The planet felt more like home now. Even the sadness in the air seemed to have gone, as if this place were happy they had come to relieve its loneliness. One morning Rose woke, and he was not there. She dressed and headed for the control room. He was staring very intently at the viewing screen. When he saw her come, he took off his glasses and turned it off. "What are you up to?" Rose asked, sensing deception.

Chapter 5 Home Sweet…

"It's a surprise," he said. She took that as a challenge and put her arms around his neck and kissed him slowly, twirling the hair on the back of his head around her fingers. "Oh, a surprise. Tell me what it is." she cooed, nibbling her way passed his ears. She could feel his breath coming quicker and his hearts begin to race. "Oh, now, that's just not fair" he complained in a whisper, not really wanting her to stop.

He tried to put on a false bravado, "I've stood torture before. You'll never get it out of me." "Good," she replied silkily. He swallowed hard. Rose smiled and pursed her lips, blowing her warm breath over the short hairs on his neck. He groaned and swayed, pulling her in tightly to him.

"If you don't stop now, I'm going to take you, right here on the console, and you'll spoil my surprise." She drew back, wanting to see the expression on his face, and grinned, "Would that be so bad?" He straightened his back and challenged, "That depends on how badly you want to know," recovering a bit now she was not so close. "Very well then. Show me what you've got." Her eyes taunting him to respond.

He broke into a big grin, grabbed her hand and ran out the Tardis doors. Rose ran behind him like a child being pulled by a parent. "Where are we going?" she said annoyed, thinking of their warm bed. He would only respond "You'll see." After almost half a mile he finally slowed down to walk the rest of the way. Rose constantly throwing questions at him. All of which he ignored.

When they got to the other side of the lake, he said "Ok, close your eyes." She looked at him with impatience. "Do it, or we go back to the Tardis" he scolded her. Her shoulders slumped, and she closed her eyes as he took out a colorful silk handkerchief to tie loosely around her eyes. She made to protest, but he cut her off. "I don't trust you for a minute."

He took her hands, carefully leading her forward. They went another fifty feet when he asked her to wait. She heard the sound of brush being moved and maybe some stone. "All right." He took off the blindfold, "You can open your eyes now." She gasped. Before her stood the impossible. A building. A two story stone house with ornately carved doors and stained glass windows.

Rose shook her head stunned. "How did you do this? You couldn't have done it alone." He stood there silent, smiling. "Explain please." The shock on her face was a triumph for him. She came closer to examine the workmanship. "Where did it come from?" This was so totally unexpected. When she thought of them having to build a house, she had imagined something like a simple log cabin. But this, this was like a palace. A real home of their own.

He was glad she reacted to it this way. "Terraformers don't just do landscape. This place was meant to hold a colony. They would need somewhere to live when they arrived. There are more buildings and a central court to the west of us. A nice little village for about 400 people. They would have settled here first and then expanded out."

"How did you find it?" her excitement growing. "It's a proper home." she said with wonder. "The Tardis of course. It was in that file on the first day we came. We were lucky it didn't sustain any major damage. I had to come and straighten up a bit of course. Not easy to do and still keep it a secret from you. I had to give you a few false memories to keep you from asking too many questions, but that's what you get when you're always in my head poking around."

She started to get angry and then realized he was right. She looked up at the facsade. "Can we go in?" "Yes, It's ours, like everything else on the planet." He eyed her proximity to the door and stepped in front of her, "Except, there is one thing I have to do first."

He walked over to her and scooped her up in his arms. "I believe this is the tradition." He opened the door and carried her across the threshold. The gesture was not lost on Rose, who looked at him dreamily.

The inside was spacious but still cozy somehow. The walls had built in shelves and cabinets, but there was no furniture. Things seemed to be sort of, rounded off, like melted ice cream, the doors, the windows, the walls, everything. The first floor was an open concept with little to separate each room. Greeting you at the door was a flight of polished wooden stairs with railings that looked like chocolate covered tree branches.

The L shaped room on the left of the stairs had first, a small parlor with a closet and bench, which led to a den, the length of the house, and a large stone fireplace and heavy wooden mantle. There were lots of windows with stained glass accents where the sunlight was streaming in and a view of a river behind the house. Access to a ground floor half bath was tucked neatly under the stairs.

The ceiling of the living room on the right of the stairs had an amazing stained glass dome with a large clear pane in the center to see the sky. A big picture window faced the lake where you could see the Tardis. "Put me down. I want to see the rest!"

Rose explored the rooms and then went through the door to the kitchen behind the living room. It was a bit strange, but every kitchen in the universe must be the same. Something to make things hot, something to keep things cold, a sink, a pantry, room for a table and chairs. What more could you want? There was a door that opened to the back yard. Looking out of it you could see a place for a patio and gardens and fruit trees that were already full of fruit. A large river ran behind the house and a tall cliff face arched across the horizon with a beautiful waterfall. She came back to the living room to tell him she loved it, but he wasn't there.

She heard a noise from upstairs and followed it. Two lovely empty bedrooms and a bath with a small shower, a huge tub, two sinks and a window with a lovely view. The last door she opened was the master bedroom. It was enchanting. A large room with 3 stained glass windows, a bookcase, a dresser with a vase of fragrant flowers, a vanity, a comfy chair and lamp, and a four poster bed covered in warm blankets, pillows and the most smug Time Lord in the universe. He knew she was happy. It radiated from her to encompass him in its warm glow.

TBC