A/N: Hey, the third adventure.

Oh, and for the Caeli- picture a cartoon of Bambi! Trust me folks…

PART FOUR: FLORA AND FAUNA

Five: Mille Fliori

"Right, where next?"

Rose deliberated for a laborious second whilst the Doctor tapped his foot impatiently, anxious to depart.

"Well, mum's gonna be pretty miffed that we haven't been to see her in a while..." Rose trailed off as the Doctor snorted.

"Ugh, we can't even go halfway across the universe without that woman cropping up." He complained, and then quailed under Rose's hot glare.

"Hey, watch it you- she's not that woman, she's my mother; and she is the only person in the my entire world I can't escape from by travelling to another planet. Live with it."

The Doctor huffed. "I like that- live with it...

Rose shot her companion a half-hearted death glare. "Anyway, she likes flowers- anywhere that I can get some nice flowers to soften her up a bit? Nice one's mind- not cheap ones you can get from a corner shop."

The Doctor stretched. "What's wrong with a good corner shop? I know a fair few mates who work in corner shops- corner shopists are often the best of people." He argued, all seriousness.

"Doctor."

"Oh relax woman- ow! Rose Tyler, you don't your own strength- anyway, I know just the place…"

* * *

"Oh wow." Rose breathed as she stepped out of the TARDIS. She heard the Doctor chuckle behind her, but she couldn't help it; the place was beautiful.

"Mille Fliori- the planet of the Flowers or 'a thousand flowers' in Italien. Home of the bees and first discovered by an Italien botanologist in the year 345 005. That's three hundred and forty-five thousand years after you met me." The Doctor explained proudly.

Rose returned his grin and then frowned. "Wait a minute- did you say home of the bees?"

He gave her an odd look. "Um, yeah- why?"

Rose shook her head. "Are you saying bees are aliens?"

The Doctor looked at her as if she's said the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "No," he scoffed. He paused. "Well, not all of them." He turned back to the cliff edge they stood on, gazing out at the sea of flowers below them. "So... what do you think?" he asked- Rose smiled at the almost nervous tint to his voice, as if he was anxious to please her.

"I love it." She assured him- loving the smile she got in return. "But how are we supposed to get down there?" She asked, indicating the sharp drop from the cliff to the floor that she could barely see- everywhere was a mass of colour; flowers, both huge and miniscule coated the earth like a second, vibrant skin. The plants stretched from horizon to horizon, with only the barest glimpses of the green grass below. It reminded Rose of the pictures she had seen of the Amazon rainforest; infinite, unbreaking seas of flowers that strained upwards, eager for the light the three weak suns gave.

"We're going to slide." Came to reply. Laughing, Rose followed the Doctor to a huge flower- bigger than any plant she had ever seen; it rose higher than her head- that had a single green leaf looped around and around the stem- that was thicker around than Rose's waist- like a natural slide. She looked nervously at the Doctor. "I thought you were kidding." She said as she studied to leaf; it looked much too flimsy to hold her weight, much less the Doctor's (although, he was probably lighter than her, Rose thought; he was like a string bean. A crazy string bean. A string bean in sneakers and a suit.)He only laughed at her trepidation.

"You'll be fine; the leaves of an Owenia tree are very tough, and capable of withstanding gallons of water. The two of us are going to be nothing, even to a junior plant like this." He noticed her look. "Come on- you've flown on Vargen, ice-skated thirty feet off of the ground- this should be no trouble for one like you, Rose Tyler."

"No," Rose said to herself, nodding; determined. "You're right- this is easy." She couldn't completely quash the fear, however, but she managed to push it away long enough to wrap her arms around the Doctor- the curve of his shoulder's so comfortably familiar to her now- and lower herself into the slide-like indentation of the leaf.

"Ready?" he asked, grinning loonishly.

"N-

A mile below, in the thick undergrowth of flowers, animals nosed and birds chirped, the only noises natural and the atmosphere peaceful, unwound.

Seconds later, the passive harmony of the natural world was shattered by a woman's scream- the kind that only issued from the mouth of someone who was scared beyond measure, and loving every moment. Animals scattered and birds took to the air as two people shot from between the petals of a large purple flower and collapsed in a giggling heap on the blossom-laden grass.

Rose tried to speak, but could not words past the hysterical chuckles that she couldn't control- they were the chuckles of someone who was in shock from facing a near-death experience and couldn't think of anything to do but laugh and keep on laughing. She was slumped, exhausted in a heap- half straddling the Doctor, who was equally possessed by uncontrollable fits of laughter- Rose couldn't muster the energy to move, but then she caught sight of her surroundings and sat bolt upright.

Everywhere she looked, Rose could see flowers.

But not Earthen flowers- no, these were a billion times more extraordinary than any plant she had ever seen on her own planet; there were flowers with heads larger than the length of her bed back at home, and buds that were no bigger than her thumb nail, nestled snugly in robes of thick luscious leaves.

Amid the green grass, there were patches of red, like splashes on a painting- in such spots, miniscule flowers, their pin-sized heads sitting on fragile, hair-like stems, their petals all fiery colours, like orange, pink and yellows, matching the vivid red of the grass well. Rose choose such a patch and, careful not to squash any of the delicate flowers, sat down. She felt the Doctor sit down beside and turned on her side to face him. He did the same; their noses almost touching as they laughed. Through the giggles, Rose was highly aware of the proximity- a feeling she couldn't name rising inside her as she stared at her friend. The Doctor's eyes lingered on her face for a moment, before he proceeded to tell her the names of the beautiful plants around them.

"Enizzi." He said, pointing at some small flowers near Rose's head, about the same size as lilies and the same kind of shape- their petals every colour Rose knew, and some she didn't; rippling in a breeze that Rose couldn't feel.

"Glaedr Bushes." Delicate bushes that ringed the clearing, covered in powder blue leaves and palm-sized white blossoms- swirled like the lollipops Rose used to get free from the newsagents- scattered all over them like the spots on a Dalmatian.

Rose snuggled closer to the Doctor; sleepy under the pleasant heat of the suns overhead- she yawned, and felt the Doctor chuckle underneath her.

"I'm not tired…" She mumbled; but it was a bare-faced lie- the heat and the softness of the Doctor's coat, coupled with the lullaby emitted by the bees and other insects around the clearing made her feel so unbearably tired. The beautiful perfume that so many flowers in one place made Rose's head heavy, her thoughts sluggish until she was half-asleep before she could stop herself.

The suns dawn and the west wind blows;

And carries with it the lovely rose.

Flower's so distant yet right there

Floating on with such pained care.

Rose vaguely heard the words- sung by a voice that seemed so familiar, yet she in her semi-conscious state could not name it. The melody lulled her deeper under the spell that had so captured her, and all noise- and eventually, even those four lines that were being sung to her- faded away, leaving her with only tired silence.

A/N: Second part in a fortnight... reviews would be welcome.