The Doctor woke from his nap feeling refreshed and also annoyed that his new human body needed to waste so much time sleeping. He couldn't help but wonder what other new things he would have to get used to now that he was human.
Scrubbing his face with his hands, he looked to his right and saw that Rose was still sleeping. Her brows were knitted together, her eyes flicked back and forth under her eyelids and a small frown pulled at her lips. The Doctor wondered what was concerning her so much but knew deep down that it was probably him and all that had happened in the last day.
He began to wonder whether she would really accept him as the Doctor or whether she would find it too difficult to deal with. Every time he thought about her rejecting him, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. He didn't think that he could handle being stuck on this Earth without Rose but knew that he would have to accept it if that was what she chose.
She had continued to love him after he had regenerated into a completely different man and had even loved his first old daft face; but would she be able to handle a human him, knowing that the full Time Lord him was flitting about another universe, having adventures while they were stuck on one planet at one time? The Doctor couldn't help but worry that she might only ever think of him as a cheap copy of the original and never return his affections.
A voice over the speaker announcing that they would be landing in 20 minutes cut through his thoughts.
"Rose?" he whispered, placing his hand on her shoulder and gently shaking, "we're going to be landing soon."
Rose opened her eyes and groaned, rubbing her hands over her face and through her hair to try and flatten it. She looked up at the Doctor and smiled, "how was your nap?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes in exasperation, "I can't believe I slept for two hours, 27 minutes, and 6 seconds after sleeping last night! You humans practically sleep away your life! How do you lot ever get anything done?"
At his outburst, Rose laughed and smacked his arm, "hey, you better get used to it now that you're human too!"
"Oi! I am only half human," he amended, faking a look of annoyance, "and anyway, you better get ready, we should be landing in a few minutes."
Once they had left the zeppelin, a Torchwood issued car was waiting to pick them up and drive them home. At the mention of "home" the Doctor felt uneasy, not sure where home was or how long he would be welcome. While Pete and Jackie greeted the driver, he stared quietly at his trainers and kicked at a rock on the pavement. When he looked up at Rose she seemed to read his mind.
"My parents own a mansion, not the one Pete lived in with the other Jackie but just as big. There are plenty of rooms so we can go there for a while until we sort things out," she offered.
"Are you sure I won't be in the way? I can find something else-"
"No, really, after all you've done for us and the universes, we can't just leave you on your own," Rose interrupted.
The Doctor wasn't sure how to respond to that so he chose to change the topic back, "so you live at the mansion then?"
"I have my own flat in the city but it's small and I didn't spend much time there so I think it would be better to stay at the mansion for awhile," she answered.
At that moment, Jackie walked over and interrupted them, "we're going to stop at the shopping center before we go home so that we can get you some things, Doctor."
"Oh, no. No, I don't need anything. I have my suit," he said, shaking his head and backing up. The thought of shopping with Jackie was just too much for him.
"Doctor, you can't have just one suit. You need other clothes now and toiletries," Rose countered.
"But I like this suit and I've never needed more than one suit before!" he protested. "Plus, I don't have money yet and I'm not starting my first day here in debt to your mum!"
At that, Jackie rolled her eyes, "You daft alien! We're rich now, money doesn't matter to us. And now you're here and you're like family and we take care of family; so we're going to the store and buying you what you need whether you like it or not," she insisted.
Seeing that he was never going to win, the Doctor just nodded and got into the car quietly, knowing that he would need to learn to pick his battles carefully.
Shopping with two women turned out to be exactly as the Doctor thought it would - tortuous. Every time he turned around, one of them would be holding up a new item of clothing and ordering him to try it on. Not only did they want him to try things on, but they wanted him to come out and model it for them like he was a child. It was almost too much for him to take and he soon tried to slip away while their backs were turned and return to the car. Unfortunately, they knew him well enough not to turn their backs for more than a second or two.
Finally, after buying a ridiculous amount of what he felt was unnecessary clothing, they left the store and continued on their way home. He had no clue what they chose to buy him and frankly did not care. The Doctor was never so relieved in his life as he was when they finally left.
Shopping for clothes for the Doctor was easier than Rose had expected. While he was not too happy about having to try on clothes, he cooperated well, or at least well for the Doctor who was always trying to wander off and look for trouble.
Rose was surprised at how good he looked in clothes other than suits. He was so lean that almost anything he put on looked good but it had come as a surprise to see how good he looked in everyday clothes. When he had come out in jeans and a button-up shirt, Rose had to stop herself from running over and snogging him right there in the middle of the store.
She had reasoned with herself that no matter how good he looked in his new clothes, they needed time to figure things out and get to know each other again before they did anything like that again. Plus, she couldn't help but worry that he may change his mind at any minute and leave her and she knew she could not handle that if they went much further.
In the end, they got him several pairs of jeans, t-shirts, jumpers, button-up shirts, dress slacks, pajamas, and underwear; not that she expected he noticed.
After what seemed an eternity, the group finally made it to the mansion. The Doctor was surprised at how big it was and estimated that it was even bigger than the first Tyler mansion. This one was a large 3 story with pillars in the front. The driveway looped around the front, a garden placed in the middle. The house sat on 40 acres of beautiful sprawling land, scattered with gardens, a large swimming pool, and a children's playscape. Even the Doctor couldn't help but be impressed.
The inside was just as impressive with high vaulted ceilings and large open rooms. Floor to ceiling windows let in lots of light. The floors in the entryway were marble but were hardwood everywhere else. Each room was decorated in a different theme, but each was tastefully done and maximized the rooms potential.
"Did the decoratin' myself," Jackie said proudly.
"Oh, well, it's... nice," the Doctor replied, trying not to seem overly impressed, lest she think he actually noticed such a thing.
Suddenly, a blaze of yellow hair blew past him and lept into Jackie's unsuspecting arms. "Mum!" the young boy shouted, "I missed you!"
"I missed you too, sweetheart," Jackie choked out holding back tears and hugging her little boy tightly.
Once he was back on the ground, he turned to Rose and lept into her arms. After they had exchanged their greeting, Rose finally introduced the Doctor. "Tony, this is uhh-" she faltered looking back at the Doctor, unsure of what she should call him and whether she could actually say the words.
"Hi Tony, I'm the Doctor," he cut in, "it's nice to finally meet you."
Tony's mouth dropped open and he looked from the Doctor to Rose and back again his brown eyes wide. "It's him?" He asked.
"Umm, yeah, sort of," Rose replied uncertainly.
Tony opened his mouth to ask more questions but was diverted by Jackie. Both the Doctor and Rose sighed in relief thankful that Jackie had such impeccable timing.
Rose turned to the Doctor who was now standing in his usual position, his legs spread apart with hands shoved deep inside his pockets. He was pretending to be fascinated with a nearby vase.
"I'm sorry," she stated simply.
"It's ok. I understand," he replied. He knew what she was referring to without an explanation.
"You're going to need a name now that you're here," she added, "for paperwork and things."
"Yeah, I guess so," he scrunched up his nose to indicate his disgust. "You lot and your obsession with names."
Rose ignored his obvious display of disgust, "have you thought of any?"
"How about John Smith? I've always liked John Smith, common, simple, doesn't attract too much attention."
Now it was Rose's turn to scrunch her nose in dislike, "but it's too common. What about something else?"
"Like what?"
"Umm... What about David?"
"Uh, yuck! No!"
"Ok, how about Alan?" she suggested.
"Nope! No way."
"Well then, what do you like?"
The Doctor thought for a minute, tongue curled up behind his teeth, hand rubbing his face. Finally, a wide grin broke out and he said deviously, "I've always quite liked Casanova."
Rose rolled her eyes and stifled a giggle, "ok, ok. Let's just forget about it for now, Casanova."
A/N: I hope you like what's happened so far. I have a few more ideas for new chapters but I would LOVE if you could review and leave me some comments and suggestions. Constructive criticism is highly welcomed!
