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Chapter 11 – Rainy London

It was raining in London when they arrived. It was very early in the morning. The sun hadn't even began to rise yet. A doorman met them at the car door with a large umbrella. Rose stepped out of the car carrying Genie's doll, followed by the Doctor carrying Genie. She was still asleep and wrapped up in a blanket from the Bullet. Shakes and Lewis had umbrellas as well. They flanked them as they ran into the building's lobby. John followed them with their luggage. Sam drove the car away to the parking deck.

The lobby was very elegant and large. It reminded Rose of lavish hotels she had stayed in over the years. The manager of the building was the only one there to meet them.

"Good morning, Doctor Smith and Miss Tyler! It's wonderful to finally meet you both!" he exclaimed. "My name is Walker Elliot. I'm sure you are all exhausted after your trip."

The Doctor shook his hand and smiled. "Yes, and wet. Lovely English weather!"

They all laughed.

"Let me show you up to your flat. Your bodyguards are all on the same floor. They have five separate suites. I hope you will be happy here with us. If you need anything, you only need to ask."

The Doctor spoke. "Ah, we just value our privacy. Just like we discussed on the phone last week."

Rose looked surprised at him.

"Of course, sir. I assure you that you have nothing to worry about. Come on and let me show you up there." Walker Elliot held out his hand to the lift.

As soon as they got into the lift, Walker Elliot continued his discussion with the Doctor and Rose. "Director Pete Tyler explained the situation when he secured the flat for you. He set it up under an alias for your protection. As far as anyone knows, a retired stock broker from America lives up here now."

The Doctor smiled. "Ah, good ole Pete. He always knows how to spin a yarn!"

The lift dinged as they got to the sixtieth floor.

Rose looked at him, "Get us high enough up, did you?"

"That was Pete, not me." he reassured her.

Walker Elliot stepped aside as the Doctor, Rose, Shakes, Lewis and John walked out of the elevator. Mr. Elliot handed Rose the key to their flat, and handed Shakes the other keys for him and his men. He pointed out a door, and told Rose. "This is you, here."

Rose unlocked the door and stepped inside. Mr. Elliot turned on a light so they could see it better. The apartment opened into a large sitting room. The walls were cream colored, in the places where there was walls. One entire side of the room was tall windows that went all the way down to the floor. You could see the entire skyline of London. Complete with Zeppelins floating over head. There were two black leather chairs on one side, and a sofa on the other side with a table behind it. There were fresh flowers in vases on the coffee table. A fireplace with gas logs burned and made the flat seem very welcoming.

To the right, was a small kitchen. Rose didn't see a table. There was a bar attached to the island with stools. Granite countertops accented everything nicely. The refrigerator was built into the wall with a sliding glass door. Bananas sat on the top of a fruit bowl on top of the bar.

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, this is lovely. What do you think, Rose?"

She smiled as she looked around. "Wow. This is very nice. I love the view!"

Mr. Elliot smiled. "Best view in London, ma'am! Shall I show you around, or would you rather just explore?"

The Doctor smiled and shook Mr. Elliot's hand. "I think we'll just explore it. Thank you for your help. I need to get this one into bed." he said as he rubbed Genie's back.

"Of course, sir. Good morning to you both!" he smiled as he let himself out of the flat.

Rose was already down the hall. "Oh, my! This is just breath-taking! How much is this place every month?"

The Doctor laughed as he followed her, "I have no idea. I just told them to sell the entire floor to us. I figure we needed a place here that's close to your family and Torchwood. I looked online, and just couldn't find anything else. Pete was thrilled."

Rose was shocked. "Wait, we own this? It's not a flat?"

"Well, it is a flat. But, it is one you can purchase. I told you I was done running. No more."

Rose looked surprised at him. "So, you have two mortgages now?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, just the one for the island. I told you that Pete pays me way too much."

Rose shook her head in disbelief as she walked down hall, finding three more bedrooms and a bath.

Rose opened one of the doors to revel a bedroom that had been decorated for Genie. It was oblivious Michelle had been there. There was a blue duvet cover with large flowers on Genie's bed. She had hung pink curtains and there was a large teddy bear in the corner next to a rocking chair. A globe that sat on the bedstand illuminated the room. There was also a huge assortment of toys.

Rose folded down the bed as the Doctor took the blanket off of Genie and patted her to ensure she was dry. He lay her down in the bed as Rose tucked her in. She hugged her doll and rolled over.

Rose looked around the room and whispered. "Man! Michelle was busy!"

The Doctor spotted the dollhouse still in the box. He pointed at it, "I'll put that together. Don't worry about it."

Sitting on top of the dollhouse, was a football. The Doctor grabbed it quickly. "Yes! She did get it. Ha!" he celebrated quietly.

Rose rolled her eyes at him as they walked out of the room and closed the door halfway.

They walked the rest of the way down the hall to find double doors that opened into the master bedroom. It was only feet away from Genie's room. An entire wall was windows that ran all the way to the floor, just like the sitting room had. The view was nearly the same as the living room.

Rose walked up to the window and looked out at the skyline. "This is breathtaking."

The Doctor tossed his football onto the sofa on the other side of the room. It was a large room with plenty of space around the large bed. It had a grey duvet cover on it and large assortment of pillows. It looked very inviting. The walls were light grey. The lamps on either side of the bed, and another small fireplace with gas logs burning, lit the room. A long sofa sat on the other side of the room, facing a television. On one side of the room, there was a door that lead to a bathroom.

The Doctor walked up behind Rose and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned down and kissed her neck.

"Do you like it, sweetheart?" he asked her.

"Oh, I do. I really do." she told him.

She spun around and kissed him, running her hands through his hair as he held her close.

He leaned back and smiled at her. "I'm so glad. It's honestly better than the pictures he sent me. There is a small office over there, so you can do your work or whatever. And there's another bathroom someplace. There's also a big shower, big tub and a balcony which I had them put a tall lock on because of Genie."

Rose smiled up at him as they held one another.

"Where is the closet? He told me there was a big closet?" the Doctor looked around the room as he let Rose go. He wondered around the room looking for it.

Rose went into the bathroom and he heard her yell, "Found it! Wow! Come see this!"

He walked through the bathroom and saw her standing in the doorway of double doors. The closet had a chandelier hanging in it.

The Doctor put his hands on his hips and looked at the chandelier.

"Huh. Well, that's rather posh." he laughed.

Rose laughed at him. "Posh?"

"Yeah. The only place in the entire flat that has a chandelier is in the closet. That's just weird." he said as he rubbed his head. "I'll go get our suitcase and put it in here. We need to take a shower and get into some dry clothes. And you need to sleep! Big day tomorrow! Well, today."

"You probably need to sleep-"

He tossed his hand up at her as he walked away. "Ugh! Woman. Stop worrying about me!"

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