I don't own Doctor Who, or Rose or the referance from an original episode, but I do own this fic, so... Dont' sue. Lawyers scare me. Sorry this took ages too, but as you know, G.C.S.E's call, and my teachers think I have nothing better to do than piles and piles of coursework. .:sigh:. Eep.
So, please read and review, as they will cheer me up a lot. Seriously, I go increadibly happy.
The metallic shatter reverberated off the walls of the kitchen, breaking the tenseness, and the dull echo faded, leaving the pair in silence once more. The Doctor swallowed. It sounded loud and uncomfortable, even to him, and he cleared his throat. His face fell a little, and Rose opened her mouth to speak, to laugh, to do anything to get him to stop staring so intently at her, she thought he was reading her mind.
Suddenly, the floor pitched, the whole TARDIS surged, and hurtled through time and space, but not by the Doctor's command. The TARDIS had been pushed. While the small blue box span wildly through whirling tunnels of flame and light and space, the two figures stumbled and fell.
Rose lurched forward, still clutching the Doctor's glasses tightly until her nails dug into the flesh of her palm. Her bare feet staggered slightly, tripping over the Doctor's own, and she plummeted sideways. The Doctor also struggled to stay on his feet, despite being used to the odd turnings of his ship; they still caught him off guard. He pitched closer to Rose, his arm wrapping protectively around her shoulders on instinct, the other thrown out to catch himself if he fell. Unfortunately, as Rose fell, she grabbed hold of his hand, and held onto it. The Doctor cursed as they went down, not before noticing however, that Rose had buried her head into his shoulder, like last night. The shadow of a smile passed over his face, soon replaced by a grimace as the floor hit them. Unluckily, Rose landed first, and acted as an excellent cushion for the Doctor.
She groaned as he knocked the wind from her stomach and lungs, and poked him sharply. He grinned down at her, but didn't get up.
'D'ya mind? I'm getting' squashed here!' She tried to sit up, but the Doctor firmly pushed her down, a frown on his mouth.
'We get up while the ship's still moving like this, I might squash you again Rose Tyler.' He murmured, but lifted his weight off her body slightly, and leaned on his elbows.
'Now that's interesting.' His gruff mutter vibrated through his chest into hers, and she looked up at him.
'What? Wha's intrestin'?'
'The TARDIS. It's changed direction.'
'Oh, an' that's… bad?'
'Could be.' His face wrinkled animatedly as he thought.
Rose was getting steadily more aware of how much heat was washing over her, radiating from the Doctor. He smirked at her, his face barely inches from her own and she breathed out. Her breath stirred stray hairs on his forehead, and he inhaled sharply.
'Does that hurt?' He asked, his face all serious now, no jokes. She thought she saw a flicker of…? Something in his eyes, but he crushed it before she could identify it. She grinned up at him, a mischievous, playful grin that was smothered when he moved again, lifting more weight off her. His chest was no longer compressed against hers, but the lapels of his coat brushed her belly.
'No, I jus'… Could you get off me?' She poked his again, but stopped when annoyance flashed above her.
'Well, I would, but something might fall onto you, and how many lives do you have?' His voice was low, but playful, and she smiled.
'An excuse for everyfin', haven't ya? Jus' don't get any ideas.' She winced a little as the remark hit far too close for home than she'd like. She could feel the ship spiralling out of control underneath her, shooting through time. And here she was pressed onto the floor, the Doctor acting as her shield. She glanced at his arms, each on either side of her head, keeping his weight off her. She breathed out slowly, trying to control her heart beat, and then took another deep breath, cringing when her chest rose too high and grazed the Doctor's upper body faintly. The tension in his arms increased, but his face was carefully trained into a calm expression, even if his lips pursed together a fraction.
'Sorry…' She mumbled, and attempted to smile, but his expression remained cool, and the smile faded, and she bit her lip, unaware that by doing so, she diverted the Doctor's gaze for a split second. His breath was hot against her cheek and she could smell that tangy citrus flavour. He had obviously been sticking his fingers in the marmalade jar again, and licking it off. The image of the Doctor licking his fingers shut her brain up, and the contact between them seemed way too much.
The sound of breaking plates and tinkling cutlery was a welcome distraction for both Rose and the Doctor. The tension in her stomach, and her shallow inhales would have become more and more noticeable. The Doctor's arms were beginning to strain, such was his rigid frame. He dared not touch her again, in case… Well, the Doctor just thanked whatever gods were out there that that situation didn't arise, as his body had dropped a little, and he couldn't help thinking how soft she had been. Or how attractive she looked, her hair tousled, pressed against the iron grating… He stopped that thought right then, before things got out of hand.
A smash broke their eye contact, and Rose heard the Doctor curse quietly in Galifrayian. He dropped a few centimetres over her; his eyes squeezed shut as he did so. Something heavy had fallen close by her head, and she flinched away. She saw the look of near pain flicker in his face as she tried to lean up to move away from the broken appliance, which earned a hiss from the Doctor, his teeth clenched.
'Lie still, Rose.' Barely audible, but she heard the near whisper in her ear, as she had turned her head to look in the direction of the noise. He didn't mention the fact that her body had shifted against his, or the fact that he had liked it. With a sigh she lay down again, her arm freeing itself and curling round the back of her head, acting like a pillow.
'This gonna stop any time soon-' She was cut off as the sound of dying engines reached her. The TARDIS heaved one last time, making the Doctor sway over her, then stilled.
'We've stopped…' There was a definite strain in his voice now. 'We're here.'
'An' where's tha'?'
'Exactly.' His childish grin shone down on her, and she couldn't help lighting up too.
The Doctor stayed over her a few seconds more than necessary, but Rose didn't mention it. She felt him slide off her and roll onto his back beside her, taking his heat with him. She heard the faint crunch of glass as he did this and realised he had rolled onto broken glass. She lifted herself, very slowly, and looked down on him, worry in her eyes. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung slightly open.
'Are you alright?' She giggled as he opened an eye, one corner of his mouth hitching upwards.
'I think I rolled onto the marmalade.' He breathed, the rumbling in his throat reminding her of her old Doctor.
This made her giggle harder, and she got to her feet. The mess all over the kitchen floor was chaotic. Riots of smashed plates and jars littered the ground, interspersed with the odd kitchen utensil, having flown off the hooks on the wall. The Doctor had rolled under the table to escape the glass and marmalade, and he too stood up eventually.
The look of horror on his face was almost comical.
'We have to clean all this up, you know.' He glanced at Rose next to him, and she laughed out loud, the pressure of moments before melting. He chuckled, his hand sought hers and he squeezed it, a little too strongly.
'You okay?' He looked down on her, his usual smirk back on his face, filled with boyish glee.
'Yeah, fine, a bit flattened though, how 'bout you? Anyfin' fall on ya?'
'I'll survive. You make a fantastic cushion, you know that?' He wrinkled his nose when she pulled a face, and he rubbed the back of her hand with his own.
He turned to lead her out of the kitchen, but halted when she erupted in uncontrollable sniggers. He raised his eyebrows at her, silently asking her to explain herself. She couldn't speak for laughing, so she merely pointed a shaking hand to his back. He turned, his neck craning to get a better look, but it was no use. Finally Rose stifled her giggles, and choked out;
'C'mere.' She tugged off his jacket and turned it to the back, showing the Doctor the sticky stain that covered his back.
'An' you said I'd be covered in the stuff!' She beamed at him. He just shook his head, an undeniable curve to his lips, and he looked over his shoulder to see his entire jar of 'Frank Copper's Oxford Marmalade' smeared over the kitchen floor.
He groaned out loud.
'That was my last jar!' The childish distress in his voice was nothing compared to his pouting face. He span to Rose, who was again lost in her laughter and scowled. He strode out of the kitchen, his shoes scattering the chips of glass. She laid the sticky jacket down on the table, biting her lip at the sight of the kitchen, then turned to follow.
'Oi, 'scuse me! Wait a sec, yeah?' Rose called, as she tried to pick her way through the glass labyrinth, aware she could cut her feet to pieces at this rate. She had reached the doorway before the Doctor could help her, and brushed herself off.
'Right then! Where are we?' She looked up expectantly. The Doctor reached down to tug a strand of her hair, pulling it teasingly.
'Oh, dunno.' He flashed her another grin.
'Let's find out shall we. C'mon.' Without letting Rose inform him she was still in her night clothes he pulled her along, through the winding corridors, somehow picking up his trench coat along the way, until they arrived in the consol room. The Doctor peered at a screen, the lines in the corners of his eyes standing out in the blue green light. He gave a satisfied sigh, flicked a switch, and his eyebrows shot up.
'Well, that is interesting…' He murmured, and absent-mindedly stroked the TARDIS column. He looked over his shoulder to see Rose perched directly behind him, squinting down at the screen. She could make sense of the curving letters and symbols; she just couldn't say exactly what they said or how she knew. She just knew the Doctor was apart of it, and that she didn't mind at all. Not any more.
He smiled at her, watching her eyes dart across the screen, her eyebrows raised in confusion. He could see her trying to work out the symbols, knew she couldn't. Not yet. But soon though. She hadn't had training, didn't quite understand how to talk to the TARDIS. It had surprised him that Captain Jack could, but he was a fellow Time-traveller, so he supposed he must have picked it up somewhere. Rose was clever though. She'd pick it up soon.
She blinked finally, shaking her head, and meeting his eyes.
'Anything?' He asked, knowing she wasn't ready.
'Almost. It's almost there.' She bit her lip and frowned. 'Still, I've got plenty of time.' She smirked at her Doctor, and finally asked the question he had been waiting for.
'So, when are we?'
' It's exactly... ' He looked at a circular symbol on the screen, blinked, and tapped the disk with his finger. A line shifted, and he beamed. '206Beta/K.'
'An' is that excitin'? Any evil alien wars we 'ave to prevent, anyfin'... dangerous?' She looked hopefully up at him.
'I dunno.' Hegrinned cheerily at her. 'Wanna take a look.' He gestured to the door. 'S'all there waiting.'
'Er, Doctor. Aren't you forgettin' somefin'? She gestured to her outfit, consisting of a white tank top, and a pair of overly large pyjama pants, lightly striped with thin pink lines running from toe to hip. Her bare feet were cold and painful on the metal grating. Not to mention she had marmalade on her cheek, somehow acquired over the last few minutes.
The Doctor leaned forward, swept her cheek with his thumb, collecting the sticky orange spread and licked it off his thumb, smiling while he did so. He studied what she was wearing closely, mentally scolding himself for lingering on her exposed stomach.
'Nah, you'll be alright. Height of the Fregian Empire, they were running round in pyjamas like the rest of 'em.' He squinted at her, and snickered softly.
'Oh, here.' She opened her hand and passed him his glasses, still safely cradled in her hand. 'You'll be needin' these, right?' She handed the thick-rimmed spectacles and winked at him. 'Can't 'av you squintin' round the Fregian Empire, can we?' He slipped them into his pocket, and held out his hand.
'Off we go.' He gestured to the door, and she shook her head cheekily.
'Let's see you go outta there in your PJ's then, hmm?' She teased him, her eyebrow lifting.
'I'll have you know, Rose Tyler; I saved the Earth wearing pyjamas! Not my own, I might add. Besides, the amount of time you take getting dressed every morning, I'm surprised you have time to help save the world with me. And another thing…'
The Doctor smirked, and proclaimed, rather too proudly; 'How do you know I don't sleep in the nude?' He intoned, being careful to keep his voice light, and his smile cheery.
'Takin' a leaf outta Jack's book, are we?' She gasped, giggles welling up inside her.
The Doctor paled. 'Rose.' He said dangerously, even though growled was closer to the truth. 'I thought we talked about this. That was a very… unfortunate experience. For both of us.' He tried to keep his face straight, but failed. She was beyond hope.
'Well, you didn' have to go stumblin' in on 'im, did ya? It wus hardly his fault!' She could no longer look him in the eyes, as her own had misted over with tears of laughter.
'He was sleeping on top of his sheets! How was that my fault?'
'Yeah, well yeh didn't have to scream. That was jus' cruel!' She was sniggering hysterically now. She almost doubled over.
'Aw, well, so would you! Besides, he leapt… what… two feet in the air. You should have seen him, Rose. Actually, never mind that. Best you didn't experience that sight.'
'Oh, it must've been terrible!' She began to gain some control, and hiccupped.
He slid his hands in the pockets of his trousers, and went to his default setting; grinning broadly.
'So, Rose Tyler. Shall we?' He offered her his arm, and she bit her tongue as she smiled, cheekily half sticking it out at him as she slipped her arm through his. Her hands gripped his upper arm gently, and she nestled her cheek on his shoulder.
'I s'ppose. Not everyone can say they've been to an alien planet in their PJ's, right?' She suddenly looked up at him. ' Wait... you kinda have.'He chuckled and leaned closer to her ear.
'I get double points. They weren't mine.' She laughed happily, but wasn't completely satisfied.
'Fine. I do this, you have to go out in your PJ's some other time, okay?'
He ponder this for a moment. 'I... Have to...' He looked down at himself, apparently hesitanting for some reason. Then he looked back at her, and something in him gave way. She was impossible most of the time, especially moments like this. He couldn't win, and she knew it.
'Oh, all right then. But don't make a habit out of it. I have a reputation... Sort of, to up hold.' She bounced on the balls of her feet and giggled to herself.
'Let's make it official then? I dont want you backing out last minute.' She held out a hand. 'Deal?'
He took her hand and shook it very formally, but pulled her closer into a friendly hug.
'Deal.'
She snuggled closer, and the Doctor felt that familiar twinge in the back of his mind. Her cheek was meant to lie there, as were her arms meant to hold him. Unbidden, his hand brushed hers, and she immediately took it. The same feeling of safety weighed down on him. He knew she wasn't safe with him, knew he was no more safe than an impending storm, but he didn't care. Right now all he cared about was the warmth of her hand in his, the light mass of her head on his shoulder, and the quiet inhale and exhale of her lungs.
They strolled leisurely toward the door of the TARDIS, and it swung open. Golden light spilled into the console room floor, illuminating a pair of converse shoes and two bare feet, the toes curling slightly. Rose's small gasp of wonder went unnoticed as a wave of sound hit them, drowning out everything else.
Reviewers! Loff!
BelleEve: The Corrs work too! I love the Corrs. Anywaym here's the chapter, dedicated to you! .:hugs:. It'll never happen, no... .:Sob:. BUT! I have 4 new episode long fics soon on the way, so it's almost as good as having Doctor and Rose back. Almost, but not quite. Still, I hope it helps, lol. Thanks about the Diary thing. I wasn't sure if I had gotten her just right, but apparently I did, so thanks again.
E-mails! .:Runs off to answer them:.
LarielRomeniel: Yep, it's in another episode, and let's just say the episode has something to do with Jackie. And the Doctor does something so adorable in it, right near the beginning. Okay, no more clues. You'll know which one soon though. Cyber cookies to anyone who can tell me which Episode it's in though. Lol. Thanks for your review, as always.
leox5000: Candyfloss huh? Well that's no bad thing (yummy, I love the stuff). I'm really glad you like the chapters. And I've got to evaluate Jane Eyre in school. It's really good cuase I just have another reason to watch the new Jane Eyre series every Sunday (reason 1. It rocks) I love Jane Eyre... Okay, I'm babbling now.
Doc: Thank you! .:hugs:. Yeah, thats the main reason I write these episode long fics. I want more Doctor/Rose! And I think the series should have been longer... It's such a shame Rose is gone. I hate it... Anywho, more fics soon, I just need to find time to write them.
MYBIGBLUEBOX: Aww, poor stolen computer! Well, it's back for good now right? Good. I'm glad you like this chapter, more soon on the way. Damn G.C.S.E's...
