XxxxXxxxxxXxxxxx

Chapter 60 – The Hotel

The Doctor drove the car through a town. Rose looked around and smiled, "Where are we?"

"Santa Monica. There's a place I wanted to take you to." He told her as he kissed her hand.

He drove up to a large, fancy hotel and a man quickly came out to take the car. "Mr. Stark! Oh, my apologies. I recognized the car."

The Doctor laughed as he got out and handed the man the keys, "Tony loaned it to me. Honest mistake."

Another man had opened the door for Rose. "Welcome to Santa Monica, Doctor Smith."

Rose smiled as the Doctor walked around and took her hand. They held hands as they walked through the front doors. The owner of the hotel rushed to meet them as they walked into the lobby. They seemed to have gotten there before any other guests had woke up, or arrived.

The Doctor leaned over and whispered to Rose. "Okay, yes. It's a hotel. But, it's not what you think."

Rose covered her mouth and giggled.

The owner of the hotel met them and shook the Doctor's hand. "Doctor Johnathon Smith. It is a pleasure to have you here. And Mrs. Rose Tyler….ummm…. Smith. Sorry, ma'am."

Rose smiled. "It's alright. I'm still getting used to it myself."

"Indeed." The owner smiled. "Well, Mr. Stark has already called and everything has been arranged. I'll show you up to your room." They followed him to the lift where he told the lift operator simply, "Penthouse."

Rose turned to look at the Doctor. She lifted her eyebrows to show she was impressed. He laughed quietly at her as he mouthed, "It's not what you think."

The lift operator nodded and the lift sprang to life.

"Thank you. We'd like to keep it quiet that we are here, if that's possible." The Doctor insisted.

"Of course, sir. Don't worry. Mr. Stark is one of our best clients. He was insistent on your privacy. And do not worry about the recent violence. Not everyone feels that way about Mrs. Tyler. Ummm…Sorry. Mrs. Smith."

Rose shook her head and smiled as she looked around. The Doctor rocked on his feet as the lift took them up.

Finally, the lift dinged and the doors opened. The owner showed them out and then went to open the Penthouse's door. He held it open and the Doctor and Rose walked inside. "There is a full menu there on the table, room service will bring you anything on it. Please, make yourself at home and if you need anything at all, just ring downstairs."

He handed the Doctor the key and smiled as he walked out of the room and shut the door. Rose smiled at the Doctor who was looking around the room. "A hotel room?"

He held out his hand. "Really. Not what you think. Well…. It could be. But, that was not my intentions."

Rose put her hand on her hip and pointed at him. "You told me once that getting my clothes off was always the first thing on your mind."

He chuckled as he took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the room. "Oh, woman. If you only knew how much sex I have with you in my mind."

Rose rolled her eyes.

The room was large and bright with the morning sun coming through the windows. The sitting room had a large sofa and sitting area that surrounded a flat screen telly on the wall. To the left was a small table with six chairs. In the middle of the table sat a huge bouquet of flowers. Rose looked to see the balcony that overlooked the ocean at the end of the room. They were very high up and the view was stunning, even with the Zeppelins passing by. To the right of the sitting room, doors lead into a bedroom with a large bed and bathroom. All of the floors had lovely, white carpet which only seemed to make the room brighter. The walls were painted a very, light blue. Everything in the room seemed to promote relaxing.

He put his screwdriver back in his pocket and clapped his hands. He opened the doors to the balcony to allow the ocean breeze to fill the room and spun around on his feet. "Alright. Why are we here? Simple. I wanted to take you out someplace where you could be comfortable. Someplace, just me and you. Someplace where people wouldn't be looking and pointing that Rose Tyler is sitting in the same place with them. Someplace, you could relax and not be around our rotten children….your family…..or a bunch of mad Quauhtin. So, we can order room service, relax, whatever. It's up to you. This is all about you."

Rose smiled. "That's why we are here?"

He smiled, "Yes. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. Well. No I'm not….. but, no pressure about that. Just relax. I wanted our first time out together here to be relaxing." He said as he took off his jacket and tossed it on the back of the sofa. He flopped down on the sofa and kicked off his shoes. "Makes the trials worth everything. No Quauthin. No tuxs within miles. Brilliant. Freedom."

Rose laughed as he walked over and sat down on the sofa next to him. He put his arm around her and kissed her head. "Just us. And if you want just some time to yourself, I'll be right here. You can, go wander off in another room or something."

Rose giggled in disbelief, "I can't believe you did this. Why didn't we just pop here?"

"Ah. I wanted to go for a drive. I thought that would make it more….. normal."

Rose nodded as she took off her shoes, "It did. I've not ridden in a car in ages."

"Strange isn't it?"

"It nearly made me motion sick." Rose told him.

He rubbed his face. "It might have been my driving. Sorry about that."

Rose stretched and lay down on the sofa. She put her feet in his lap. He took off her shoes and rubbed her feet. Rose smiled, "That feels nice. You don't have to do that."

He smiled, "I want to do it. Everything is about you. I can tell you like this."

Rose smiled, "I do. And you are so good at that."

"Okay, Rose questions. Would you rather endure childbirth or wear high heels for an entire day?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I've not worn heels in forever."

He continued to rub her feet. "That wasn't the question."

"I'd probably wear heels. Granted, I wouldn't have anything to show for it."

He laughed, "Well, there's that."

"How long are we staying here?" Rose asked.

"As long as you like. Tony doesn't need his car back for days. It's whatever you would like to do. We can leave in ten minutes, or ten days. Completely up to you."

"You told Genie you would be back in the morning." Rose pointed out.

"I have backup to stay here with you if I need to go. I'll go do that, then I'll return. It's that simple."

Rose nodded her head. "I really don't think I want to stay longer than a few hours. I don't want to be away from Sam that long."

He smiled, "I knew that's what you would say."

She bit her lip. "I don't know. He's just so small. Is that normal?"

He smiled at her. "It's completely normal. You are an amazing mum. Just remember, sometimes you need time for yourself."

Rose groaned. "Ugh. Why do I think you are buttering me up for something? Are you about to go off on some terrible assignment?"

He smiled and shook his head. "I can honestly tell you I will not be getting any calls for any assignments anytime soon."

Rose sat up and looked at him. "What is that about? You said you are going to be home all day tomorrow. Why? That's odd."

"I am on hmm… what did he call it? I have to be cleared by the psychiatrist before Pete and Lewis will allow me back in the field."

"Both?"

"Both." He nodded as he continued to rub her feet.

Rose smiled. "Dad is making you go see a psychiatrist?"

"And Lewis has demanded it, too. Damn, Primus One. They think I'm going, and I'm not. Hey, your handwriting looks like Pete's. I could get the paperwork and you could sign them for me."

Rose laughed, "I'm not doing that. Hell no."

"What? Rose, really?" he asked.

"No, I'm not doing that. Then I would be in trouble. It's not a terrible thing. I went to see Melissa when I came back from assignments." Rose shrugged.

"Really. Everytime?"

"No. Not everytime. Well, when I was jumping between Dimensions, I did. Then, she helped me with my telepathy and such. If I didn't go see her and have her speak in my head, I had those terrible headaches."

"Oh, that's right. Yeah. You told me about that. Do you think she helped?"

"It was nice to have someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't judge me. No matter what I told her. She was never shocked by it. She just patiently listened." Rose said.

He rubbed her leg, "You miss her. I can tell."

Rose shook her head. "I told her so much. I feel like…. She saw my soul, you know?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Did she ever talk to you?"

"No, I regret that. It was a very one-sided thing. I sometimes think back about it, and wonder if she thought I was completely mad. She must have."

"She couldn't have thought that. She gave you Genie. She knew you would take better care of her than anyone could."

Rose bit her lip and nodded. "I suppose. Do you know what I would like?"

He smiled as he looked at her. "What is that?"

"A massage. Would you give me one? Please." Rose asked.

He smiled like a loon. "Oh, I would love to. Do this first for me. Go take one of your hot showers. Just to warm up your muscles. It will help. And I'll order us some room service. What do want?"

Rose shook her head. "I have no idea."

He snapped his fingers. "I know what you would like. Don't worry about this. Go take your shower."

XxxxxxXxxx

Rose got out of the shower and put on a fluffy, white robe. She twisted up her hair on the back of head and walked out into sitting room. The Doctor stood at the table, eating ice cream out of a carton. He was talking in a strange language on his phone. She wrapped her arms around him as his cold lips kissed hers quietly. He continued to talk on the phone as he brought the spoon up to her mouth and fed her the last of the ice cream. After just a few moments, he said something she didn't understand and ended the phone call. "I'm sorry about that. Everyone is having problems."

He met her lips and kissed her quickly. She smiled, "It's alright. Do we need to go?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I told them it could wait. You have my complete, undivided attention." He put his phone in his pocket.

Rose smiled, "I love this."

He looked at the table. "I got us some champagne, the sort you like. Strawberries, in case you want them. And I know you like grapes. So, I got you some of them."

Rose smiled at him. "And ice cream?"

He ran his hand through his hair and chuckled. "I'm sorry, I ate the entire carton. I don't know what's the deal with that. I've been craving ice cream since we've been back. That's the second carton I've ate today."

Rose's eyes got huge. "The second? What the hell?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. Lewis says it's because I'm not drinking. I have never heard of it. Whatever. I'm not worried about it. Besides. Ugh. That's about me. Rose. This is about you, not me. New plan. Next time you get me talking about me, you….ummmm…. have to kiss me. That's the penalty."

Rose rolled her eyes and ate a strawberry. "Then we're in trouble. You talk an awful lot."

He chuckled, "Oh, we are indeed. Oh! I forgot." He reached in his pockets, "I got you something today."

Rose watched him dig in his pockets. He pulled out a bag of Jelly Babies and groaned. "Ugh. Sorry. Thought that was them." He continued to pull things out of his pockets and put them on the table. Rose watched as he lay down a pack of gum, the envelope of watches from Jake, a remote control from a toy car, a yellow pad of sticky notes and a deck of cards.

Rose pointed at the deck of cards. "When did you start carrying these around in your pockets?"

He continued to pull things out, "Oh, I've had those for a while. I play poker with the guys sometimes. It's helpful. Oh! Found them."

He handed her the familiar red bag. "Revels."

Rose covered her mouth and smiled. "I love these. Where did you get them?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I went to the store. I've got several more in my pocket, but that's just the one I found."

Rose kissed him. "Thank you."

He smiled as he held her around the waist. "Happy to. Now. A massage for you." He said as he bopped her on the end of the nose with his finger.

Rose smiled as he led her into the bedroom. He pulled down the blankets and she lay down on the silk sheets. "Get comfortable, I'll go get the champagne."

Rose climbed in the bed and took off her robe. She covered herself up with the sheet. She lay there for a few minutes with her eyes shut and thought she might have drifted off when she felt lips kiss her forehead. She opened her eyes to see the Doctor opening a bottle of champagne with a loud pop. "And we are celebrating that we have cloned a house!" He laughed as he poured two glasses. He handed one to Rose and clanged her glass with his. Rose smiled and drank the glass. By the time she finished, he had sat down his empty glass on the table next to the bed. "And that's it for me. No more champagne tonight. You can have the rest of that bottle."

Rose looked surprised. "Are you certain?"

He sat on the side of the bed and looked at her. "I am. Rose. I'm….. umm…..." He stopped and pointed at her. "I'm not talking about me. You have to kiss me now."

Rose smiled as he leaned over and kissed her proper. He rose up, without opening his eyes and said, "Right. Umm. Yes. What was I doing?"

Rose laughed, "You were going to give me a massage."

He clapped his hands together. "Right. A massage. I need oil." He started to look for something in his pockets again.

Rose held out her hand. "No. Can you do it without oil? So, I'm not all …. Whatever."

He smiled at her. "Sure." He twirled his finger as he pointed at her. "On your stomach, I'm starting with your back."

Rose giggled as she rolled over and he took the sheet off of her. "Don't think you can control yourself if you start with the front?"

He chuckled. "Not talking about myself. Nope." He started to massage her neck and shoulders. Rose relaxed in his hands. "Is this alright? Without the oil?"

She smiled, "This is perfect."

He leaned down kissed her back. "I'm serious. No expectations. This is whatever you want." He insisted.

Rose smiled as closed her eyes. "This is the best date, ever."

He rubbed her back. "Sweetheart, you said you could talk to Melissa without feeling judged. Do you feel that I would judge you?"

Rose didn't open her eyes, "Well. No. It's just… ummm… there are things I'd rather not talk to you about."

"You do feel like I would judge you. I can feel that."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Invasion of feelings here. I'm going to start shielding you."

"You already are, I can tell. Besides, I don't need to even hear an answer to that. You've told me you feel that way. And I didn't listen. I need to work on that. I'm a terrible husband. I'm sorry about that."

Rose shook her head. "You are not a terrible husband-"

"Oh, yes I am. I've told you that since the very beginning of our relationship. I'm rubbish at this. You have to…..smack me or something."

Rose sat up and looked at him. She covered herself with the sheet. "You're getting close to that."

"Rose. You don't talk to me. About anything. You are always on about me talking to you and how you are there for me, but I don't think you realize I'm here for you."

Rose shook her head, "You know I can't talk to you about stuff-"

"Name one thing."

"Oh, I can name several."

"Okay, first thing."

"You, the other you. That pisses you off so bad. I can't even talk to you about that. You just…. Shut down."

He closed his eyes tightly and nodded, "Alright. You're right. That's true."

"You prefer to pretend he doesn't exist. That this entire thing is your fault alone. You carry that guilt all of the time."

"It is my fault! I've told you that. All of this-"

"No, it's not! And don't start apologizing for this mess again. I don't blame you for this. You didn't drop us both off here. You didn't leave you here to die. Just, oh. Don't even get me started on that mess."

He took her hand and kissed it, "I don't think I'm the only one pissed about that."

"Oh, I'm proper cross about it." Rose gritted her teeth.

He laughed under his breath. "Proper cross, huh? If he arrived right now in the TARDIS, what would you do?"

"I don't even know." She lay back on the pillows and looked at his face. "What the hell are you smiling about?"

He continued to laugh at her. "I'm sorry. You are so hot when you're pissed."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Oh, go to hell." She whispered.

He continued to laugh. "Okay, that's one thing. What's another thing?"

Rose sighed. "Any other guy. You are so incredibility jealous. I honestly had no idea you were this bad about that until we got married. Baby, I'm not running off with anyone. You can trust me about that."

"I know I can. It's just the way I think. Past, present, future. It's all the same to me."

"You are so strange."

He rubbed his face. "No. I'm making excuses. That's not right. No. You are right. I shouldn't be like that. I do trust you."

Rose looked surprised at him. "So, now you are arguing with yourself? Is that what you are doing?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "You miss Mickey. I can tell."

Rose laughed quietly, "Oh, that's a big one. I'm not talking to you at all about that. That's a great way to get you wound up."

He shook his head and looked at her seriously. "No. It won't. Sweetheart, you can talk to me about this. You miss him. You have to. You grew up together. You were here with him for so long. You never mention him."

Rose sighed and laid her head back. "You don't want me to talk about him."

"You need to talk about him."

"Mickey the Idiot?" Rose groaned.

"No. Mickey. The Boy who Grew Up. I've heard a lot about him today and damn. He ended up to be a hell of a guy. If I ever see him again, I'm going to shake his hand. I owe him more than I can ever repay."

Rose sat up and looked at him. "Alright. You are being weird. What are you on about?"

"People don't like to hear their faults, no one does. I'm the worse about that. Rose, you need to be able to talk to me about things. About anything. I'm realizing now I'm not created that comfort there for you. Help me work on that."

Rose raised her eyebrow at him, "So, you are giving me permission to smack you?"

He smiled, "Do you really need it?"

Rose rolled back over on her stomach. He leaned down and kissed her back, then started to massage her again. "Alright. What do you want to know about Mickey?"

"Whatever you want to talk about. Tell me about when you first came here. He had already been here for a while."

Rose spoke as he rubbed her back and arms. "Mickey decided to stay after the Cyber Invasion. He took on Ricky's life and just…. Became him. By the time I got here, he was completely different. He …. " She smiled proudly. "He was a bad ass. I saw him walk up to a Terileptils and punch him square in the face."

The Doctor's mouth fell open. "He did that to a Terileptils? Damn."

Rose giggled, "He did. I couldn't believe it."

"The word for war and beauty is the same in their language. Well, it is in Latin, too. A Terileptils takes that, very seriously."

Rose smiled, "They seemed to."

The Doctor's bracelet lit up. Friday's voice spoke, "You have a reminder."

The Doctor groaned and tapped his bracelet to see the reminder. It read, "At this point, you need to steer this conversation away from the subject of Mickey. Trust me on this."

Rose asked, "What did you need to be reminded about?"

Disarmed at getting a message from his future self, he rubbed his head. "Ah… it was a reminder to tell you about the damn psychiatrist."

He started to rub her lower back. She moaned, "I don't think that is a bad idea for you to go see the psychiatrist."

"Ha!" he exclaimed. "I live with a Rixalarian that I have to watch every word around. No."

"You hired this psychiatrist!"

He groaned, "Well, I didn't think I'd ever have to go see her. What's the worst that could happen? Pete says I'm not allowed back in the field until I go see her. Guess what? I wanted a holiday anyway."

He started to rub her bum. She rolled her eyes, "You are such a brat. I swear."

He continued to grumble. "He can handle these problems himself. I give him two days before he gets over this idea that I need to see a damn psychiatrist and asks me back."

Rose giggled as he started to rub her legs, "You remind me of you when we first met. Gosh, you were so….."

He smiled like a loon. "Charming?"

"Irritated. About everything."

He rolled his eyes as he rubbed her legs. "Irritated? Oh, that's not true."

Rose rolled over and propped her head up on her arm so she could see him better. "Oh you know it was. Don't even try."

He rubbed his beard as he looked at her nude body laid out in front of him.

She smiled at him. "I can sense that."

"What?"

"You can't think. Has your brain shorted out? It's like you are completely blank." Rose teased him.

He pointed at her, "Do you blame me? Have you seen you?"

Rose laughed, "I love you, too. You were giving me a massage." She reminded him as she lay back on the bed.

"Right. I forgot. Sorry." He shook his head as he started to rub her legs. "Ugh." He cleared his throat. "Irritated. That was your first impression of me?"

Rose smiled, "I owe you a kiss. You are talking about yourself."

He smiled as he rubbed her thighs, "I'll collect it when I get closer."

She smiled. "What was your first impression of me?"

"Hmmm…. My first impression of you. Alright. A lovely, young woman. Incredibility brave. Clever. Bold. You seemed to accept anything I told you. It was as if I had known you, forever already. I immediately trusted you, and I've never questioned myself as to why."

He rubbed her arms and hands. She watched him. "Do you think you could have known that I would one day be more than a companion? Maybe that's why you trusted me?"

He leaned down and kissed her quickly, "I've asked myself that several times. Our timelines were always close together. I couldn't see what happened to you, even from the very beginning. It was always strange. I just guessed you would…."

"Do something stupid and get killed?" Rose asked.

He sat back and looked at her, "Honestly? At first I did. Anytime I couldn't find you, I immediately went into a panic. I thought that was it."

Rose patted the pillow next to her. She turned on her side and he lay down to face her. "You seemed….hurt. In so much pain when I first met you. A man who had lost something. Something you couldn't even speak of. I assumed you had ended a relationship."

He smiled as he put his hand on her hip. "Gotten dumped, huh?"

She smiled at him, "That's how it seemed. You were keeping so busy trying to save the world, and you just seemed to fuss at me. I've been around guys when they have ended a relationship, and that's exactly how they are. Mickey was the worst. He broke up with this girl and was just a grouch for weeks. I finally ended up having to smack him and remind him that I was his friend and he needed to stop bitching at me."

He chuckled, "And then he asked you out."

She smiled, "Yes. He certainly did."

He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "You owe me a kiss. May I collect now?"

She smiled at him and whispered. "Of course you can."

He leaned in and kissed her slowly. She ran her hands up his t-shirt and rubbed his chest as he snogged her. Breathless, he looked at her. "Rose…."

She whispered, "You are wearing too many clothes."

He smiled at her, "I'm bleeding into you. I know I've said that to you before." He rose up and took off his shirt. He lay back down in front of her and she started to rub his chest again. "Better?"

Rose smiled at him, "It's a start."

He rolled his eyes at her. "It's whatever you want, Rose. It's all about you." He kissed her quickly.

"There is something I want to talk about. It has to do with you."

He rubbed his face and propped his head up on his fist. "You know the rules. That will cost you a kiss."

She smiled, "I'll gladly pay. Jake said you and Jack were tortured in that year that didn't happen-"

He shook his head. "You don't want to hear about that, Rose."

"No. You told me that was a Time Lord that was mad. He did terrible things, but you forgave him before he died. That story is full of holes and I want to understand."

"Understand what, exactly?"

"What happened. He was the only other Time Lord there was. How did he die? Did you kill him?"

He shook his head, "No. I couldn't have done that. I….ummm… no. I couldn't have hurt him."

Rose looked confused, "He tortured you. I can feel the pity you feel for him even now. How sad you are at the mention of him. How well did you know him?"

He rubbed his face, "Oh, I better get a really good kiss for this. I had known him since I was a small boy. We were at the Academy together. Sortof. He was a very good friend. We would run through the pastures of red grass at his father's estate. He had a place on the slopes of Mount Perdition. We would fall in the grass and look into the sky, just like we did the other night in your dream. Look at the sky and watch the clouds."

"When you are eight years old, you are taken for the initiation ceremony. You stand there and look into the Untempered Schism, which is a gap in the fabric of space and time. You can see the entire Vortex. Looking into it forces some to go mad, and he was one that did. He always claimed to hear drums in his head. Ah. I have no idea."

"When he stole the TARDIS and we caught up with him, he had put that sound into the Arch Angel network which everyone on Earth was linked into. So, they would tap the rhythm. Even Martha did it. It was frightening. He had always been so clever, and now he had made everyone else hear these damn drums."

"He captured me, Martha's family and Jack. I told you about that. He forced me to age. I was an extremely old man. Frail. Weak. Worse than I had even been when I had regenerated from old age. But, I was unable to regenerate. It was terrible being trapped in that body. Jack, was killed over and over. I'm sure of that. But, Martha came back and saved us."

Rose rubbed his thin beard, "After a year of that…."

"He was shot. I didn't shoot him. Martha's mum was going to, but I took the gun from her. It was his wife who shot him. Out of all people. I never saw that coming. Turns out, she was frightened of him. He refused to regenerate. It was just a simple bullet. I still don't understand why."

"You said you were going to put him in the TARDIS. Keep him with you so you could keep an eye on him. Baby, he was going to be a prisoner. He saw that."

"He was dangerous. He needed someone to keep an eye on him."

"I'm not saying he didn't. I'm saying that's probably why he refused to regenerate."

He sighed as he rubbed his face again. "Does that answer what you wanted to know?"

"No. You forgave him. Why?"

"I had to. He was mad, Rose. I don't even believe he really knew what he was doing."

Rose looked confused at him. "The word, 'alright'. That means something else to you than it does to me."

He nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Does forgiving someone mean something else to you?"

He looked seriously at her. "Huh. It might. What does it mean to you?"

Rose rubbed his chest. "It means you have accepted an apology. Even one you would have never got."

He looked confused, "Really? Then, yes. That's different. Rose, English needs more damn words." He rubbed his face and lay back in thought. "Let me think how to explain this."

Rose pulled the sheet over herself and lay on his chest. She continued to rub his chest with her fingertips. He took her hand and kissed it. "I've got it. It means you have pardoned someone for something. It's a mutual understanding that it's over, and neither one of you will speak of it again in the tone of fault. Right. Does that make sense? I miss the TARDIS speaking English for me. Granted, it probably said, 'Forgive' too. It's a deeper thing than 'forgive'."

Rose sat up so she could look in his eyes. "So, to get this straight. If there was something I know you had no fault in, and I hated to bring it up because I know it know it hurt you to even think about it, and I was sick of you apologizing for it…."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Where are you going with this?"

Rose tapped her finger on her lip as she thought. "I've got it."

He rose up and held her hand. She nodded her head and he could sense she felt relief. "Okay, I want to say something very important to you. Remember this, alright?"

He looked confused at her. "Sure, Rose."

"You left me here. You knew where I was and never tried to come get me. You decided it was impossible, and since you knew I was here with my family I had to be fine. You felt that I was getting on with my life, so you did the same."

He sighed and Rose felt her words cut through him like daggers. "Rose-"

She put her finger over his lips. "Ah. I'm not finished. There was no way you could have known what had happened to me here. No way you could have guessed. I came to tell you, and you didn't listen. Then, he left us both here. He didn't tell me he was going to do that, he didn't tell you. He didn't give us a choice, he didn't even say good-bye. That part was him."

Rose could feel his shock at her words. Tears formed in his eyes. "Rose….I really…."

Rose smiled at him. "Baby. I forgive you. The 'forgive' that you use. You are pardoned from the terrible thing you believe you are responsible for. It's over, and neither of us will speak of it again in the tone of fault. I hate that you feel that way. There are things I probably should tell you, but I can't. You would just beat yourself up worse. Can you please believe me when I say that I honestly, truly, do not blame you? I never will. I forgive you."

He smiled in surprise as tears rolled out of his eyes. Rose wiped his tears. She could feel his relief and happiness. "Rose. You are amazing. How am I so lucky? The universe hates me-"

Rose smiled, "I don't. I love you more than I can ever express. And do you know what?"

"What's that?"

"I owe you a kiss. You've been talking about yourself."

He chuckled and bit his lip. "Yeah, you do."

She pulled his face to hers and snogged him proper as they fell back into the pillows. She felt his hand rub her back and then her bum. She smiled at him, "You still taste like ice cream."

He smiled at her, "You taste like champagne. Do you want some more?"

"Yes, please."

He kissed her quickly and sat up to pour her another glass. He ate a strawberry as he handed her the glass. "You're not drinking anymore? You didn't tell me why."

He pointed at her and laughed, "I get another kiss now. I've got to take the car back to Malibu when we are finished here."

Rose shook her head. "That's right."

He lay back on the bed and watched her drink. "You can have the entire bottle yourself. I'll taste it when we kiss. That's fine with me."

Rose smiled as she handed him the glass. He sat it back on the table next to the bed. "I have a question, Rose. Where are three places you like to be kissed?"

Rose giggled and pointed to the side of her neck, "Right here, under my ear."

He leaned in and she felt his warm breath as he kissed her neck.

She rubbed her chest, "Down here, on my breasts and chest."

He smiled at her as he leaned down and kissed the sides of her breasts. He rose up and looked at her as he rubbed her nipple. "Tell me, where else?"

She smiled and pointed at her lips. "You are so good at kissing. You make me feel like I'm the most important person in the universe. You're complete attention is here, on me. I could kiss you all night."

He lay down on top of her and rubbed her nose with his. He whispered. "You are the most important person in the universe."

He slowly licked her lips and she opened her mouth to kiss him. He could taste the champagne in her mouth. He spoke in her head, 'Rose. Thank you for forgiving me.'

'I wish I had known to tell you that months ago. I can feel how relieved you are.'

He rose up and smiled at her. "Oh, I am."

She suddenly rolled him over in the bed and sat on top of him. Her sudden movement made him shout, "Look out! Mad, ninja woman!"

Rose smiled at him under her. "Alright. You need to take off the rest of your clothes."

He smiled in his excitement, "Oh… the perfect sentence!"

Rose stood on her knees and kissed him as he unfastened his jeans and slid them down with his pants. She stopped kissing him and smiled, "I have a question and I'll pay the fee."

He smiled like a loon. "I love this. We should always do this."

She giggled. "You don't say Allonsy anymore. What's the deal with that?"

He looked surprised. "I don't?"

Rose tossed her hands up. "No! And damn, I can speak French now and would understand that! What the hell?"

He tickled her sides as they playfully wrestled in the bed. He ended up lying on top of her and began to snog her again. He rose up and smiled at her. "You are such an excellent kisser. I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Maybe you need to start drinking again. Allonsy. Why-"

"Why don't I say it? Well, it's honestly not any fun now that you know what it means." He teased.

Rose playfully hit him in the chest. He laughed at her as he caught her hand. He smiled down at her and said in French. "Je t'aime tellement."

Rose smiled and said quietly, "Moi aussi je t'aime."

He leaned down and began to kiss her again with renewed enthusiasm. Suddenly, Friday's voice came through the speaker on the wristband. "I'm sorry, Doctor. There is an urgent reminder for you."

He growled as he rose up. "Bloody hell, I'm so damn annoying with this shit."

Rose looked confused at him as he rose up and looked at a display that shown down his arm. He sat up and Rose felt his mood change. He ran his hand through his hair and said, "Interesting."

She looked at him, "Care to share with the class?"

He looked back at her. "Sweetheart. I'm very sorry, but I need to take you home."

"What?!" Rose demanded. "Hang on. Who is sending you these reminders?"

He stood up next to the bed and put his pants back on. "I am."

Rose watched him put back on his jeans. "You are? How the hell are you doing-?"

He climbed back in the bed and kissed her. She opened her eyes moments later to realize that he had popped them back into their bedroom in the island home. He rolled over in the bed and turned on the lamp.

"Rose, I can explain everything. But, let me get dressed and deal with something first."

She looked around. "You popped us home? What if mum had been in here?"

He shook his head, "I have a proximity detector. No one was here." He rushed into the closet, Rose saw his oxford laying on the back of the chair. She slipped it on and followed him. He was sitting on the bench and putting on his trainers.

"Alright. Can you explain this now? How are you sending reminders to yourself?"

He reached up and put on a t-shirt quickly, "It's me from the future. I did this in the other dimension, too, but not this much."

"You from the future? Are you traveling in time?"

He stood in front of her. "Rose. I'm not traveling in time. I can't talk about this right now. I really have to go. I'm so sorry. We'll continue this when I get back."

Tears formed in Rose's eyes. "It's them. Isn't it?"

He sighed as he took her hands in his. "Sweetheart, please stay here." His bracelet buzzed again. He read it and nodded his head. He turned his arm to show it to Rose. The reminder said, "Rose. This is you. Stay here for this one."

Rose was shocked to see her message to herself. The Doctor sighed as he looked at her. "The guys are all waiting on me. We need to go take care of this. Promise me you will stay here. I'll know you are safe."

Rose could feel his concern for her. She nodded her head. "No shielding me. If you need me to come, tell me."

He smiled. "I will. Jack and Jake are downstairs. Get dressed and go join them. I won't be long."

He leaned in and kissed her, then popped away.

Rose couldn't help but to cover her mouth as tears rolled out of her eyes.

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