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Chapter 6 - Braided

The Doctor was on the couch in the sitting room of his and Rose's room. He was working on the gizmo watches for Pete and Howie on the coffee table. He had on his glasses. He seemed completely focused on the task.

Meanwhile, Rose was busy packing everything for them to leave that afternoon.

"Do you need any help, Rose?" the Doctor asked her.

"Nah, you're good. You need to do that." she told him.

"Alright... well... if you need me, let me know. I'm anxious to get back to London. I want to read this paper you have published that's got you Nominated for the Nobel Prize!"

She dropped her arms and looked at him. "Really? You are still on about that?"

"Come on Rose, let me read it! Einstein let me read his papers."

"Ugh!" she exclaimed as she walked into the bedroom.

He laughed at her annoyance.

Genie came running in. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm making your Grandfather something and Rose is packing for us to go back to London tonight."

Genie sat on the couch with the Doctor.

"I've never been to where we are going." she told him.

He didn't take his eyes off his work. "Don't worry about that. I've not been there either. I've never seen it."

"But you live there! How have you never seen it?"

"Your Grandfather bought it for us while we were on a cruise over here. Rose hasn't seen it either. It will be a surprise for all of us. How about that?" he smiled at her.

She smiled back at him. "I guess that's alright then."

She sat and watched him work. She was quiet for a long while. He nearly forgot she was there. He felt someone looking at him and looked back over to her.

"What's on our mind?" he asked her.

"Nothing. I didn't know you wore glasses." she told him.

"Yep. Just when I'm working on small things I need to see really well." he answered slowly. "This thing is being a pain."

"Am I bugging you?" Genie asked him.

He looked back at her. "No, sweetheart. You're fine. I'm glad you are here. It's keeping me from saying ugly things to this ... watch!"

He threw it on the table and rubbed his hands in his hair. He took off his glasses.

He looked over at her. She was laughing at him. It made him laugh. "My Sara Gene. You make me smile."

He picked her up and sat her in his lap, kissing her forehead.

"I need to take a break from that thing before it zaps me God only knows where. I don't need you to see that. That always makes me talk ugly." he told her.

"Are you really a monster hunter? That's what Tony said."

Rose walked into the sitting room. She had been listening to them talking.

"Do you need me, Doctor?" Rose asked him.

"No. We're good, Rose. Genie is helping me keep my cool at the moment."

"That's right! I'm an icepack!" she laughed.

He laughed at her. "Right! An icepack!"

He tucked her hair behind her ear. "Do you always wear your hair like this?"

She shook her head. "No, mum would sometimes braid it like Rose's hair."

The Doctor looked back to see Rose's long braid down her back.

"Oh! I bet that's really pretty."

"Yeah, I was thinking about asking Rose if she could braid it."

"Well, why wouldn't you ask me?"

Rose walked into the room. "You can braid hair?"

"Well, I haven't done it in a very long time, but I used to!" he said. "Go grab me a brush from the bathroom, Genie."

Genie jumped off of his lap and ran off.

Rose looked confused at him. "You can braid hair? Really?"

"I don't know if I remember how to or not. We'll see." he reasoned.

Genie returned with a brush. He picked her up and sat her on his knees.

He spoke to her as he brushed her hair out. "See sweetheart. I used to have hair just like yours. This hair reminds me of my third...fourth... and eighth...ummm...haircuts. Just curly enough. Not a puff of hair, just long curls. It's so pretty on you. I don't think it ever looked this good on me."

Rose laughed at him. "Yeah, I see what you did there. Clever."

He looked back at her and smiled. "You're going to watch me?"

"Yeah, I think I will! I want to see this." Rose told him.

He shook his head and laughed at her. "Rose thinks I don't know what I'm doing, Genie."

"Well, I'm not entirely sure, either." Genie told him.

Rose laughed, "Oh, I love this kid!"

The Doctor laughed as he sat down the hair brush. "Alright, you cheeky, young lady. Let's see how this goes."

He divided her hair into eight parts. Rose looked confused, but didn't say anything. He twisted and tied them as he worked going down her head.

"Is that too tight?" he asked her.

"No. It's alright. Can you tell me a story while you do this?" Genie asked him.

"Alright. A story. Well, once upon a time. There was a man who took this firey, red headed woman named Donna to see an ancient town. He thought it was Rome, but...well...he always had problems with directions. Poor bloke."

Rose sat down on the couch next to him. "I've not heard this one."

He smiled as he continued to braid Genie's hair. "The town was called Pompeii, and as the unlucky man found out shortly after he got there, that a big volcano was going to erupt and bury the town. The man couldn't do anything to stop the volcano, or save anyone. It upset him, but nothing like it upset Donna. Oh man! She was so sure that he could, and he was just being pigheaded. She smacked him, cussed him, begged him and finally bullied him into saving one family. He took them onto his ship and flew them to a high mountain where they all watched the town burn. There was nothing he could do to stop the volcano from erupting."

"What was the man's name?" Genie asked.

"Spartacus!" the Doctor answered dramatically and laughed.

Rose laughed at him. "Oh, I doubt that was it."

He continued to braid her hair. "Well, that's what he told the family he saved. Afterwards, Caecillius and his family moved to Rome, and started running a business. Their oldest son, Lucius, became a doctor. He helped a lot of people. It made Spartacus feel better that he had listened to Donna. Even though he would never admit that to her. Even now."

"Donna sounds like Gran." Genie said.

The Doctor laughed. "Oh, believe me. She was much worse. And you haven't even seen Gran when she's mad."

Rose laughed at him. "You know, I used to know this man. He wore a leather jacket and had blue eyes."

"Oh and big ears! I remember him." he smiled.

"What do you think he would have done if he had to deal with Donna back then?"

He laughed. "Oh, they would have killed one another. I'm sure of it. Both of them as stubborn as the other one. Both had to have their own way. Both thought they were right. But, no. I was right. I'm grateful the man in leather had met his pink and yellow girl before Donna. She had really tamed him. Donna was...something."

"I still see her in you. Even now." Rose smiled.

"I still feel her in me. It's odd. I try to keep it under control. She's tough though."

He tossed his hands up. "There! Braided hair! See, I remembered how to do it!"

Rose looked at it. "Wow! Genie. This is beautiful! It looks like some braid that you would see on a princess in medieval England! Your Daddy did a great job!"

He bit his lip. "Yeah, see! And you two had to be so cheeky with me. Does it pull or is it okay?"

Genie ran her hand across the back of her hair to feel it. "No, it's fine."

He picked her up and took her in the bathroom. "Come in here, and I'll show it to you in the mirror. Rose, do you have a little mirror like in your make-up or something?"

Rose followed him in the bathroom to get the small mirror. He sat Genie on the cabinet and showed her how to look in the smaller mirror to see her hair.

Her mouth dropped open. "Wow. I look like a fairy princess! Wow! Thank you, Daddy!"

He smiled at her as he picked her up and kissed her.

He sat her down on the floor. "I'm going to go show Grand! Oh, I love it! Thank you, Daddy!"

She ran off.

Rose put arms around his neck and kissed him. He pulled her close. "You are full of surprises."

"And that's not even one of my best ones!" he told her with a smile.

"Oh, Genie thinks it is. You've turned a broken little girl into a fairy princess. No wonder she loves you so much."

"Ah, she's helping me as much as I am her. I never thought I'd have to think about things like I do now, ever again."

Rose could feel his sadness. She leaned in and kissed him, running her hands through his hair. She was starting to feel his lust as he leaned his head back from her.

He didn't open his eyes. "Oh my god, Rose. I want you so much, I can't even explain it right now. But, I have to finish these watches before we leave and they are being a bitch. Michelle got us a first class room on the bullet, so Genie will have her own room. Let's finish this on our way to London." he gritted his teeth.

"Are you sure? Ten minutes?" Rose asked him.

He opened his eyes to look at her, "No, I mean all the way to London. You asked for my little trick. I figure we'll let Genie enjoy the trip for the first hour, hour and a half, then she can go to sleep."

"She won't go to sleep that early. That will be like 7:00 -"

"Oh, I can make that child go to sleep! Say yes. I need you so bad." he crashed his lips into hers and snogged her proper. He could feel her shock, excitement and lust.

He leaned back, smiled and bopped her on the end of the nose with his finger. "Think about it. The offer stands. And if you let me read that paper, I'll give your knickers back to you."

He walked back to the sitting room and sat down to work on the gizmo watches again. He turned to look at Rose who still stood there dazed. He laughed at her as he put a lollipop in his mouth.

"Need a lollipop, Rose? It helps!" he offered.

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