Sorry Chapter 3 took a bit longer, it just didn't want to cooperate. Felt like I was fighting the muse for every sentence. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, would I be writing fan fiction?

Chapter Three: The Domestic Approach

Taking the Doctor clothes shopping turned out to be one of the most entertaining things Rose had done in years. He fussed and pouted over just about everything, but he looked adorable doing so and she won nearly every argument, which meant that she had the distinct pleasure of essentially dressing the Doctor according to her every whim. The entire afternoon turned into something of a voyeuristic pleasure for Rose, as he was so slim and, yes, foxy, that he looked absolutely phenomenal in everything. She let him start out with suits, but made him get a couple that weren't pinstriped, including a black one that looked particularly sexy. After they also purchased dress shirts and ties in every color of the rainbow, she bullied him into some more casual wear, the sight of him in jeans making her mouth water. Unfortunately for her dignity, he noticed the way she ogled him in those jeans, which led to hours of being teased for it and did nothing for his over-inflated ego.

The one argument she lost was over shoes. She tried hard to get him into some more formal dress shoes, but he flatly refused to even consider anything other than several pairs of his favorite trainers in different colors. Eventually, she let him win that one, deciding that she had to pick her battles, and there were better hills to die on. Besides, she secretly enjoyed his taste in footwear, and had to agree that wearing shoes you could run in was vitally important in the life the Doctor led.

The Doctor also had far more fun than he would ever admit, even to Rose, just simply because he was with her. It didn't matter what they were doing, really; just having her around made everything more fun. His favorite purchase was the long, brown trench coat they'd found. It was nearly the same as his old one (though perhaps a shade or two darker) and he felt far more like himself with it flapping around his ankles.

The best moment of the afternoon, however, was when he caught Rose practically drooling over him when he was wearing the jeans. At first, he'd only put them on because she'd insisted, but the sight of her reaction made him vow to wear them every chance he got. Clearly, she approved of the way he looked in them, and the look she'd worn was one that he definitely wanted to see again. Frequently, if possible.

They returned to the Tyler mansion in the early evening, laden with a ridiculous number of shopping bags, which would have taken at least three trips to shift upstairs to the room he'd been given if it hadn't been for the assistance of the staff. The Doctor wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of people waiting on him, but Pete and Jackie paid them well and treated them with respect, and he was grateful for their help in this instance. However, once they got everything upstairs, he and Rose declined any assistance in putting away his new wardrobe. Instead, they undertook the task themselves, with a great deal of laughter and stolen kisses. He also took the opportunity to change into one of the new suits, deciding ruefully that the place for the blue one he'd been wearing was the bin. It had had a rather hard life, after all.

The guest room that was now his was just across the hall from Rose's room, for which they were both grateful. While they had determined not to rush their relationship, neither was comfortable with being too far away from the other. The room was handsomely furnished, like Rose's, but in soft, bland colors rather than blue and it had a couple of generic paintings on the wall that he privately thought were boring. Rose had caught his look of distaste and giggled slightly, promising him he could redecorate later if he wanted.

That evening, they also took the time to find a quiet, private place on the grounds where they could set the small piece of TARDIS coral to start growing. As he completed the necessary modifications to accelerate its growth, they shared a delighted smile, nearly bouncing up and down in their excitement. They were both eager for the TARDIS to grow so that they could get back out among the stars. In the meantime, Rose intended to keep working for Torchwood, and offered to take him there in the morning and show him around so that he could decide if he wanted to offer his services as well. He was a little hesitant about that, but had to agree that he was certainly going to need something to do for the next year and a half, and only Torchwood was likely to be able to offer him any scope for his talents. Besides, this universe's version was nothing like the other one anymore, as Rose and her stepfather had pointed out earlier.

They had dinner with her family and spent the remainder of the evening chatting with her parents in the lounge with Rose feeling rather astonished that her Doctor was able to sit still for that long. Granted, he was discussing the ins and outs of Torchwood's latest technological projects with Pete, not making idle small talk with her mother, but Rose still had to smother her surprise. Either he was making an extraordinary effort for her sake, or the bit of Donna in him was really doing him good. Of course, he could still just be caught up in the novelty of the whole situation, but Rose really hoped that wasn't it.

She didn't really contribute much to the technical discussion, as her efforts had been focused exclusively on the Dimension Cannon project, finding most of the work done by Research and Development a bit tedious for her taste. Before they'd started building the Cannon, she'd preferred doing something a bit more active, like field duty. She found herself wondering what her Doctor would say if he found out about some of the more dangerous missions she'd been on and mentally winced away from the topic, resolving instantly to never tell him. She'd probably have to bully Jake and a few of the others into keeping their mouths shut as well. The Doctor'd probably have a heart attack if he found out about how much danger she'd put herself in, especially about that one incident in Portugal… Well, that had been on the one year anniversary of the Doctor's farewell on Bad Wolf Bay, and she'd been feeling a bit… reckless. Pete, Jake and Mickey had all been ready to box her ears over that one, and the only reason she hadn't been crucified by Jackie was because Pete and the others had determined it was smarter not to tell her.

It had been during her two week suspension after the events in Lisbon that she had really come to realize that she had to dial it back a bit, if not for her sake, then for the sake of the people who cared about her. She might not have felt she had much to live for, but if something happened to her, her family and the few friends she had would take it somewhat amiss, and she couldn't do that to them. It had also hit her that if she got herself killed, she really wouldn't ever see the Doctor again. With those two things in mind, she'd stopped leaping blindly into the most dangerous situations she could find, though she still had a reputation among the Torchwood agents as being "reckless," an "adrenaline junkie," and a bit mad. Despite all of this, her fellow agents respected her courage, determination, and the fierce way she protected any others serving with her on a mission, though they still gave her a wide berth on a personal level. Besides Jake and the ever-faithful Mickey, she'd really only made one friend here; the Torchwood doctor who had most often patched up her injuries, a young woman named Emma Davis. Tragically, Emma had been killed in an alien attack just over a year ago, and despite Rose's "obsession" with the Doctor, the young medic's death had shaken her to the core, and she still missed her. She wished so much that she could have introduced Emma to the Doctor. They would have been such great friends, and Emma would have been so happy that Rose had him back.

The enormous grandfather clock in the corner chimed midnight, startling her out of her introspection and interrupting Pete and the Doctor's discussion, Jackie having given up and gone to bed hours ago.

"Blimey," Pete said with a bit of a yawn. "If you two are going to head in to Torchwood in the morning, you should get some rest. And even if you're not, I'm going to bed, since I have to be there. Goodnight, you two," he said, hauling himself to his feet and kissing Rose's forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Pete headed off upstairs, and Rose and the Doctor looked at each other for a moment, then had to laugh when they both yawned simultaneously.

"I think that's our cue to go to bed, don't you think?" Rose grinned.

The Doctor shared her smile. "Well, it has been a rather long day."

Rose's smile suddenly morphed into a frown as something occurred to her. "Hold on, I thought you said you didn't need as much sleep as humans. Is that part of the whole metacrisis thing? That you'll need just as much sleep as me?"

He sighed. "Well, not quite as much, perhaps, but yes, my sleep cycle seems to be mostly human rather than Timelord." He made a disgusted face. "What a waste of time, sleeping for eight hours a day. Do you know how much more you people would be able to get done if you didn't spend so much time sleeping?"

Rose giggled a little, then yawned again. "Waste of time or not, it's something we both need to do, so come on, Lord of Time. Allons-y."

"That's my line," he protested as he stood up and offered Rose his hand. She took it and stood as well, and they started up the stairs to their respective rooms.

"Well, you're just going to have to learn to share," she teased.

He sniffed in mild disdain, but was unable to hide the twinkle in his eye. "Well, as long as I only have to share with you, Rose Tyler, I think I can manage that."

They came to a halt in the hallway between their rooms, and Rose was overcome with a powerful dislike of the separate sleeping arrangements. "Do you really have to sleep away from me?" she asked softly.

He gave her a small, tender smile. "I'm not going to disappear, Rose. I'll still be here in the morning. Plus, I think your mother would slap me if I tried to sleep in your room. She put up with it last night because we were in a hotel, but…"

Rose sighed in resignation. "S'pose you've got a point, there."

The Doctor could still sense her reluctance, though, and tilted her chin up with his hand so that their eyes met. "I love you, Rose," he whispered, and gave her a long, lingering kiss that chased all other thoughts out of Rose's head. When he released her, they were both breathless, and even less eager to spend the night apart. However, as the Doctor had pointed out, they didn't really have much choice, so they reluctantly said goodnight and slipped into their respective rooms for the night.

0-0-0-0-0

He was trapped, stuck behind a wall of glass that refused to yield to his furious attempts to break it down. On the other side was Rose, screaming in terror as the airlock door behind her was blasted open, and she was sucked out into the void of space, still calling his name in a broken voice.

He screamed her name, helpless to reach her, beating his fists bloody on the unforgiving wall that held him away from her as his soul ripped in half again and again, until there was nothing left but shards and the knowledge that he'd lost her, he'd lost her again-

The Doctor jerked awake with gasp of Rose's name and sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in a cold sweat and eyes darting frantically around the room before it registered that he had been dreaming. Shaking, he scrubbed his hands across his face and listened to his heart hammering in his chest as he tried to calm down. Finally, he decided that sleep was more exhausting than being awake and kicked off his blankets, wrapping a dressing gown around his shoulders as he began to pace, unable to shake the terror brought on by his nightmare.

He didn't even have time to make a full circuit around the room before the black silence of the night was shattered by a scream from across the hall. He turned on his heel and raced out of his room, only one thought in his mind.

"Rose!"

0-0-0-0-0

She clung with all her might to the magna-clamp, watching Daleks and Cybermen whizzing through the lever room and into the Void. She looked across the room at the Doctor, clinging just as tightly to his own clamp, and they shared a grin. It was working, his mad, brilliant plan was actually working, and soon Earth would once again be free from the cybernetic life forms that had tried to destroy it. The mighty words the Doctor had once spoken, "It is defended!" echoed once again through her mind.

But just as the hope of success began to swell in her heart, one of the Daleks collided with the lever on the Doctor's side, knocking it offline. The suction from the Void began to let up, and the Doctor grimaced. Suddenly, she panicked, knowing what he was going to do, and screamed for him to stop. He ignored her and released his grip on the magna-clamp, seizing the lever and hauling it back into place. But the suction was too strong, and he lost his grip on the lever and was pulled into the Void, with Rose screaming his name at the top of her lungs, forced to watch as he was ripped away from her. Her world shattered into a million pieces, and she couldn't think, only scream helplessly as the man she loved disappeared into the Void, gone forever.

"Rose! Rose, you're having a nightmare, wake up! Rose!"

Rose was jolted awake by the sound of his voice and his hands on her shoulders, shaking her gently. She gasped as the world came sharply into focus, and the first thing she saw was his worried face, paler than the moonlight streaming in her window. She quickly sat up and reached for him, and he pulled her tightly against his chest, where she cuddled close, feeling his heart racing as quickly as hers.

They clung tightly together for a long time, each wrestling with their own terrors, comforted only by the other's presence. Gradually, they calmed down enough to release their white-knuckled grips and eased back to look into each other's faces.

"Do you want to talk about it?" the Doctor asked quietly, smoothing her hair away from her face.

She took several deep breaths, still shaking. "We- we were back in the lever room at Canary Wharf, only this time it was y-you who lost your grip and f-fell into the Void, only there wasn't anyone to c-catch you," she stammered, and buried her head in his chest, her breathing ragged. She eventually calmed down, comforted by his strong grip on her, and began to realize that she wasn't the only one experiencing distress. His dark T-shirt was soaked in sweat, and his grip seemed to be less comforting and more clinging. "Are you all right?" she managed, lifting her head to try and meet his eyes.

He gave a long, shuddering breath before answering her haltingly. "This night, my dreams were also somewhat less than sweet," he admitted, swallowing hard. "I dreamed I'd lost you again."

She finally managed to catch his eyes at the end of his admission, and they stared at each other for a fraction of a second before their lips crashed together in a frantic kiss, filled with as much desperation as passion. Both were desperate to prove, really prove, to themselves that the other was still there, that they hadn't been brutally yanked apart again. He kissed her as though he would reach past her skin and merge them together, his hand coming up into her hair to hold her head in place even as she did the same, her fingers gripping his tousled locks so tightly her knuckles hurt. His tongue prodded her lips, not so much seeking as demanding entrance, which she willingly gave, and he ferociously claimed her mouth, a low groan in his throat. The sound sent little shockwaves through her body, and she couldn't help but echo it with a moan of her own even as she wrenched her lips away, dizzy from lack of oxygen. He was relentless, though, barely allowing her to gulp in a full breath before claiming her lips again. His needy kisses were rapidly chasing away her fears and replacing them with an all-consuming desire for this man who held her so tightly and kissed her so passionately.

The Doctor lost himself in Rose, burying his nightmare in the feel of her lips, jaw, and throat against his own possessive lips and tongue. All thoughts of reason flew out of his head, and all he knew was that he never wanted to let go of the woman in his arms. Acting purely on instinct, he shifted fully onto her bed and lowered her down onto her back, covering her body with his own as he sought to kiss her into oblivion. Needing more of her, he slid one hand beneath the thin camisole she wore, letting out another desperate groan as his hand made contact with her soft skin.

It was the feel of his hand on her bare back that finally snapped Rose back to reality, and she wrenched her mouth free, gasping for air. "Doctor," she managed, trying to get his attention. He ignored her, moving his seeking mouth down to her neck and nipping at it lightly. She whimpered, a part of her hating herself for what she was about to do. "Doctor, we have to stop," she gasped out, and the word "stop" finally seeped into the Doctor's fogged mind. He hauled his head up with a groan and met her eyes, and the dark look in his nearly made Rose change her mind about stopping this. "We're not ready for this, we're both freaked out and not thinking clearly, and this isn't the time." She had no idea how she found the willpower to get the sentence out with him giving her that look, but somehow she managed.

He gazed at her for a moment longer, then pulled himself away from her with a frustrated groan, lying on his back next to her as they both tried to calm their raging hormones. His left hand found her right, and they held on, gulping oxygen into their lungs without speaking for a long moment.

"You're right," the Doctor said, several minutes later, finally finding his voice. "We're not thinking clearly, and this isn't the right time for this." He turned his head to face her, a slightly apologetic look on his face. But when he opened his mouth again, she quickly intuited his intent and shushed him.

"No, don't apologize. That was just as much me as it was you, and I want you, I do." She blushed slightly at her own words, grateful that he probably couldn't see that in the darkness of her room. "I just don't want to rush into this and risk messing it up."

"Neither do I," her Doctor agreed. "Though it's a little hard to remember how to slow down when you taste so delectable," he added with a cheeky grin that she heard more than saw.

"Down, boy," she admonished him, though some of the effect was lost, due to the breathy quality of her own voice. He chuckled, but held his peace.

They lay there in the darkness of her room for quite a while before Rose spoke again, a bit hesitantly. "Do you have to go back to your room?"

He raised himself up on one elbow and locked eyes with her. "I think it's safe to say that this little experiment was a complete and utter failure. Splitting ourselves up was a terrible idea, and we're not doing that again." He reached over and pulled her into his arms, settling her head on his lean chest, much the same as they had been the previous night. "This time, I'm not leaving until you kick me out."

Rose snuggled contentedly against him. "Then you're going to be here a while."

0-0-0-0-0

When Rose woke the next morning, it was to the delightful feeling of the Doctor's arms around her, her head still resting on his chest. She smiled without opening her eyes, more than content to stay right where she was and never move again, but he was already awake and noticed her return to the land of the living.

"Good morning," he said, gently stroking her hair away from her face, his voice low.

She reluctantly lifted her head and met his warm brown eyes. "G'morning."

"Sleep well?" he asked, a smug smile teasing at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah," she agreed, and frowned when his smug grin widened. "What's that look for? Oh, God, don't tell me I snored. Or talked in my sleep, or something."

He laughed. "No, you're a quiet sleeper."

"Then what's with the cheeky look?"

"My experiment was a complete success," he announced. "No more nightmares, for either of us. I think you're going to have to learn to share," he said, sweeping his gaze obviously over her bed.

Rose couldn't help but grin at the enthusiasm with which he made this pronouncement. "Then we might want to think about getting our own place so we don't scandalize the maids, annoy my parents, and corrupt my baby brother."

His wide grin softened then, into a tender, loving smile. He stroked her hair away from her face, his fingers lingering on her cheekbone. "I think I'd like that. Our own place," he mused, his thoughts whirling a bit. "Until we get the TARDIS back, anyway," he added, and bounced out of the bed in a lightning fast change of mood. "Then it's back to exploring all the wonders of the universe. And hey, whole new universe. Who knows what sorts of planets and creatures and horizons are waiting for us out there. Oh, just you wait, Rose Tyler, it's going to be-"

"Fantastic?" she finished for him, catching her tongue in her teeth, and he grinned at her, making that adorable happy sound in his throat that she loved so much.

"Fantastic," he agreed. "Also amazing. Brilliant. Molto Bene! Plus lots of other similar adjectives. Magnificent, phenomenal-"

She cut into his ramble, laughing. "Doctor, we're supposed to be at Torchwood in an hour," she reminded him. "If we're going to make it, then we need to get ready.

He pouted. "Do we have to?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yes, and stop acting like my baby brother, it's not even cute when he says that. You're supposed to be over nine hundred years old, didn't you ever learn how to act like a grown-up?"

His cheeky grin was back. "Nope."

Rose sighed in mock resignation. "Well, then I guess you're lucky I love you, or I wouldn't put up with you. Now, shift. Go get dressed and let me do the same," she ordered, throwing back her covers and getting out of bed.

"Yes ma'am," he said, giving her a mock salute, but he still didn't make it out of her room for nearly ten minutes because he kept stealing kisses. She finally got her overly-affectionate Doctor shoved out the door, and started getting ready for the day, thinking that the grin on her face was threatening to become a permanent fixture. Not like that was a bad thing, though.

As she entered the kitchen a while later, dressed in a simple, but elegant navy pantsuit and pale blue shirt, she first thing she saw was the Doctor, eating a banana and drinking a cup of tea, and the first thing she did was burst into laughter. He glanced up at her entrance, bewildered.

"What?"

Rose doubled over, unable to speak, and gestured between the two of them. "Look, just look," she gasped out. "Look at what you're wearing."

The Doctor looked down at his own handsome, flattering navy blue pinstriped suit, pale blue shirt and navy tie, and looked back at Rose. "What? Is there something wrong with this?"

She shook her head, still gasping for air. "Look at what I'm wearing." He looked her over, still puzzled, and then she saw the light bulb turn on as he got it.

"Hmmm, we seem to have similar taste today," he said, a look of merriment dancing in his eyes. "How far do these shared tastes go, do you think? Are you also sharing in the desire for a banana?" he asked, holding one out to her. "Or in the desire to do this?"

Their fingers touched as she took the banana, and he used that to get a grip on her hand, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. When they broke apart, she gave him a grin that rivaled his own for cheekiness.

"Oh, definitely the banana, thanks," she said, and quickly peeled the one he'd handed her, taking a bite. Her grin widened even farther at the exasperated expression on his face.

"Tease," he accused her, his eyes dancing.

"Payback," she retorted. "For all those times when it was you teasing me."

They teased and laughed their way through breakfast and were just getting ready to leave when Rose suddenly frowned.

"What is it?"

"Well, something just occurred to me. I think you're going to need a human name if you're going to work for Torchwood."

"Why's that?" he asked, puzzled.

"It's a bit complicated, but there's a lot of people in this world who are still pretty xenophobic, and they'd probably go spare if they found out there was an alien working for Torchwood, the organization that's supposed to protect them from aliens. Add in the fact that you're with me, and the press would go ballistic, and turn this into a huge political nightmare for Dad. There's already a lot of people who think he's too soft on alien life forms and think the old regime had it right and we should just shoot first and ask questions of the corpse. If people find out that not only is he employing an alien, but that the alien in question is dating his daughter…"

"Then he might lose hold of the organization entirely, and you think that if I go by 'the Doctor' it'll be a dead giveaway."

"Sort of, yeah." She shuffled awkwardly.

"Well, I think I can see your point."

Rose relaxed, relieved that he wasn't offended by this. "So, what do you want to go by? We can have Torchwood create an identity file for you, or you can just use the psychic paper."

He chuckled. "Psychic paper might not cut it this time. If you weren't such a celebrity, I'd probably be fine, but as is, some pesky reporter is going to decide to 'uncover the truth about the Vitex heiress' mysterious boyfriend,' and the psychic paper won't help there. I think I'll have to accept that identity file you mentioned."

"So, what do I call you in public, then?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose I could always use 'John Smith,' but this is a lot more permanent than that usually is. Plus, the last time I used that name for an extended period of time, it didn't end particularly well, and I think I'd rather go by something else."

"Plus, John Smith just sounds like a pseudonym, and people might question that. And it would be pretty boring, and it doesn't really suit you, anyway."

He grinned down at her. "I'm glad you agree, Rose Tyler. What do you think of James?"

"That it's almost as common a name as John," she replied. "If you like it, though, then so do I, I'm not picky. It'll be your name, after all."

"James," he said slowly, trying it out on his tongue. After a moment, he decided he did like it. "James it is."

"What about a last name? Smith?"

"No, that's boring. What would you think of-" He stopped, suddenly self-conscious.

"What, Doctor?" she asked, trying to meet his evasive eyes.

He slowly turned his head back around to face her, his eyes soft. "How would you feel if I used Tyler?" he asked softly, heart hammering in his throat as he waited for her response.

She gaped at him, stunned. He wanted to use her last name? She thought for a moment, but it only took her about thirty seconds to decide. "I think that'd be fine," she replied, her voice as quiet as his.

"Really? That's not strange for you?"

She fidgeted for a moment, trying to articulate what she was feeling. "No, actually… I'm sort of flattered. You pick out a name that'll be yours for the rest of your life, and you choose my last name?" She paused, still trying to take it in, and to not jump to conclusions about possible implications of his choice. She ended up giving that last part up as a bad job, though. The image of herself in a white dress and the Doctor in a tux simply refused to go away. She forced her thoughts back to the conversation about his name, mentally telling herself to get a grip. "Do you want a middle name? 'Cause I actually had an idea about that."

"What's that?"

"Noble," she said, meeting his eyes with a sad smile. "After Donna. We may never see her again, but this way we could still honor her memory."

He swallowed against the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat. "Rose Tyler, you are brilliant," he said softly, his voice thick with emotion. They stood together in the hall, holding each other's hands and lost in the emotionally charged moment before the clock chimed and broke into their focus.

"So then, James Noble Tyler. Shall we have the paperwork goons put that on your birth certificate and stuff?" Rose asked.

"Sounds good to me," he replied.

"All right then, off to Torchwood. First stop personnel to set up your new identity, then I'll start showing you the toys in R&D." She picked up her car keys from the hook on the wall and took his hand.

"Lead on, Rose Tyler," he said with a grin.

With that, Rose and her Doctor left the mansion and headed for her car, swinging their clasped hands and happily chattering away, just as they always had.

Thanks for reading, and please review!

If you're wondering why I named the Doctor James instead of John, well… I think John Smith is boring, and since he's going to be using the name a lot, I wanted to give him something more interesting. As to why I didn't just let him stay "Doctor," well. Stick with me and I promise you'll find out eventually!