Fourth date: Equestrian
"Rose! What is taking you so long?" the Doctor whined outside of her bedroom door. "We'll miss check-in time!"
She opened the door a crack with an irritated expression. "You can't rush a woman after declaring a date on short notice. We need preparation time. I have to pack, and you know how women pack. And I'm not done getting dressed."
He smirked at the thought, moving his head to the side to see inside of her room. She shut the door in his face and he groaned, grabbing his single satchel and going to the console room. He sat on the seat, tapping his foot impatiently. Finally, he heard her walking towards him and he sprung up and skipped towards the door. "Allons-y, off we…" he stopped when he saw her outfit, grinning wildly. "You look lovely."
Rose spun around, showing off her cowgirl garb. Her hair was in two braids and she wore with a Western style top. Now, she had an excuse to wear her very expensive and very favorite cowboy boots they had picked up a few months back. She added a bandanna around her neck. "Giddy up."
They chuckled and he grabbed her unbelievably heavy pack, ushering her through the doors. She stepped onto a beautiful landscape of prairies and fields, gasping at the gorgeous ranch in front of her. The building was old and very large, completely with a wraparound porch and balcony. He joined her and they quickly made their way into the building. He flashed his psychic paper at the check-in desk, instantly allowing them access to a room for a few days.
"This is beautiful," Rose smiled when they entered their rustic room. She sat on their bed and he set the things down, flopping on the mattress beside her. "Where did you say we are?"
"We're in the year 4145 on a little planet called Ranchero Delta Seven during the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire. This is the Equestrian Ranch and Resort and we are…" he paused, checking the psychic paper. "The Doctor and Mrs. Tyler of the Western Embassy."
She grinned and kissed him briefly. "You do know that I don't know how to ride a horse."
"You don't?"
"I grew up in London. There aren't exactly stables on the Powell Estate," she chuckled. "You're going to have to teach me."
"No time like the present!" he grabbed her hand and yanked her upright, running through the halls of the ranch and down the steps to the back porch. She laughed as they ran across the field to the large stable, which was filled with all kinds of horses. After catching their breath, they walked through the stalls to select their horses. He pointed at one. "That one's called a quarter horse. You'll ride that. Great for beginners. I want," he stopped and lit up as he ran to a black and brown speckled horse. "This one! Hello, you…" he patted its neck affectionately, searching for the name. "Horse sigma eight? That's hardly a name for a horse. I'll call you Aladdin."
"Aladdin?" Rose giggled elatedly.
"Well, he's an Arabian horse. Aladdin's an Arabic name. Great Disney film. And you're one to talk, Rose Tyler. You named your Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider Juliet."
She pretended to take offense, but she couldn't do it seriously. He showed her how to groom the horses and mount the saddle, and she attempted to clean out the hooves. The quarter horse tried to kick her and she ran in terror, causing the Doctor to laugh hysterically. After he spoke to the horse quietly, the horse allowed Rose to finish. Apparently, the Doctor was quite the horse whisperer.
They went out into the field and the Doctor pointed at the saddle. "Right, this is Western riding, not English riding. We'll save that for another date. So, what you do is go to the left side…" he positioned her next to the quarter horse. "And you take the reins," he put them into her hand. "Put your left foot in the stirrup and you bounce up and over and on. Got that? Foot, stirrup, bounce, up, over, on."
"Foot, stirrup…"
"Bounce, up, over, on. Like this," he went to Aladdin and easily hopped onto the saddle. "Easy as can be! You try it."
She cautiously put a foot in the stirrup, but she wasn't as tall as the Doctor and the horse wasn't a fan of hers. In the bounce stage, she fell flat onto her back and the horse started to run away. "You all right?" he called worriedly. "Nothing broken?"
"No," she grumbled as she stood, wiping mud from her jeans. She watched as the Doctor took off after the other horse, returning moments later with it in tow. "I think the horse hates me."
"Don't be daft," he downplayed. "I'm sure it's just. Intimidated. You know. By you and. That sort of thing."
She raised an eyebrow. "Right. When it pitches me off and I break my neck, remember who wanted to go on a date with horses."
After a few more failed attempts, the Doctor simply dismounted and lifted her onto the beast. She held the reins tightly, clearly petrified. He got onto Aladdin and rode beside her, leaning across to kiss her cheek for good luck. "Now, just hang on and use your legs and the reins to turn."
He showed her how to walk the horse and she tried it, pleasantly surprised by the quarter horse. It listened to her and they slowly wandered around together. Everything was fine until the Doctor wanted to jog them instead. He explained it to her quickly and with big words, and his horse had already taken off. She kept moving the reins and her feet, but the quarter horse refused to go any faster. She really nailed it in the side, which pissed the horse off, and it began to lope instead. The Doctor was circling back for her when they flew by and she was hanging onto the horse's neck for dear life.
"Doctor!"
"Pull back on the reins!" he shouted, galloping after her. "Pull back on them and say Whoa!"
She pulled and pulled. "Whoa! Whoa! I said whoa you bloody thing!"
He managed to get beside her, reaching across with his free hand and tugging harshly on the reins. The horse skidded to a stop and he stopped Aladdin, hopping down and running to Rose. The look on her face made him nervous that maybe a horse riding date wasn't a good idea, given that he forgot to ask if she could ride. She looked at him and burst into a large grin, reaching down to be pulled from the horse. He hugged her closely. "Sorry about that."
"It's never a dull moment with you," she sighed. "I think that I'll just ride with you and not beside you, yeah?"
He smiled. "Off we go, then."
They got onto Aladdin with Rose riding behind the Doctor, hugging his waist. He led the other horse back to the stables, and after that he showed her what a horse could really do. They galloped and leapt, trotted and jogged, and he could feel her smiling into his shoulder. Stopping by a stream so Aladdin could drink some water, she watched him stroking the horse's black mane tenderly.
"You really like horses, don't you?"
"Oh yes," he said elatedly. "Such gentle creatures. And so much fun to ride. Isn't that right, Aladdin?" he asked in the same voice he used for K-9.
She smiled and gripped his hand as they rode back to the stables. When they got there, the Doctor said a long goodnight to Aladdin and they went back to their room for some couple time. As they lay tangled together, Rose couldn't sleep. The Doctor was out for his short time of slumber, and she kept looking at his face in thought. She was plotting…
The next day, they rode all around the planet. She got to sit in front as he guided her, but it was hard to focus with his hands wandering her hips and his overactive tongue on her earlobe. They stopped in a field to watch the clouds and Rose insisted they get rid of the sexual tension or she wouldn't be attentive enough to get back to the ranch.
"Well, this is it…" he told Aladdin as they stood in the stable. He groomed the horse carefully as Rose observed from her place perched on the wooden divider. "Last time we'll see each other, Aladdin. They best be good to you or they'll have me to answer to. You're a good horse. A very good horse."
Rose felt unbelievably sad for her Time Lord boyfriend as he shut the door, waving to the speckled Arabian. She took his arm and he put on a smile. "This has been brilliant."
"It has," she agreed. "You have good tastes in dates."
"So you do," he winked, sending one last forlorn glance at the stables.
In the morning, they were packing and preparing to return home. He was unusually quiet, and she knew why. When he wasn't looking, she took the psychic paper from his coat pocket and gave him a long, involved kiss. He was momentarily speechless from the sudden and pleasant attack, allowing her to leave the room with a rushed, "I'll be right back."
She went to the front desk and flashed paper. "Mrs. Tyler of the Western Embassy. There's a horse, horse sigma eight, and I'd like to have him."
"We can't do that, ma'am," the clerk responded. "He's our property."
"I don't think that you understand. My husband is Dr. Tyler of the Western Embassy. We want that horse. What can I do to get it? There has to be something we can work out, you and me…off the books, maybe?"
The clerk pointed at her feet. "I really love your cowboy boots…"
When Rose came back into the room, the Doctor folded his arms. "Where have you been, Rose Tyler? You ran out with no explanation and…what happened to your favorite boots? You're barefoot."
There was a knock on their door and Rose answered it, seeing the clerk in her cowboy boots with a stack of paperwork. "That's all the documents. Sigma eight is officially yours, along with everything in his stable."
Rose thanked them and turned around with a wicked smile, noting the confused and joyful look on the Doctor's face. She tossed him the psychic paper. "You're not the only one who can get things, you know."
They rode back to the TARDIS on Aladdin, and the Doctor practically danced the horse through the TARDIS and into the garden. "I'll have to create a new room and maybe a field. That'd be nice. He'd like that. A nice, big old field with open spaces! And a spacious stable. Not that tiny stall. No, Aladdin gets the best! Yes, you do, Aladdin!" he turned to Rose who was hovering in the doorway. "And you are the best girlfriend in the universe!"
He swung her around and kissed her over and over, pausing when she smiled. "It's about time I did something for you after all you've done for me. Besides, you looked pathetic when you said goodbye to Aladdin."
That gave him an idea. "Oh! Let's go watch the film! I haven't seen it in ages!"
They ran to the movie room arm in arm and he started the film, pulling her into his lap on the couch. "Thank you," he whispered into her hair. "Really, really thank you."
"You're welcome," she smirked.
As they watched the cartoon, they laughed at the funny parts and eventually sang with "A whole new world." Rose couldn't stop giggling because the Doctor tried to sing both the male and female parts, and the entire scene reminded her of how they first met. She hugged his arms snuggly. "A whole new world with you."
"I know, let's go on a magic carpet ride next!"
"Those don't exist," she scoffed, pausing. "Do they?"
"Well, magic no. Rug with anti-gravity, yes. Or, we could go on a safari with talking lions. Or, we could meet singing mermaids. Or, a hunchback in Notre Dame. Or, seven mining dwarves."
"Now you're just naming Disney films."
"Marathon?"
She chuckled. "It is still your date."
"Brilliant! Marathon it is! And then I want to ride Aladdin. The horse not the bloke in the film. That'd be a bit…let's just say that I'm not Jack. Anyway, next one is your choice. Anything you want."
"Anything?" she questioned mischievously. "We should stop by Mum's. Maybe we can have tea. She doesn't know that we're together yet. That'll be interesting…"
He grimaced and amended, "Almost anything you want."
