Took a while, but I got there in the end. The date is here in all its glory, so the next one will - you've guessed it - be smut. Just so you're prepared :P

Rose was sure that the Doctor had probably been to Paris hundreds of times during his life, and knew where he was going like the back of his hand, but for all that he seemed to content for them to simply wonder and explore. Rose did not notice if her heels hurt her feet, if the evening air began to get colder and seep through her dress – there could probably have been a hurricane and she would have been pretty much oblivious.

"So why Paris?" she asked him as they left the TARDIS behind, walking hand in hand beside the Seine, "I mean, I bet there's a million beautiful places in the universe that you could have taken me. Not that I mind, Paris is perfect, but I just wanted know?"

The Doctor tilted his head to one side, frowning slightly, and Rose could immediately guess what he was going to say.

"I'm not sure." She laughed, and the Doctor did too. "I mean, we're doing this human thing, and there are loads of other places we could have gone, but we go to amazing places every day. If we're going to have a date, then we're going to do it properly, and there's nowhere more proper for a date than Paris."

Rose nodded. "I agree, nowhere properer." She grinned, tongue poking out between her teeth.

"Well, Rose Tyler, welcome to Paris, the properest place on Earth." He spread his arms wide and looked around him. Rose was practically skipping along, linking her arm through his. He looked down at her and grinned, pulling her close to him and leaning in until their noses were nearly brushing.

They continued along the river bank and the Doctor pointed out the interesting sights that surrounded them, laughing at Rose's delighted squeal when he showed her Notre Dame, its symmetrical towers reaching up towards the sky. They meandered almost aimlessly, content simply to be in each other's company, but something was bothering Rose.

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked as Rose frowned slightly, turning to watch a large group of people as they walked past, chattering loudly about something or other.

Rose sighed. "It's nothing, it's just... it feels odd that they're all talking English. I love the fact that the TARDIS translates for me, but there's something strange about a trip to Paris where no-one's speaking French, even if I can't really understand any French anyway."

"I can sort that if you like." Rose's face brightened.

"You can?"

The Doctor nodded, smiling. "I have a telepathic connection to the TARDIS, I can tell her to let you hear what everyone's really saying, just for a bit. It'll wear off after a while, but it'll help you feel the atmosphere better."

Rose blinked for a few seconds. "Right then, let's do it."

He hesitated. "It'll mean a little bit of telepathy. Not me going into your mind or anything, but I'm the one with a link to the TARDIS so it'll have to go through me, and it'll only be temporary. I just know how cross you were the first time the TARDIS translated things for you."

Grinning, Rose nodded. "I remember. It's OK, I know what I'm getting into this time. Go for it."

The Doctor closed his eyes and touched his fingers to her temples. Rose couldn't really feel anything in her mind, apart from a slight fizzing sensation that she couldn't quite describe. All she really knew was that when the Doctor pulled away and opened his eyes, all of a sudden the voices in the air were French, and she hadn't even been aware of them changing.

"Thankyou!"

He grinned and took her hand, and together they set off again into the magic of an evening in Paris.

To be honest, Rose could probably have just continued to walk around the city for the entire night, taking in the sounds and the atmosphere and the beautiful colours of a sky that was so nearly dipping into a sunset, but her stomach seemed to be protesting that idea. The Doctor took them to a tiny little restaurant not far from the river, and they sat at the table outside and people-watched as the waiter left to fetch their drinks. The evening was warm enough, so there were plenty of people on the street for them to surreptitiously stare at.

They managed to make conversation about fairly trivial things throughout the meal – which had been thoroughly delicious –and now as they sat comfortably in the streetlight, Rose thought that she could probably talk to the Doctor forever without running out of things to say to him.

Rose was laughing at the Doctor's story about the time he had meant to arrive in Paris and had ended up landing the TARDIS in the middle of a volcano, when he stretched out his hand and took hers where it had been laying on the table. Rose paused, as though the touch of his fingers had suddenly short circuited her brain.

When she looked into his eyes, Rose could see quite obviously that the Doctor was still nervous – possibly scared, maybe even still doubting that this, doing things properly, was a good idea. But despite the hesitant look in his big, brown eyes, his grip was firm, and the small smile he gave her was anything but scared.

"So, will Jenny just be perfectly alright now, just like that?" Rose chose a topic that she knew would provoke conversation fairly easily. It might have been a bit of a distraction technique, but right at that moment she needed it.

"Oh yeah," the Doctor said, taking a sip of water but all the while keeping his other hand entwined with hers, "no side effects from the toxin or the antidote. You've seen her, she's all back to normal – bossy as ever, but so adorable that you'll do what she wants anyway."

Rose laughed. "Oh come on, she's not that bad. Nowhere near as bad as you, and, considering she's got the same genes, it's probably a miracle."

"Oi!" Rose laughed, thinking that he sounded quite like Donna when he said that, but not wanting to bring it up. What had happened to Donna had caused the Doctor a lot of pain, and Rose was still sure that he wasn't quite ready to talk about it just yet. Besides, there was something else that she really needed to talk to him about right now.

"Doctor, she..." Rose hesitated. She hadn't been going to tell him this, at least not until she'd sorted out her own feelings on the subject. She had no idea how the Doctor was going to react, but in that moment she needed to know what he thought. Tonight everything was changing, she could feel it.

"What is it, Rose?" He looked worried, brows contracting, and she could practically hear his brain going a mile a minute.

Taking a deep breath, Rose closed her eyes and counted to three before opening them and beginning to speak. "Jenny was asking me about her mum." The Doctor's face showed confusion, but also a tiny bit of sadness. Rose had never considered the idea that Jenny not having a mother was something the Doctor ever thought about. He seemed so content with just him and her together. "She—we were sitting together the other night and I was reading her a book, I think you were doing some work on the TARDIS or something. But then out of the blue she just turned to me and says 'mummy'. And she pointed at the book and there was a picture of a mum on the page, and I said yes, she was right, but then she turned to me and pointed at me and said it again. It almost freaked me out, a bit too much like that boy in the gas mask for my liking." The Doctor laughed at that and Rose did too, looking up at the ceiling and shaking her head. "Years ago and I still dream about it sometimes."

"The day when everybody lived," the Doctor murmured, letting go of Rose's hand to rub the back of his neck in that familiar way, "feels like centuries ago, doesn't it? Sorry, you go on." He shook his head as though clearing it and gestured towards her.

"Right well, er..." Rose fumbled for a second. "Well like I said, she said that to me and I just didn't know what to say to her. I mean, I'm not her mum am I, she doesn't actually have one, but I couldn't think of how to explain it, so I just sort of distracted her. There might be a lack of banana cake in the kitchen, she took quite a bit of distracting, sorry." A flicker of a smile crossed the Doctor's face, but Rose could see that he was deep in thought. She waited a few moments in silence, looking around at the beautiful spot they were sitting in and thinking that the Doctor really had a good eye for these sorts of things. If they ever had another date, she might get him to choose again. It seemed when he really wanted to he could manage to find a place where Rose could actually wear heels without having to take them off so she could make a run for it.

"I'm so sorry Rose." She jerked her head up and was surprised to see the Doctor at his most apologetic, eyes wide and lips pressed together in what could have been regret or guilt. "I didn't mean to do this to you, I didn't want you to feel obligated to do anything, but Jenny, she... she loves you so much, I can see it just by looking at her. " He rubbed his eyes with his hands. "Oh I don't know, Rose, she was always going to get attached to you. Like father like daughter, as they say." When Rose chuckled the Doctor allowed himself to smile, dragging one hand over his face. "You said you were staying and that you love Jenny and all that, but that's not the same thing as being her mum and I don't want you to do that just because you feel like you shou-"

"Doctor!" Rose interrupted him and dragged his hands towards her across the table, entrapping them in her own and waiting in silence, forcing him to look at her. "Listen to me. You might feel like I'm being forced into this, but when have I ever let you force me into doing anything I didn't want to do?" The Doctor considered for a moment before finally nodding his assent, a slight smile on his lips. "Good. The point is that I want this. Jenny turned around and she looked at me and I just knew. I'm gonna be with you forever, right? All this means is that I'm gonna be with Jenny too, 'kay? I was just worried that you might not want it."

The Doctor shook his head fiercely. "Rose, a year ago I never thought I'd see you again, I never thought I'd be a father again, I never considered any of this but it's happened. If I'm being made domestic then all I can say is that I wouldn't want it to happen any other way, with anyone else."

Before she knew it Rose was blinking tears away from her eyes.

"Wow." It seemed like an understatement but it was all Rose could feel right now, so she said it again. "Wow, OK, so I'm her mum now. Sort of. Oh wow, crap, this is, this is really fast and kind of strange but it's good... wow."

"Rose, you can stop saying 'wow'," the Doctor said soothingly, rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of her hand. "It's fine – to be honest, I doubt anything will actually change from how it is now. We've been looking after her together for weeks – the job's the same, the only difference is the title."

Rose smirked, but her smile faded as a thought occurred to her, and she suddenly felt extremely sad. "I wish mum could have seen this," she said quietly, and felt a tear drip down her nose. "She thought I'd never do this, not if I was with you. Not that she really minded or anything, 'cause I was happy, but you could tell she would have loved a grandchild or two. I just wish I could let her know. You know, that I'm gonna do the mum thing. She would've been giving me advice and forcing us to land at home so she could spend time with Jenny and all that stuff."

Rose was aware that her voice was beginning to crack with emotion, and she trailed off. In a second the Doctor's hands were gone from hers, but before she could really register it happening the Doctor was gone from his seat, crouching down next to her chair and enfolding her in a hug. He seemed to know that he didn't really have to say anything, that there wasn't anything he could say that would make Rose feel less sad about not being able to see her mum. This might be the life she had chosen, but nothing was ever perfect.

"Sorry."

"Rose, don't apologise. You don't need to apologise for having feelings, you're not a Cyberman." Rose let out a little giggle, and the Doctor put a hand to the side of her face, stroking her cheek and just letting her know that he was there until she managed to breathe evenly again.

"Actually, I had something I wanted to say to you."

"Oo, what?" the Doctor asked, still not going back to his seat.

"It's just, if I'm going to be Jenny's mother – oh god that sounds so weird – then I thought maybe I should sort things out with her father first." Rose smile and showed her tongue between her teeth, because she knew what it did to the Doctor when she looked at him like that, and hoped that sorting things out with him was going to be as fun as she suspected it would be.

"Ah yes, that was the point of all this, wasn't it." The Doctor waved a hand vaguely at their surroundings. "Well, Miss Tyler, since it's our first date-"

"Ah, not the first," Rose reminded him.

"'Course not," the Doctor agreed, "well, since this is at least our second date, I think that it's only proper for us to—hang on, don't people normally go on dates before they live together?"

Rose laughed. "I think so. But I think people normally go on dates before they fall in love with each other as well."

It had just slipped out, and Rose was a little bit worried that her saying that would freak the Doctor out, but he just continued to smile, saying nothing at all.

They were walking next to the river on their way back one, coming to a stop underneath the trees and the TARDIS was in sight now but Rose didn't want to wait to get back home before she did this. She turned very slowly towards him, placing her hands on his shoulders and staring up into his eyes with all the determination he had seen in her face a thousand times before.

"Doctor, this was the best date ever." He puffed out his chest proudly, and Rose rolled her eyes. "Yes yes, you were brilliant, but there's something you forgot that would have made it completely perfect."

All of a sudden the slightly manic joy and pride and smugness was gone from his face. His eyes seemed to focus completely on hers, shutting out everything around them until his gaze felt almost too intense. Almost, but not quite.

"Well," he murmured, bringing a hand up to her face and letting his thumb slowly brush across her cheek, "I'm not quite sure what that could be. But you know, you could show me, if you want."

Rose bit her lip teasingly and raised her eyebrows, a smile spreading across her face as she leaned forwards and very gently pressed her lips to his.

It was a truly beautiful evening, the soft breeze rustled in the leaves above their heads and the river flowed beside them and there probably could not have been a more romantic spot for this moment to happen. Rose, however, was not aware of any of this, because the moment the Doctor's lips touched hers she was aware of nothing but the feel of him and the taste of him and the storm of emotions that were running rampant through her body.

She opened her mouth to his immediately, not bothering to go through the formalities of chaste kissing for a few moments before getting their tongues involved. The Doctor tasted just fantastic. When he brought up a hand to tangle in her hair and guide her head to the optimum angle (he had probably calculated it to be perfect - Rose was sure she could feel his fingers scorching the back of her skull. Not wanting to be outdone, Rose plunged her hands into his hair. His really great hair, it turned out, was even greater when she got to touch it properly and thoroughly. She ran her hands through it wildly, not caring that she was making a mess – the rumpled, love struck look really worked for the Doctor anyway.

His arms wrapped around her waist now, pulling her to him until their bodies were pressed together tightly, all the time kissing her to within an inch of her life. Good god, he knew how to use his tongue. His lips were soft and exerting just the right amount of pressure on hers, and as she used her tongue to caress the inside of his mouth he let out a groan. Rose felt a feeling of triumph. She made the Doctor groan – she must be pretty good at this herself.

As she pull the Doctor's bottom lip into her mouth and sucked on it gently – she had wanted to do that for a long time – Rose was aware of his hands moving up and down her back, as though the Doctor was trying to touch as much of her as he possibly could. The urge to feel his hands on her bare skin was almost unbearable, and Rose had time to wish she had not worn a dress, so his hands could have found a way in under her top to the skin of her lower back.

They could have gone on for a lot longer, but in the end it was shouts from passing teenagers on bikes and a couple of wolf-whistles that broke the two apart. Rose pulled back and placed her hands on the Doctor's shoulders, to steady herself as much as anything else. She had never been so thoroughly snogged before in her life, and it had left her legs a bit wobbly. The Doctor looked a bit shaky himself, but his eyes were shining with exuberance and triumph and he was doing that slightly goofy grin that she just adored, with a tiny touch of smugness that was probably coming from her dazed expression.

"Well," Rose began, a bit breathlessly, "that was... good." She nodded her head, taking a couple of deep breaths. "Yep, definitely good."

The Doctor nodded back. "Good is good." He stood awkwardly for a second before gesturing towards the blue box along the riverbank. "TARDIS?"

Rose grinned. "TARDIS." The look in his eyes was almost criminal as he grabbed her hand and set off at a run. This was going to be interesting.