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Oh my stars, I just got the nicest review from a reader. E, thank you so much! Just for you today, an update. Also, I'm planning on interviewing Arles later (which will be a new story publishing), and there is also another story that is kind of connected to this. I think you'll love it.

Thank you again, everyone, for all of the fan love. It truly keeps me writing away with this madness.

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Chapter 4 - Tea with a Tyler

The Doctor held Rose in his arms as she laid across his bare chest. He ran his fingers down her bareback with a feather-light touch. His heart ached with all of the hurt that she had experienced. His heart sank even lower as he blamed himself.

"I can't remember ever feeling this safe in my life," she whispered to him.

Her voice forced him back into the present. Unable to speak without his voice betraying his feelings, he simply kissed her forehead and held her tighter.

Without letting her know, he laid his hand to the side of her head. Using telepathy, he pushed her into a dreamless sleep. Rest is what she needed.

He slipped out of bed and redressed. Before leaving her alone, he laid his hand on Rose's head once more. This time, he sent her feelings of love and peace.

She smiled in her sleep, which lifted his spirits considerably. He sighed as he remembered what Pete wanted him to discuss with her. He would have to do that tonight.

He closed the bedroom door quietly behind him as he walked barefoot down the hallway. He rubbed the side of his head as his thoughts were consumed with how he was going to discuss Rose's safety with her. How could he make her understand how dangerous this world was? What had he been thinking to leave her here like this? He sat on the sofa to have a think. Propping his bare feet on the small table in front of him, he sat back and rubbed his bottom lip as he sorted out a way to get Rose off of this rock and to safety.

But how could he do that without her thinking he was trying to do a runner away from her?

He groaned, "Relationships. You truly suck at this."

A knock at the door interrupted his self-reflection.

He opened the door to reveal Rose's mum, Jackie Tyler, loaded down with grocery bags.

"Well, hello there Jackie! How are you today? Oh, let me help you with those!" he exclaimed. Maybe a bit too enthusiastically because she gave him a funny look.

Jackie handed him most of the bags she was carrying. His hand suddenly reminded him of punching a wall in the shower last night. "Awe!" he exclaimed. When Jackie turned around to see what had made him say that, he said, "Pinched my finger in the handles. Nevermind me."

"You certainly are chipper this morning." Jackie came into the kitchen and started some water going in the kettle.

"I figure you two aren't ever at 'ome. Probably didn't have a crumb of food in the 'ouse!" Jackie fussed as she started unloading the bags he had sat on the counter.

He wasn't surprised at all to see her, but he was surprised to see she had brought some food. He wasn't used to having a mother thinking about those little things that make life run a bit smoother even if it was Jackie Tyler.

"How is Rose?" she asked him.

"She's just wonderful." he said dreamily, "She's sleeping."

"Ah, makes sense," Jackie told him as they unpacked the shopping on the cabinets. "I'm sure she's on some good pain medication. Oh, what the 'ell is this?"

She looked down and spotted the broken tea glass that the Doctor had tossed across the room. "Fighting already?" she accused him.

"No." he smiled. "Rose came in and ….. I accidentally threw it across the room."

He stepped over to pick it up and put it in the trash.

Jackie gave him a stern look.

He wondered if she was about to smack him.

"She must have gotten you good, then."

He laughed. "She did. You should be proud."

Jackie joined his laughter as they both worked together to unpack the shopping.

"O' Bananas!" He smiled like a loon as he held them up to show Jackie.

Jackie said, "Yeah, I remember Rose saying that was your favorite, but I didn't know what else you liked. So, I just got Rose's favorites and some other things. What sort of things do you like, Doctor? You eat normal things, don't cha?"

Typical Jackie Tyler. But, he would expect nothing less from her. "Well, I've not made any determinations yet as to favorites with this mouth. I haven't gotten used to it, honestly. Although I have noticed I like coffee more than I ever have."

Jackie noticed that he was only using one hand to pull things out of the bags. "You alright?" she asked him.

The Doctor looked at her, "Yeah. Why?"

"You're only using that one hand. Let me see that other one."

" It's fine, Jackie. Don't worry about me." The Doctor said.

But, it was no use with that look she shot him. He handed over his sore hand.

"It's bleeding black and blue. What the 'ell have you done to yourself?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" he tried again to deflect her attention off of him.

"She put her hand on her hip. You going to tell me, or do you need a slap? Now, you didn't do something stupid, did you?" Jackie demanded.

He put both hands on the counter and looked down at the floor. "I punched the wall in the shower that night at the hospital. It's just bruised up. I've already shown it to Rose."

"I ought to slap you. You could have broken it, you plum, and you might have. Get it looked at! And be more careful from now on!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

Domestics.

"Yes, ma'am." he said quietly.

And as he continued pulling things out of the bags, he pulled out two DVDs. Jackie saw them and said, "Tony sent over some movies he said would make Rose feel better. We just told him that she was sick."

The Doctor looked at them. "The Lion King and Meet the Robinsons! She loves these two! Thank him from her."

"So, she's alright? I was worried she might overdo it since she's at home now."

"I'm careful to ensure she does just enough." replied the Doctor. He was smiling, thinking about their very recent shag.

"You're a Doctor. Do you think she'll-"

"She's going to be alright, Jackie. Really. I don't see anything to worry about. I mean, with the recent injuries and such."

Jackie looked at him. "Yeah?"

He smiled, "Yes. She's. She's rather remarkable. Just…"

"God, you have it bad. I'm going to get a cavity standing here talking to you with you talking such sweet things."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Tea?"

"Of course, thank you! I'd love to 'ave tea with the man who saved my daughter's life." she said.

"Oh, like that was the first time." he tried to brush it off. His remark rewarded him with a hard slap across the shoulder.

"You better be kidding, mister!" she demanded.

He turned around and smiled at her. "Of course I am!" he lied through his teeth.

"Lewis has a lot of men over here. Or is that Shakes?"

He shook his head. "Shakes, I think."

"It looks like the president must be visiting 'ere or something."

The Doctor grinned and said, "They aren't bad. I haven't even noticed them."

"Yes, they are very good at that." she agreed.

The Doctor couldn't believe it. Him, having tea with Jackie Tyler. Rose would be proud or worried that he had come down with a fever.

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Rose woke up to the most wonderful smell. She started to wonder what it could be when the Doctor came into the bedroom with a tray.

"You're sleeping your life away, Rose Tyler! You need to eat something to keep your strength up!" he cheerfully told her as he set the tray on the nightstand.

He sat down on the side of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her through a smile as he brushed her hair out of her face.

She smiled. "I was just dreaming."

"Really? About what?"

"I don't remember. But it was…well, fantastic." She teased him with the words.

He chuckled, "Fantastic, huh?"

"What is that?" she asked, pointing at the tray.

"Chicken soup."

"You cooked? You know 'ow to cook?" she couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "All those years we were together, I never remember you cooking anything."

He gave her a look as she had just dribbled on her shirt. "Eat, and build up your strength for all of your telling me off."

She giggled as she looked over the tray. "Oh, a grilled cheese!"

"Your Mum said your favorite. I hope it's alright-"

Maybe she was still dreaming. "You talked to Mum? When?"

The Doctor laid down on the bed, propping his head on his fist to watch her. "Two hours and seventeen minutes ago. She came over. And believe it or not, we had tea." he smiled and made that happy noise in his throat.

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing. She started to laugh. "I must be still sleeping. Or I've been pushed into the Twilight Zone. You cooking? Having tea with Mum?"

She took a bite of the sandwich.

"Oh. This is gorgeous!" she moaned with a mouthful.

He smiled like a loon. "Not bad, huh? Not bad at all."

He lay on the bed and chatted with Rose about things while she ate.

"You're wearing my t-shirt." he realized quietly.

"I hope you don't mind. I got cold, and it was over here on the floor for some reason."

He just smiled that 1,000 watt smile at her.

"It smells like you." she told him, smiling with her tongue in her teeth.

She kept watching him smile like a loon and making that happy sound in his throat.

"Shut up." she told him quietly as she smiled back.

He looked down at the blanket, running his hand across it. She noticed that he had bandaged it up.

"There's a lot we probably need to talk about." He began.

She continued to eat and nodded.

"How do you feel. About living here. In this house?"

"It's alright, I suppose. It's not home, but it's closer to it now that you are here," she told him.

"Pete came by this morning," he said, suddenly rather serious.

She looked at him curiously. "What did Dad want?"

The Doctor couldn't look directly at her. His eyes looked up and all over the bedroom as he spoke. "He left some security guards here. They've been outside all day. "

He took a deep breath and decided it would probably be best just to get it all out.

"He feels that this entire thing will only continue unless we take steps to ensure your safety. The security outside for starters. He also wants me to talk to you...about moving into a more secure location. Like a flat in town that has security, doormen, that sort of thing."

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What in the hell?" she started quietly, then shouted. "This is my house! They've never come here before! That's just crazy to think they would!"

"Rose, it would be crazy to think they wouldn't. Think about it. We were on a playground. No one could have known we would have been there. We didn't even know. They would have had followed us. Waiting for a time they could strike." He replied as calmly as he could.

Rose considered a moment. "I hate to admit it, but you are probably right."

"I can't keep you safe here."

She groaned, "I understand. It's just…my house. I worked so hard for…"

"I know. But, we can sort out the next one together. What do you think?"

She sighed. "I just…I don't want to take any of Pete's money or-"

"I understand that. But, he sees it as an investment."

"Investment? In what?"

"Well, think about this logically, Rose. If you had married Jackie Tyler, wouldn't you do everything you could to keep her daughter safe? I mean, out of the fear of what she may do if something happened to her?"

She laughed, "I've never thought of it that way."

He took her hand. "As long as I'm with you, I don't care where we are."

"This is all rather domestic for you." She teased.

"Oh. Maybe I'm ready for something like that. I mean…retirement and everything."

Rose smiled back at him.

"I love you, Rose Tyler. As I see it, we're in this together."

She blushed and smiled at him. "When was he talking about us moving?"

The Doctor rolled back and put his head on his fist again. "As I see it, the sooner, the better. He suggested that we go on an extended holiday. Just get away from everything here. Give you some time to recover, at least as much as anyone will know. Anywhere you want to go. The movers can handle everything while we are away."

She considered for a moment. "Traveling again."

"Together." He smiled.

"God, I miss the TARDIS." she admitted.

"Not any worse than I do, I assure you. But, we can do this without a TARDIS. We'd go someplace safe. Away from these tabloids and public figure life. Back to just us. The old team. Shiver and Shake!" he exclaimed loudly as he tossed his injured hand into the air.

She giggled at his excitement. She lay her hand on the side of his face. He leaned into her touch.

"Traveling without the TARDIS. Where would we even go?" She asked him.

He looked her in the eyes. "I have no idea. But as long as we're together, I'm sure it will be...fantastic."

She leaned in and gave him a proper snog.

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