighting back a yawn. "Mind if I catch a few more hours? Figures I finally got the weekend off and I'm gonna spend it sleeping. How long can you stay?"
"I'll be here for as long as you'll have me," he murmured against her hair.
"Mmmm...forever then," Rose whispered, only half-aware of what she was saying as he gripped her closer to him and she drifted off in his arms.
Their hopes for a quiet weekend were dashed remarkably quickly. Rose wasn't expected back at work until Monday morning, but when her mobile began ringing rather insistently before she was even done with her coffee Sunday morning, she knew her plans for the day would have to be put on hold.
"Tyler," she answered, barely restraining the annoyance in her voice. The Doctor grinned at her ruefully as he spread marmalade on his toast.
"You're going to hate me, love," her father's stressed voice replied. "But I need you down here as soon as humanely possible."
"'Take the weekend off, Rose," she deepened her voice in a rough impersonation of her father. "'You've worked so hard, Rose. We won't need you, Rose.'"
Both her father and the Doctor chuckled, and Rose cracked a small grin. "What do you need, dad?"
"A Starbucks and a scone? And you, ready to work?"
Rose sighed. "Remember how you never bought me a pony? I'm cashing it in now."
"Rose, if you come down here and save my arse, you're going to get an entire horse-drawn carriage. Or a cupcake. Whichever I can find first."
"Slave driver. See you in an hour."
"Bless you," her father replied as she ended the call and met the Doctor's amused gaze.
"Trouble?" he asked, a slow grin spreading across his face.
"Trouble," she agreed.
His gaze darkened and his grin turned heated. "Shower?"
Rose tucked her tongue between her teeth and took great satisfaction in how his eyes zeroed in on her mouth and how his Adam's apple bobbed noticeably as he swallowed.
"Shower," she agreed, pushing back on her chair and darting towards her bedroom. "Race ya!"
The growl she received in return sent a thrill down her spine, and she very quickly turned her attention back to the mobile in her hand.
"Dad?" she said after dialing the familiar number. "Yeah, better make it an hour an and a half..."