Chapter 10
The trip back to the Estate seemed to go on forever. Rose normally took two buses with a several block hike in between but James insisted on going to the nearest Underground stop. It was crowded, hot and loud, their timing having hit when most of the schools let out, but James managed to find a singe empty seat and he insisted Rose sit while he held the bar above her.
His body was in constant motion, not only with the swaying motion of the Tube, but he would tap his toes or wiggle his shoulders every few minutes, pausing in between to run his fingers through his already wild hair. He was making her nervous.
"James?"
"Hmm?" The hand made its circuit back through his hair. Rose had had enough. They had two stops left and he was driving her mad. Grabbing onto his belt, she tugged hard, causing him to stumble and land on her lap with an oomph. The man on her other side snorted and shifted a bit but stayed asleep.
"God, you are heavy, I wasn't lyin' before. Now will you hold still for a bit? You're worse than a five year old on a sugar rush!"
James brushed Rose's fringe out her eyes, lingering on the soft pink streak.
"And do you have evidence of what a five year old on a sugar rush is like? Or are you just making assumptions?" he asked, his eyebrow quirked and his face arranged in that smug 'know-it-all look'.
"I have cousins. Right little shi... terrors, they are. Tried watching three of 'em at once. Locked myself in the loo just to get some peace." She began finger combing his ruffled hair, dragging her nails across his scalp. He leaned back into her chest, rumbling low his chest. Rose hadn't realized how much she missed the intimacy of physical contact this past week. Sure, she would give Mickey, Shireen or Keisha the occasional hug, but it was quick and usually just involved arms and shoulders. Contact with the Doctor was almost always a full contact sort of experience, even hand holding. Their fingers would be linked and their arms and shoulders would brush together as they walked.
"Hmm, Rose? Don't you think we should switch places?" The Doctor finally looked relaxed, eyes closed, long lashed resting against dark circles. "I don't want to squish you."
"You're fine for the next stop. Granted we're gettin' a few odd looks," his eyes popped open at that and he noticed a group a teenaged girls giggling behind their hands. Rather than shift, he smirked and winked before leaning back against Rose and nudging her hand to continue its motion through his hair.
"Did anyone ever tell ya, you could go bald playin' with your hair so much?"
"Pfft, twaddle. I like that word, twaddle. Stimulating the roots, that's what you're doing. Making it grow all the faster. How have you really been, Rose?"
Sighing, she leaned her head down and laid her cheek against the Doctor's hair.
"Honestly? Tired. Confused. I meant what I said back in your office with Mum, though. I am rubbish at relationships. I've only ever had the one and it was the biggest mistake of my life. 'S why I'm so afraid of you hidin' something from me even though I haven't really shared all that much with you."
James twined their fingers together. They only had a few more minutes left before the last stop, and then it was a fifteen to twenty minute hike to Rose's flat –if they didn't stop for dinner. "You have opened up to me..."
"No, no I haven't, not really. Nothin' that my mates don't already know. We're supposed to share things and maybe this isn't about you…maybe it's…maybe it's me and…"
Before Rose could get really worked up, the Tube lurched to a stop, nearly tumbling James out of her lap.
"Look, let's grab something for dinner and we'll talk when we get to your flat. Unless you have food at home?"
Rose shook her head as they climbed the stairs and spilled out onto the busy street. "No, well maybe some Top Ramen."
"Mmmm, ramen… I know just the place."
Two steaming bowels of chicken and noodles later, and Rose reclined against the back of the sofa and watched as James practically inhaled the remains of her bowl. While Mickey made sure she ate while she was struggling with what she found out about the Doctor, she wondered if the same was true for him. He didn't act desperately clingy or jealous of her other friends but she needed to know why he wasn't close to anyone else here in London.
"Doctor?"
Wiping his mouth, he set the bowl on the battered coffee table and turned towards her. That was another difference between him and Mickey. Mickey complained she didn't have cable and only got a few channels, none with the good footy matches on. So he jumped on a neighbor's wireless and had his laptop going night and day. Even if they talked, there was something on in the background taking up part of his attention. With the Doctor, she was the only one in the room.
"Why don't you have anyone here in London? I mean, I had Mickey, Shireen and Keisha but you didn't have anyone? How long have you been here? Longer than the month you've been working, yeah?"
Sighing, he rubbed his eye with his finger. "Guess we both have things we don't like to talk about, eh? Wilf started trying to recruit me right out of medical school. I was a bit impulsive, unorthodox and most of my colleagues knew about my past so I didn't have many job prospects, at least not clinically. I worked in research for a bit but the lack of patient contact was, frankly, boring. I wanted to do something.
Not long after Wilf contacted me the first time, I met Dr. John Smith. He worked mainly with war veterans, being one himself. He was brash, rude, short-tempered and a brilliant teacher. You would have loved him, Rose. It took a few years but he finally convinced me to take the offer here in London. And I agreed, on one condition."
"What was the condition?"
"That Dr. Smith come with me. I would work under him in an assistant capacity. He was angry about it, at first, but he agreed. He knew that my past followed me and wanted me to make it on my own merit. He would stay a year and then I would take over."
Placing her hand on James' knee, Rose tried to bring him back to the present. He was looking at her but his eyes had taken on a haunted, lost look.
"Doctor? What happened to John?"
"He…he died. Just two days before we were supposed to leave. The police thought it was suicide but he wouldn't do that. I don't remember much about that night. The police tell me they found me near my car with a head wound. They think he hit me over the head with a rock, they found a bloody one nearby, and that he jumped off a cliff."
"Oh, Doctor…"
He gripped her hands and chocolate eyes met golden hazel. "Rose, he was happy. John wouldn't have killed himself. No one listened though. Most people didn't see the man he was – he reserved that for his patients or his close friends. They just ruled it a suicide and closed the case. So when Wilf came 'round again, I left. Nothing there for me. I'd been in London about four months when I met you."
He cleared his throat and took a sip of water. "You can see why I was worried when your Mum said those clippings were hand delivered. They've followed me for years but I don't recall anyone ever saying that someone dropped them off. I don't know if that makes it personal to you or me."
"But you have an idea."
His expression darkened. "Oh yes."
"Saxon." They said at the same time.
"Doctor, I know he's persistent and he's a right prick but would he really go to that much trouble for someone like me?"
"Oh, Rose, you underestimate your appeal and no, I don't just mean the way you look. You have a way of holding yourself, tilting your head, of tackling a problem or question head on that is really quite…arousing. Hearing that he's been flirting with you since you were a teenager," James shuddered, "That's low even for Saxon."
"Okay, I'll have to take your word for it. So why you, then?"
Shrugging, James moved to put his feet on the coffee table before a look from Rose dropped them right back to the floor. "You have to remember he wanted the Chief Psychiatrist position. Not only was I an outsider but in his mind, I didn't even want the job in the first place. I was entering into a position that wasn't even offered originally, it was created just for me under Dr. Smith. Plus, me starting to see you was just the icing on his already spoilt cake. He saw you first so he had dibs."
"No one has dibs on me! I'm not some cheap prize from down the pub!"
James held up in hands in surrender. "Easy there! I know that but Saxon sees people as disposable commodities. And he doesn't like being told no. I wouldn't put it past him to have dug up those old articles and had them delivered to you." He reached out and cupped her chin. "What worries me is that he sent someone to do his dirty work for him. At least he broke into my office himself when I first started. Got ink stains all over his pretty suit, too"
Rose laughed. "What?"
"When I first started at the hospital, my notes kept disappearing. It got so bad; I started taking everything home with me at night. Came in the next morning and my whole office was trashed. Oddly, the security cameras in my hallway weren't working that week. So, I decided to add a little additional security as it were. I rigged up an exploding ink bomb to go off if anyone tried to get in without the key. Nasty stuff, too, had to wear off. The next morning Saxon came in and his hands and wrists were stained red. Mumbled something about dye but I knew it was him. Unfortunately, when I reset it, something must have gone wrong because housekeeping refuses to set foot in there, now."
"I knew you liked to blow things up!"
"Oi! It worked just fine at first, thank you very much!" Draping his arm over her shoulder, James pulled her close and dropped a kiss into her hair. "Feel a bit better?"
"Yeah, yeah, I think I do." Tilting her head up, Rose captured James lips in a kiss. It was the first one she initiated and James kept it soft and light. Feeling reckless, Rose nipped at his bottom lip and flicked it with her tongue. Groaning, James deepened the kiss, tangling his tongue with hers. Hands on her hips, James moved her so she was straddling his lap.
"Alright?" he panted.
"Fantastic." His hands slipped up the back of her tee shirt when her mouth descended on his neck. When her teeth hit a particularly sensitive spot just behind his left ear, his head fell back against the sofa and his hands moved up to cup her breasts through her bra. Rose pulled away, panting, to give him a wicked grin.
"Wanna know somethin'?"
"Always."
"You're the first guy I ever made out with on a sofa!" She pulled off her tee shirt and captured his lips again and James was momentarily distracted by his blood flow completely deserting him for regions further south before he remembered she had a serious relationship before this. His brilliant mind just wasn't going to focus on that now, not when Rose Tyler was unbuttoning his oxford and running her nails over his chest.
Growling, James flipped them so he was on top (not exactly comfortable with the short length of the sofa but he made it work with one leg on the ground and the other wedged between Rose's thighs) and kissed his way to the tops of her breasts.
"Please, Doctor…"
Grinning wickedly, he nipped the lace of her right cup. "Please, what, Rose?"
Glaring, she bucked her hips up, brushing against his straining trousers and James groaned. Adjusting a bit so that his erection pressed firmed against the seam in Rose's jeans, they set up a steady rhythm, hips grinding, mouths meeting in progressively sloppier kisses.
Rose was so focused on the unfamiliar tingling building up and spreading to her toes that she didn't hear the front lock snick open.
James had his head buried between the soft mounds of Rose's breasts, his breathing ragged as his fingers worked at the zip of her jeans, too distracted to hear the thud of a bag hitting the carpet.
"You bloody pillock! Get the hell off her!"
James found himself hefted back by the shoulders and flung into an end table, upsetting a lamp and causing it to shatter, ceramic cutting deep into his hand. His arms went up in self defense but a flurry of pink (the color of Rose's bra) and yellow flew at the intruder.
"Damnit, Mickey, what are you doin'?"" A crack split the air and James found himself wincing in sympathy. If Rose's slap was anything like her mother's, the boy would be feeling it for a week.
"I…You…" Mickey gestured at her front. "He was pawing at you! I was rescuing you!"
Rose flushed and reached for the nearest article of clothing, James' oxford, and slipped it on, buttoning the center few buttons.
"How the 'ell did you get in 'ere?"
Mickey looked everywhere but at the furious blonde. "I sorta made a copy of your key when you were at work."
"Michael Smith, how dare you! I let you stay over because you said you were worried about me, I didn't expect you to try an' move in." Her eyes darted to James on the floor and widened. "Oh, god, Doctor, you're bleedin'."
She made to move beside him but he shook his head.
"It's not too bad, Rose. At least I don't think it is. Could you get me a towel first?"
"Yeah, yeah, stupid me, o'course." She hurried down the short hall to the loo and rummaged for a towel and first aide kit leaving the Doctor and Mickey to glare at each other.
"What the hell did you think you were doin' with Rose, huh?"
The Doctor smirked. "Well, if you need an anatomy lesson there, Rickey, I prefer to keep those things private but…"
"Enough you two." Rose knelt down and pressed the towel against the Doctor's bleeding hand. He nudged her with his leg to get her to look up.
"Hey, it's fine, really. Though it is the first time I got beat up by a jealous boyfriend."
"Mickey's not my boyfriend."
Dropping into the recliner with a huff, Mickey agreed. "Rose, do you even have any idea what you're doin' with this guy? After everything that happened?"
"Yes, Mickey, I do know what I was doin' considerin' I started it. And speakin' of the last week, why didn't you tell me the Doctor had been stoppin' by?"
"Er, well, what those papers said. He's bad news, Rose! And with what happened to you before…."
Rose cut him off. "Those articles were old."
The Doctor nodded, hissing a bit when Rose applied antiseptic to his cut. It wouldn't need stitches but it was going to be painful for a bit.
"Not that it's any of your business, but Rose knew my parents died in a fire. I didn't tell her about being suspected because I was a child. Not exactly something you want to bring up on a first date. We're getting there, Mickey. Getting to know someone takes time."
"What about the slick suit at the door?"
"That's what worries me."
Rose finished wrapping his hand and helped him back to the sofa.
"That's why I'm going to be staying with the Doctor for a few days."
Mickey's jaw dropped. "What! Why? I said I'd stay as long as you needed me to, babe."
"And I appreciate it, Micks, really, but I can't sleep when you're here. And not after you went and made a copy of my key!" Sighing, she rubbed at her forehead. "Look, Mickey, I appreciate you looking out for me, I do, but could you maybe give the Doctor and me some time alone, please?"
"Rose…"
"Please, Mickey."
Finally, he dragged his feet to the door. "As long as you're sure, babe." Rose nodded. "I'll call you first thing in the morning."
Waiting until the door shut to rest his head against the back of the sofa, James groaned. "Well, that was a first. Don't think I've ever gotten caught necking on the sofa before." He flexed his injured hand. "I am glad to see how protective your friends are of you, though."
"Hmmm. Mum mentioned somethin' today about Mickey having been in love with me since we were little. I never saw it. And he never said nothin' about it. Maybe some things woulda turned out different if he woulda."
"What things?"
Rose got up and locked the door making sure to turn the deadbolt and attach the chair before coming back over to the sofa. She pulled an old quilt off the back and wrapped it around the Doctor and herself.
"I think it's time you knew why I don't have relationships. About what happened when I ran away."
"Rose, you don't have to…"
"I think I do. I…I want to, need to, if we're goin' ta be together. You know a bit already. That my ex was a worthless lump who knocked me around. But that's a… sterile…version of what happened. You have to understand I was sixteen and tired of bein' the responsible on. I wanted to raise hell. " Rose drew a deep breath and blew it out.
"Then I met Jimmy Stone at a club…"
