Previously…

It's not nine hours of snogging. It was twelve. Well, and three minutes."

The girl gave him a strange look.I must be dreaming.

Chapter Four: Whims and Fancies

Rose kept staring at him, the look frightening the Time Lord more than he would admit. He could have sworn some part of her mind was still refusing to take this for granted.

"Rose!" he embraced her, terrified of the very likely possibility she had not fought her disbelief away entirely. Hours of feeling her welcoming lips on his, her smell intoxicating him beyond measure...what for? He sighed, taking her hand. "Come," he began leading her to the med bay. It's been years since he was distressed enough to think she needed medical care… and Rose had persistently remained perfectly healthy whenever he had found a reason to run tests on her. He was expecting for it to be the same this time.

Rose was savouring the Doctor's intoxicating presence, recalling some of the things he could do with his mouth. Her lips must have been bruised, she realised. The still present slightly irritating tingle on her lips did not overshadow the pleasant feeling his touches had brought her. This had been something she could not have thought possible. Not with the Doctor. Ever. But… the girl giggled at the realisation this was no longer an undeniable fact. They had been working on making it untrue for a considerable amount of time, too! Rose smirked.

"For a dream, the snog was pleasantly realistic. Unrealistically pleasant. And long, for that matter," Rose's voice bore no signs of emotions, perhaps on intention.

The Doctor was watching her, startled and unable to make anything sensible leave his lips. Taking Rose to the med bay was suddenly out of his mind. She was simply being reasonable.

No. This absolutely could not be a dream, Rose understood. Not with her lips still tingling painfully from the- the- Oh, my God. The almost blissful realisation hit her once again. "Is snogging for twelve hours straight even humanly possible?" the blonde chortled with disbelief, her voice unnaturally low.

"It is. Kissing is very important. It saves lives. Brings lives. There is a planet, one widely known across the galaxy for space travellers, where this simple act of showing affection is more important than food or drink! Some species can survive without nourishment for years! Not without kissing, though."

"Do their kisses have to be like what we have been doing? Er… intense? Or a peck is enough for them?"

Truthfully, Rose Tyler did not care about his answer, not with his deep hazel eyes locked with hers.

"No. Constant snogging sounds is what is heard constantly on that particular planet. In fact, you are likely to be put into jail, if you don't have a partner! Er… a kissing-partner…"

Rose's eyes widened mockingly. "And you were obviously the one without having someone to kiss? Poor Doctor."

"Rose Tyler! I am fairly good when it comes to seducing women- er- females… well."

You surely are. The pink and yellow companion shrugged. "It depends. So… how many women have you seduced while being there?"

Fine, this was the very last thing she actually wanted to know.

"Do you want to know the exact number?" the alien was not expecting this from Rose – she was supposed to still love him, him and only him… Nevertheless, he kept the well-practiced mixture of teasing and disbelief on his face.

"Not really, no," Rose hurried to assure him. Please. No.

Apparently, he was too far gone with his pleasant memories. The blonde closed her eyes, ready for anything. "Oh, I would not have forgotten one of them. Too bad I never got the chance. Escaping imprisonment was more important than snogging someone I see for the first time in my life."

Rose breathed out. "So you never-"

"Nope. My talent when convincing people of something is not limited to seduction, thank you very much!"

"That's… good," Rose muttered, averting her eyes.

"It is," he agreed with a smirk. "It's not exactly pleasant watching others snog when you- er… can't."

The human gave him an incredulous look.

"I mean, when- when you don't-"

"Don't have whom to kiss?"

"Yep," he breathed out. He shouldn't have begun talking of these things, in the first place. But it seemed fitting… "I know there are humans capable of snogging for a long time. Sometimes for a longer time than we… er… have been," the Doctor shrugged uncomfortably. The fact the distance between them was not big enough for them not to feel the other's breath brushing their skin occasionally was not helping. Still, the long years of not crossing the invisible border between them were keeping them from simply allowing themselves to let go.

"Yeah?" the blonde breathed, not wanting to break off the conversation completely and fall into the heavy silence between them she did not wish to experience again. "That must not be a common thing, or I'd have heard of it," Rose gave him a tiny smile.

"It sure is," he assured. "What – haven't you been watching some of these contests on the telly?"

"Have you?" Rose giggled, trying to imagine it, more than willing to resume the life once brutally taken away from them. Some things could change, of course…

"Pfft. Obviously not. I simply happen to know they… these contests - exist."

"You seemed fairly confident about it," the girl noted playfully. It felt so good to be together with the Doctor again. To simply be with him. Watch him. Hear him. Admire him. Love him. Well… to have her feelings returned was too much to ask, clearly. Rose was determined not to. But what was going to happen now? With his ginger companion convinced they were- well. Together?

He saw the silent question burning in her eyes. "You are the one to decide if you want to return to the life we used to have."

Rose averted her eyes. "I don't exactly have a place to return to in that other life of mine, yeah?" The hostel she was staying at temporarily was not a place she wished to return to. This was where she wanted to be. Not at the place where she would need to face Mum or Pete and their worried faces every day. No matter she had a place at Torchwood guaranteed for her and could have got hold of – legally - more money she'd ever seen in her plain Powel Estate life before.

"Do I want to know the details?" he asked her with care, not wishing to touch upon any painful topics. No matter the amount of time the Doctor had to convince her – in a more than pleasant way, for that matter – he was still having doubts.

"I was going to try and live my ordinary old life… as always," Rose shrugged, uncertainty in her eyes as she unwillingly backed away from him.

The Doctor was on alert at once. "Rose? Is everything all right?"

She shrugged again.

He blinked, suppressing a sigh. "Come with me, Rose. Trust me. Please."

Rose bit her lip. "Do you still think I doubt you, Doctor? Were those twelve hours of us kissing not enough to show you just how much I am – always have been - ready to give you? I don't think so."

The Doctor gave her an uncomfortable smile. "Er… should we go look for Donna? She must think-"

"She must think we are doing… things. Your friend would be here with us otherwise," Rose sent him a good-natured smile.

"Things?" the Time Lord chortled, his cheeks reddening the next instant. "Ah. You mean things."

Rose did not look at him.

"It's a good thing we don't… er… do things!" he grimaced at his own unsuccessful pun. "I mean…" he ran his hand through his hair uncomfortably.

It was Rose's turn to laugh, but she only rolled her eyes at him, suddenly getting an amazing idea.

"How is that planet called, again?"

"Amaritia, why?"

His eyes widened at the cheeky smirk on her face. "No. You can't mean that. It's impossible for us to go there!"

"Am I not good enough to be your snogging-partner?" Rose looked at him searchingly.

"Er… you are absolutely amazing, but-"

"But?"

"You can't just kiss anyone on Amaritia."

Rose rolled her eyes at him. "Is this what I am for you?"

"No. No. No! This isn't- We need to-" he breathed the words into her ear, watching Rose's face change colour. The next thing he knew was Rose's warm breath touch his ear with an answer.

"I'm sure this can be fixed, yes?"

The Time Lord paled, managing a firm smile. It could be fixed. Had to. He had just got Rose back and was not going to deny her anything. If only she were not so jeopardy-friendly…

"I'll just tell Donna we're leaving."

A/N. Your opinions would be greatly appreciated :)