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Chapter 41 - Smithsonian Museum

They had a wonderful time at the Smithsonian museum. Their private guide was able to answer most of the questions the Doctor presented to him. He was most curious to know how the plane not being so popular in this dimension had affected everything else. As it turned out, it seemed to have very positive effects. Even the hydrogen cars, that were more popular than the gasoline cars in the Prime Dimension, were able to trace back their beginnings to the Zeppelin airship.

The Hindenburg fire of 1937, never happened. And thus, the airship was redesigned and improved on many times in the years after the war. One of the engineers that worked on airships for the military, had also designed the hydrogen car. According to the guide, the inventor stated, "He needed a distraction from military work at the time."

There were several times the Doctor was allowed to get in closer to the exhibits and get a better look. He would put on his glasses and investigate closely. He would always take Tony, who he rarely put down, and pointed out several things that he noticed. Rose didn't know if Tony understood what the Doctor was saying, but he seemed to hang on his every word.

The Smithsonian was huge, and they were not able to see everything that day. But, they had seen so much that Rose walked back to the car that afternoon completely exhausted.

Rose noticed the Doctor looking at a statue of an angel with a great deal of suspicion. His mouth had dropped open in shock.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"Hang on a bit." he told her as he took his sonic screwdriver and scanned the statue.

Rose noticed he didn't take his eyes off of it the entire time, even to look at the readings on the screwdriver.

"Is everything alright?" Rose asked him after he stared at it a bit longer. He was looking at it with more interest than he had anything else that day.

He walked around it and mumbled, "Wow. That looks so similar. Hmm..."

"Doctor?" Rose called.

He looked over to her as if he just realized she was there. "It's nothing Rose. I thought we had a big problem. But, everything's good."

They all got into the limo.

"We'll have to come back here!" the Doctor announced.

"Did you want to stay longer?" Rose asked him.

"Nah, I think Tony is done in. We can come back another time." the Doctor explained.

They were back in the stretch limo they had rode down from New York in. Shakes rode up front with Lewis driving. Tony lay down in Rose's lap and went to sleep as soon as they got on the road. Rose sat on one side of the curved bench with Tony's head in her lap. The Doctor had taken off his jacket, and covered up the small boy with it. Tony was so small, that it covered him completely. The Doctor was at Tony's feet.

The Doctor raised up and poured him and Rose some wine. She thanked him as he handed it to her. He leaned back and looked down at Tony. He patted his leg.

"Yeah, I think we wore this little one out today." he said as he took a drink.

Rose smiled at him. "I bet you would make a great father."

He snapped his face up to look at her. "Why, Rose Tyler. Are you trying to tell me something?"

"No!" Rose blushed and shook her head. "No, not that."

The Doctor laughed at her embarrassment. He drank the glass of wine and sighed. Rose looked over at him.

"I really don't think I was ever any good at any of that stuff. Now, that I think about it, I've only ever been good at traveling. Saving the universe. That sort of thing. This is all pretty new to me." the Doctor told her as he lay his hand on Tony's leg.

"You seem to be adjusting alright. I'm really surprised honestly." Rose told him.

"Ah..." the Doctor shrugged. "Humans are always able to adapt to what life throws at them. Maybe it's my human side that's helping me with that."

Rose smiled. "Maybe so. The Doctor, with a secretary. And a mortgage."

The Doctor looked away and smiled. "And a fiancée. Who would have ever thought this?"

Rose laughed quietly. "Not me for one. But, I have to tell you. You are very good at it."

He looked at her. "At what?"

"Being a fiancée." Rose told him with her tongue in her teeth.

He smiled. It made him tingle all over. "Fiancée. You've never called me that before." His smile threatened to overtake his face.

"Well, that's what you are. Have you ever been called that before?" Rose asked him.

He looked away and pointed at her. "Don't want to answer that. This is going too good for me to mess it up."

Rose laughed at him. "Slippery old man."

"Yep!" he popped as he poured himself some more wine. He poured some more in Rose's glass and sat back in the seat. He propped his arm up on the back of the bench so he could look at Rose.

Rose drank her wine. "And you are good at lots of things, outside of the TARDIS."

He shook his head. "Nah, I don't see it."

Rose said, "Well for one, you are a brilliant kisser."

He blushed and looked away from her. "Yeah, never had any complaints in that department." He drank his wine.

Rose laughed. "One day, I'll get an explanation for that comment."

He shook his head and smiled. "Oh no, you won't. Not if I can help it!"

"And you are excellent in bed." Rose whispered to him.

He was in the middle of a drink and spit it back out in the glass.

"Rose Tyler!" he exclaimed.

She was laughing at him. He was blushing like mad and shaking his head in disbelief. "Oh, woman. I can't even believe you."

Rose teased him. "Anyone else ever told you that before?"

He refused to look at her. He knew what she was doing. He drank his wine. "Not answering that either, my love. No way."

He drank the rest of his glass and sat it back down on the bar. He looked over at her. She was still smiling at him. He rolled his eyes and shook his head at her. He was properly blushing now.

He dug around in his pockets for something. "Damn it. I'm out of lollipop's. Rose Tyler. You are so..."

"Mean?" Rose helped.

"Inquisitive." he told her.

"Come on, I know you've been around. Tell me one person. I know I'm not the only one."

He blushed and rubbed his face. "Gods. How did we get on this subject? Conversations like this usually don't end well, Rose. I don't think you want to know this."

Rose was laughing at his embarrassment. "Why Doctor. I've never seen you squirm so much."

He was laughing under his breath. "No, sweetheart. Not a good idea. Talk about something else."

"No, we're talking about this." she teased him.

He lay his hand on the back of the bench and she held it.

He smiled at her. "Why does it matter?"

"I'm just curious. All of time and space. Who would have told the Doctor that he was good in bed besides me?"

He stared at her, smiling.

She stared back, raising her eyebrows in determination.

He grunted, "Well, there is probably someone that you have heard of."

He shook his head and laughed. "I can't believe you are going to get me to tell you this."

Rose laughed at him. "Come on then. Who?"

He gripped her hand tighter and sent her a name in her head.

Rose covered her mouth and nearly screamed. Her reaction made the Doctor laugh and blush worse than he had before.

"Oh, hell. I need another drink, now." he told her as he raised up and poured himself another glass. He drank the entire thing and sat the glass back down on the bar.

Rose was still laughing. "You are kidding me."

He rubbed his hand through his hair. "You had to know, woman! Yes, it's true."

"But, she's the 'Virgin Queen'."

He shook his head. "Oh, I assure you she wasn't. Several times, in fact."

"You could have been king if you had married her." Rose told him.

He looked seriously at her. "I need another drink." He raised back up and poured himself another glass of wine.

"You married Queen Elizabeth the First?!"

"Rose Tyler, you are going to wake up your brother!" he scolded her quietly.

Rose covered her face and continued to laugh. "Well, you would have been king!"

He looked at her embarrassed. "Ugh. Well. It was a bit more involved than that. I didn't want to be king. It didn't work out. Explains why she always tried to kill me whenever I ran into her later in her timeline though. Do we have to talk about this?"

Rose looked at him, "I'm sorry. Have I overstepped-"

"No. Not at all." he laughed as he drank his wine. "That...wasn't like this. Completely different situation."

Rose drank her wine and looked at him. "I helped Caroline with the music for tonight. I hope I picked something you haven't heard before."

He drank his wine and looked over at her. "Rose, I spent hundreds of years with music as my companion. Finding something I have never heard will be a tall order."

She smiled at him. "Nah, I think I have. I can't wait for you to hear it. Several really good ones you can dance to."

He looked over at her and smiled. "I'm looking forward to it. I love that you are trying to surprise me."

He lay his arm on the back of the bench again and took Rose's hand.

'I love you wearing that vest. You look so handsome.' Rose told him.

'That's because I am handsome.' he told her.

'And modest.' Rose teased.

He shook his head. 'Nope, never been called that. I'm just trying to keep up with my beautiful pink and brown girl. She's so lovely. I don't want her to be seen with a slob.'

'I like it when you look like a slob.' she told the man who was sitting there with his hair done all perfectly, even if he had been running his hands through it. His beard trimmed and looking sharp. His tan body in a three piece suit.

He smiled back at her. "The beard does it for you, huh? That's really it."

Rose laughed. "Maybe, so."

Rose noticed him look down at his watch. Was his time senses fading as well? He had told her that several of them were already gone, but he hadn't explained which ones.

He asked, "Is it really only 2:00?"

"Did you get a new watch?" Rose asked him.

"Nah, this one is Jake's. He has mine. Pete and I agreed to give him a gizmo watch. I'll have one and I'm going to make you one. But, that's it. No one else will have one. Way too dangerous in his climate."

"You haven't told me about the meeting." Rose told him.

"It's bad, darling. What I had expected. Basically, these people want to eliminate all extra terrestrial life that is currently residing here on earth. You were their biggest target because you are so well known. Well, that and because you have helped so many other aliens settle here."

"But, how would they know that? Torchwood is seen as an invention and weapons development industry. Nothing to do with alien stuff. Well, officially."

"Really?" he Doctor rubbed his beard. "Sweetheart, I don't know. There is a leak there inside Torchwood someplace. That's all I can figure. And I can't figure out who it could be. They seem to have their hands in everything."

"I wish I could talk to Melissa. She's not called me in almost a week. I wonder what she would say about our engagement."

The Doctor's heart sank. He quickly let go of Rose's hand so she wouldn't notice.

"Tell me about your friend, Melissa. Does she have a family?" the Doctor asked.

"Her husband died last year. He had been sick for a while. She has had a hard time with it."

"Naturally." the Doctor reasoned.

"So, she's buried herself in work. She rarely sees her daughter."

The Doctor felt even worse. "She has a daughter? How old is she?"

"I don't remember. Small though. Three? Four? She's adorable. I've met her a few times. She has wild hair like her mum. It just looks out of control all of the time."

The Doctor rubbed his hair with both of his hands.

Rose noticed him, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I was just curious. Who keeps her daughter when Melissa is working all of the time?"

"I have no idea. I don't believe she has any family."

The Doctor sighed. That poor child. Barely out of the cot and had already lost both of her parents and was now all alone in the world.

He rubbed his face.

Rose considered him. "Okay, something's wrong. I can tell."

The Doctor looked up at her. He took her hand, and Rose could feel his sadness. "I didn't want to tell you until we were headed back to London. But, sweetheart. Melissa died. They found out this morning."

Rose covered up her mouth in shock. "No."

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. It was a car accident. Completely unrelated to this war we are fighting with this purists." he gritted his teeth.

Rose looked up at him. "Was her daughter with her? Is she alright?"

"I don't know."

"She's all alone, Doctor. I really don't think she had anyone."

"I know, sweetheart. Let me ring Jake. He might be able to get us some information about this."

He picked up the phone and rang Jake.

"Jake. I told Rose about Melissa and she says that Melissa has a daughter. Who is taking care of her?"

Rose heard Jake's voice on the other end of the conversation.

"Yeah, look into for me. I've got your watch ready, will you be back tonight?"

Jake apparently said something.

"Alright, see you then, mate."

The Doctor ended the call and looked at Rose. "Jake will have some answers for us tonight."

Rose was still sitting in the corner quietly with her mouth covered. The Doctor moved to go sit next to her.

"Sweetheart. It's alright to be sad. You were friends." He held her as she started to cry into his chest. He rubbed her back as she mourned the loss of her friend. After a while, she leaned back. He offered her tissues.

"Does losing people ever get any easier?" Rose asked him.

He looked her in the eyes. "No. It doesn't. We should hope that it never gets easier."

"I don't know if I can live this long, knowing one day it will be you." Rose whispered.

He kissed her forehead. "Pain and loss define us. As much as happiness and love whether it's a world or a relationship. Everything has it's time, and everything ends."

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