Well heres the next chapter...hope it continues to work.
Btw the quote (the last line of the last chapter) is credited in this chapter (it helps the story line)
giggles happily at the fact people are enjoying this


Chapter Three

'Excuse me?' Rose asked at the Doctors absurd quote.

'Hmmm?' the Doctor asked. He looked at Rose who was staring at him profoundly 'Oh, Emily Whaley said that to me once, Charleston, N.C. Lovely girl if I may say so'

Rose raised her eyebrow at the Doctor in question

'What?' the Doctor asked innocently

'I'm sure she was…a lovely lady' Rose sarcastically replied as the Doctor grinned

'I hope that's not the ugly face of jealousy rearing its head' The Doctor teased, Rose made a face then muttered

'Don't flatter yourself' He gave her a mind blowing grin then winked

'Don't worry I only have eyes for you… even if you are a quickly becoming a rose bush' Rose grinned at the complement then glared at him

'Oi, watch it, I have thorns you know – and I'm not afraid to use them' The Doctor beamed

'Well you know what they say, even the most beautiful Rose has her thorns' The Doctor carried on smiling as he saw Rose blush from his complement.

'You're just an intergalactic playboy aren't you?' she muttered as the Doctors' eyes sparkled.

'Quite finished? We are trying to dig here' Bill moaned as he stood beside the Doctors ankle…. or was it Ben? The Doctor looked down at the little pot men,

'Yep, just about done. Just keep your little shooty things away from me… and her for that matter' the Doctor warned them. Bill and Ben turned to look at each other then the air was filled with sequels

'Weeeeeeeed!' Little weed called out as she ran on her roots to hide behind Slowcoach. The Doctor looked at Rose in amazement who seemed completely unfazed.

'Yeah, she does that' Rose reminded him as the Gardener approached. As he came closer and closer the shouts became louder

'Weeeeeeeed! Weeeeeeeed!'

'Alright, I think we get the idea' the Doctor retorted.

'ooh flobbalobbalob flobbalob' Bill said glancing sideways at Ben who nodded in return

'flobbablob ullo little weed' Ben and Bill chimed in together looking at Little Weed who was still crouched behind Slowcoach.

'wee-eed weee-eeed' She excitedly replied as she waved her leaves in the air at the two pot men.
Rose laughed at the Doctor – his expression was priceless.

'Flabbergasted are we?' she teased him as she gave into her reckless laughter. The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair as his mouth remained open.

'What was all that about?' he asked Rose totally clueless. She grinned in return

'They are greeting Little Weed!' The Doctor shook his head in dismay

'And your Mother actually let you watch this rubbish?' he asked in shock

'Let me? She made me watch it, the show of her childhood, that's what she said' Rose explained happily

'Ah, well, that explains it then' he commented, Rose glared back. Within a moment Alan was beside them, his fingers in Rose's armpits as he tried to lift her from the ground.

'Why has she not been unearthed?' Alan demanded to the pot men as Little Weed hid again

'Oh, I un-earthed her a long time ago mate' the Doctor slyly commented. Rose cringed at the terribleness of his joke

'Come on, don't tell me you didn't think that was funny?' he exclaimed

'Hilarious, I'd be a barrel of laughs if I wasn't rapidly anchoring myself into the ground'

'Don't complain, Bill and Ben are doing their very best to get you out, isn't that right little men?' the Doctor asked in a patronising voice. Both pot men looked up at the Doctor, neither of them deterred by his size

'balobbalob flobbalob' Bill said to Ben with a frown on his face. Both pot men fell about laughing as did Slowcoach, Little Weed and Rose.

'What? What does that mean?' The paranoid Doctor asked. Rose managed to stop from her laughter and shook her head at the Doctor

'If only you'd watched this rubbish, Doctor' she mocked, 'then you would understand what they are-'she was cut off by Ben replying to Bill's comment

'fflobbalob!' he exclaimed and sent everyone doubling over with laughter.

'Right, you can stop now' the Doctor weakly commanded feeling isolated. Rose grinned at the Doctor

'Your weakness is showing again Doctor' Rose warned him

'What weakness? I don't have any weaknesses!' he declared knowing it was a lie – for sure one of his weaknesses, the most obvious one was his weakness for Rose.

'Yep, your fear of un-knowing' she delightedly informed him

'Na, no such thing – it's all one big learning experience' he declared, she tweaked an eyebrow at him

'Sure, if that's what you want to call it'

'Answer me you measly pottery pots!' Alan shouted at Bill and Ben, 'Why is the bush still in the ground?'

'The bush? Excuse me, I do have a name!' Rose called out insulted but Alan didn't even acknowledge her. The Doctor grinned at her and stuck out his tongue as she glared in return – a glare that quickly changed into a grin.

'Wow a bush that talks!' the Doctor continued

'Yeah, you can stop now'

Bill and Ben frantically started digging and the sound of porcelain colliding with metal filled the air as the flower pot men dug at Roses' roots. Then finally she was free – with one problem – her roots were gone and she had nothing to anchor her down so instead she began to fall to the side, surly crushing Bill and Ben if she landed on them.

'Weeeeeeeed!' Little Weed shouted out in warning to the flower pot men as the Doctor dove forward. He managed to grab her just before she hit the ground, he propped her up by supporting her waist with his hands and her hands rested on his shoulders.

'Alright?' he quietly checked.

'I'm growing leaves, what do you think?' she testily told him. He smiled then ran a finger down her arm sending chills down her spine. His fingers stopped on the bumps that pressed against her skin

'What are these?' he gently asked her, she blushed and pushed his hands away but he held on.

'Rose?' he tenderly whispered. Her eyes began to water and she bit her bottom lip

'I don't know' she whispered as her lip started to tremble.

'When did you notice them?' he prodded as she fought back tears.

'A little while ago' she told him, her voice wobbly

'Why didn't you say anything?' he quietly asked. She just shrugged and let the tears fall from her eyes

'I didn't want to worry you' she whispered. He smiled at her and shook his head

'Silly girl' he whispered as he held her close. Her head fitted perfectly under his chin and they stood that way for a moment – the Doctor ignoring her sharp thorns pressing into his side.

'Off to the strawberry rooms!' Alan declared starting to lead the way. Behind him a queue of creatures were following, Bill and Ben hopped along beside each other idly chattering in Oddle Poddle, followed by Little Weed who danced along calling out 'weeeeeeeed', and then there was Slowcoach who took his time following the group, for he was only a tortoise.

The Doctor released Rose from his arms and gently wiped a tear away from her cheek, his hand remained there for a moment then he smiled.

'Ready? We've got some strawberry tests to do, you know, being official strawberry plant testers from the Royal Horticultural Society and all that' this got a small grin from Rose who still looked uncertain about her transformation.

'Right, off we go then!' the Doctor declared

'But I can't walk…' Rose began, but was cut off when she was suddenly lifted into the air by the Doctor and flung over his shoulder.

'Doctor!' she squealed as she hung over his shoulder. The Doctor grinned as he walked along and then began signing the Beatles

'Let me take you down, cos I'm going to Strawberry Fields, Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about, Strawberry Fields forever' he began in a cheery tone, Rose laughed manically then joined in. Soon the two of them were walking along singing

'Strawberry Fields forever, Strawberry Fields forever' soon the flower pot men and their crew were joining in

'Berstawry lieds vferoeer, Berstawry lieds vferoeer' The Doctor shook his head at his new companions for the day and started to skip as Rose screamed.

'What the hell are you doing!'

'Just having a little dance!' The Doctor cheerfully called back

'Why?' she demanded as she hung on tight, bouncing up and down.

'I thought you were enjoying the view too much' he called back as she kicked him. She did, in fact, have a very good view of his behind from up here, not that she was looking or anything…

'Great the comedian's back' she retorted

'Would you rather I sang?' he teased knowing she didn't

'Oh yes, please bless my ears with your music' she sarcastically replied.

'If you insist!' Then he broke out into song again, except this time the song was slower and had more meaning beneath the words.

'It's funny how those memories they last, like strawberry wine at seventeen.
My first taste of love oh bittersweet, Green on the vine, Like strawberry wine' he sang as loudly and most possibly out of tune as he could manage. She sighed

'Are there any songs you know that aren't strawberry related?' she begged.

'Just trying to fit the theme, but fine – you have a go'

Instead she recited the beginning of the TV show in a patronising adult voice

'Once upon a time there was a little house and all round the house was a beautiful garden. And down at the bottom of the garden was a place where the man who worked in the garden left his things while he went into the house to have his dinner…'

'Please Rose, I'd rather you sung!' he begged as she carried on her impression of a TV presenter.

'No need' she called as they approached the glass house doors, 'I think we're here now, in the strawberry rooms'

'Oh, goodie!' the Doctor exclaimed as he entered the room. He turned to Bill and Ben as he pointed at Rose,

'Where do you want her?' he asked

'Oi, don't I have any say in this?' she asked annoyed.

'Nope' the Doctor called back as he carried Rose to her designated plot. He gently put her down then checked her over

'Alright?' he asked her quietly starting to sound serious

'Yeah, I'm having a berry good time' she said with a look. The Doctor's face lit up

'A berry good time! Ha!' he said as he laughed. Bill and Ben were approaching Rose each rolling a long wooden stake that was impossibly large to them. The Doctor saw them struggling and walked over, he picked up the stakes – with the flower pot men still attached.

'Hello!' the Doctor greeted them in their faces; Bill and Ben looked at each other then turned back to the Doctor. They reached inside the pots that made up their torsos and each pulled out a mud pie

'What do you have there?' the Doctor asked curiously as Rose giggled.

'Dmu iep!' they simultaneously shouted as they released the mud pies in the Doctors' face.

'What the-' The Doctor began as the mud pelted him in the face, the pot men instantly jumped to the floor as Little Weed called out in a sing song voice

'Weeeeeeeed!'

Rose continued to laugh as the Doctor wiped mud off his face

'Don't you start' he warned Rose

'Come on' she teased, 'You can battle Slitheen, mannequins, zombies and Daleks but you can't handle a couple of flower pot men? I think you're getting old'

'You don't know the meaning of the word' he muttered as he wiped mud out of his eyes. Alan soon approached with his team of flower pot men and co. gathered around him.

'Great, Alan Titchmarsh and his devoted band of die-hard gardeners' the Doctor muttered as Rose gave into her giggles once again.

'This way' Alan instructed as he lead the Doctor to the viewing platform. From inside he could look out over the entire strawberry room – including Rose.

'Wow, that's all… fantastic…I'll put that in my report…that the strawberries are….fantastic' the Doctor mumbled to an expectant Alan. 'But I really should be getting back to my friend' he began to explain

'Your friend?' Alan asked

'Yeah, the girl I was with, short, blonde hair, quite pretty, a bit of a mouth on her, last seen spouting leaves?'

'Ah, you mean your offering' Alan began

'No, I mean Rose' the Doctor corrected him beginning to fear for her safety.

'Yes, the flower pot men are staking her now'

'Staking her? But she's not a plant; she's a human – not more than an ape really – but a human. I'm sure this is all a mistake' the Doctor began to panic, all laughter having evaporated from his voice.

'Yes, the rose is being staked so she can blossom'

'No, not the rose, just Rose'

'Yes, the rose is a type of strawberry, not many people know that but-'

'You don't understand' the Doctor cut him off 'she's not a plant, she can't be a plant! This is all some sort of mistake'

'I assure you it's not. Look, she's beginning to sprout' and sure enough tiny strawberry buds were beginning to sprout from the lumps under her skin – she screamed as his happened causing every muscle in the Doctors' body to tighten.

'Yes, so close, so close' Alan whispered in delight before his evil laugh filled the room. 'More fertiliser!' he demanded to the flower pot men who were quick to obey.

'Rose…' the Doctor whispered

'Perfect' Alan whispered in awe as the Strawberries began to ripen 'perfect'

'That's it boys, trim the sucker!' he shouted into the intercom as the pot men pulled out their shearers.
'I said trim the sucker!' then the building shook with his evil cackling.


Strange fact: Peter Hawkins who provided the voices for Bill and Ben in the original TV show later became the voice for the Daleks in Doctor Who. I think this is more than coincidence, it must be fate! Don't you think so?

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