She shouldn't have been doing it. It was almost a betrayal of the trust he had earned back during Christmas. But there was no denying she missed her lots-of-planets-have-a-north Doctor. She pulled the leather jacket tighter around her and deeply inhaled. With that came a light sob she didn't even attempt to fight. No more of the daft old face.
Light footsteps and the slight swish of an overcoat alerted her to the Doctor's presence, but she didn't stand or even move at all. When he circled around to look at her she attempted to hide her face, but not before she was met with an, "Oh, Rose," then him kneeling in front of her.
"I'm s-s-sorry," she choked out.
"It's perfectly alright," he soothed, pulling her into his lap and holding her. "I'm right here, and I'm still me." He stroked her head tenderly.
"I k-know you are... Bananas and time,"
They sat like that for what must have been an hour, until the Doctor realized that Rose had fallen asleep in his arms. He kissed her forehead lovingly, then carried her to her bedroom, jacket and all.
xXx
"If you've got this wardrobe full of amazing outfits, why do you always wear the same weird clothes?"
The Doctor scoffed and caught his old never-ending scarf when River chucked it at him "I like these clothes. And don't deny that you like them too."
His wife paused rifling through the wardrobe to give him the look. "I like them much better on the floor."
The Doctor's cheeks blazed. "Well... That's not... I don't... That's... That's..." He trailed off with a sigh. "What are you looking for?"
"Don't know yet," the excitement in her voice took a sharp upturn, "but I think I might have found something good!" She pulled out the worn black leather jacket. "You wore leather?!"
Seeing that jacket hit the Doctor like getting run over by a snowplow. He gingerly touched the lapel, remembering how much pain it had caused.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" River had noticed the sudden change in her husband's demeanor, and idly she wondered if she struck a nerve.
"Nothing... Yeah, I wore it, back during Nine. It blended nicely wherever we went. Whenever Rose hugged me she always said, 'Smells like hickory smoke and time.'"
Rose Tyler... Yes, she most definitely struck a huge nerve.
"If I asked her what time smelled liked she would just shrug and reply, 'You.' Still don't understand how a person could smell like time, but I didn't push it." He swallowed painfully. "After I'd... you know, regenerated to Ten... I caught her in here sometimes, just wearing the jacket. Crying more often that not. And I would hug her and she'd whisper, 'Bananas and time.' I wonder what she would tell me now." There was a slight glazing of his eyes as his hand withdrew from the leather.
River replaced the jacket and enveloped her husband into a fierce hug. "Vanilla and time," she breathed, causing the smallest of smiles to break over his face.