When Rose had grabbed what she needed from the TARDIS, she and Jake headed back to the school. Jake carried the bucket of water for her while she got off with just carrying the soap. Those that had gone into the forest to gather plants were allowed to wash their hands first. Those that were cutting and peeling the vegetables, were finished first and washed their hands next. The water was terribly dirty after that so she and Jake fetched more water. When they got back, the four that skinned and sliced the titanis washed up. Rose meant to leave the water for the cooks, but many others begged to use it, too. Water had only been allowed for drinking so no one had washed their hands for days.
Rose couldn't deny them. It took three more trips for water to allow everyone to wash up. Rose's next stop was to talk to Donovan. She told him about the students that tried to break into the lab and handed him three of the Gallifreyan freeze-dried pills to substitute for their dinner. She took one last pill to Jess, just as she and the Doctor had promised. That, in addition to her dinner, would keep her in better health.
Rose was dying for the opportunity to just sit for a minute, but there was still more to do. She enlisted the next four people on the roster to help fetch water for the evening meal. After that, she had to escort another group to gather more wood for the cooking fire. By the time dinnertime came, she hardly had the strength just to walk back to the TARDIS. She was extremely hungry after all the work she'd done, but grimaced at the thought of preparing something. It was just one more task.
When she walked into the kitchen, she found the Doctor there, just finishing the dinner preparations.
"Oh, thank you," she sighed in relief.
"There's my survivalist," he greeted with a smile. "I thought you might be tired, so I figured I'd do the cooking tonight."
"Tired? I'm exhausted," she moaned. She plopped down on one of the kitchen chairs and laid her head on the table. The coolness of the table felt good against her heated cheek.
"You've been working hard," he acknowledged. "Very, very hard."
"Yeah, but someone's got to look after them. The whole lot of them were helpless and ready to roll over and die when we got here," she reminded him. "The thing is, they see we're trying to help and know we can't do it on our own, but still no one volunteers. I have to call out names and even threaten them sometimes, for them to help out. They just expect everyone else to take care of them."
"That's their society though. Most of them are students that have never had to work before. They rely on their parents to take care of them. And the staff, their jobs may be difficult and important, but not in this way. I'm sure there are still a few people that are willing to help out though."
"The adventurers," Rose agreed. "Especially Jake and Troy. They're incredible."
She sat up in her chair when the Doctor brought the plates to the table.
"Yeah, I saw they went out gathering with you today."
"It's a relief," she told him. "They make me feel like I'm not the only one trying to make this work. Donovan and the cooks, too. They see what needs to be done and do what they can."
"Reaffirmation of human strength, determination, and diligence," he agreed.
"Yeah… I want to talk to you about something though," she said tentatively. "I can't be everywhere at once, you know."
"Obviously."
"That whole titanis thing really scared me. I know I can take care of myself, and I'm confident that I can protect those around me, but I'm worried about the people that are off doing other tasks."
"It's like you said; you can't be everywhere at once."
"Right. So I've been thinking. Thinking hard. I know you're not going to like this… but I think maybe we should let Jake carry a gun just in case."
"No," the Doctor answered immediately.
"Just listen. He's been hunting for eight years and target shooting even longer. He knows how to use one and has to be pretty good. He's responsible and I trust him," she said seriously. "If we need two separate groups to go out. I can protect one and he can protect the other."
"He may have used guns before, but he's never used laser weapons. He-"
"I never shot with anything before I picked up a laser weapon. I never had target practice, let alone practice aiming at a moving target. I'm sure it can't be much different. And I'm not talking about him going hunting. I'm talking about self-defense if a predator is after them. Do we take the risk of arming Jake or risk sending people out defenseless in a place swimming with dangers? What if someone really is attacked? What if someone dies? Someone that could have easily been saved by a skilled marksman?"
"You're very serious about this, aren't you?"
"Yes," Rose said vehemently.
The Doctor sighed and sat back in his chair as he considered the matter. After a few minutes, he finally conceded. "Something that can be aimed quickly and easily, no more powerful than it has to be, and you have to test him first. Have him practice behind the TARDIS. Test him. He cannot take it unless he proves to be a good shot," he said very seriously. "If he's not good enough, you better be absolutely honest with yourself and not allow it."
"Thank you," Rose said earnestly.
They both turned back to their dinner and their own private thoughts. The Doctor was still scanning the image of the device that had brought the school to this period in history. He could see it in his head and was still working it out from where he was. Rose had her own thoughts, all of them focused what needed to be done the next day.
"You have more concerns," the Doctor said when he looked up at her. "What's wrong?"
"They're dirty," she answered. "They haven't bathed in at least a week. They're dirty and oily. Their clothes are just as bad, if not worse. They smell, they've got acne, they're itchy, and are all at serious risk of infection. You should have seen how excited they all were when I brought out some soap and water so they could wash their hands. I'd love to take them down to the lake to wash up, but I have no idea what kind of bacteria and animals are in there."
"Why didn't you just say so?" the Doctor asked. "Easy fix. Tansorian net field. Once it's spread, you close it up, add some disinfectants and antiseptics, and it's bath time."
"Oh, I could kiss you!" she exclaimed.
"I like kisses," he stated.
Because of his comment, she did get up and give him a kiss. "That's perfect. I never would have thought of the Tansorian net field. And after they wash their clothes, we can use a Borchrovin dryer so they don't have to wait for them to air dry. This is good. This is so good."
"Agreed. Next time, ask sooner."
"When do I have the time? I'm doing my thing and you're doing yours. Speaking of which, have you learned anything yet?" she inquired.
"I see how it works, but I'm not sure what to do with it yet. It's very primitive time manipulation. I'm almost certain that it was an accident that it fell on the school. I can't figure out yet if it was meant to take something back to this time period or if that was an accident, too. Either way, it acted like a time bomb. I want to do something similar to get them back, but I'm going to have to design and build it myself. I need it to be accurate."
"Do you have all the parts you need here?"
"I should, yes."
"How long will that take?" she asked worriedly.
"Only a day or two, I think."
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
"Yep. I've already started working on it."
"What about the one that brought them here? Do you know who made it?"
"No. Which concerns me. Someone is playing with dangerous, primitive time toys. There are only a handful of races that have time travel capabilities. Out of those, most don't actually use devices. Weeping angels, for example. They can send people back in time, but they don't use technology and can't travel themselves. This looks like a failed attempt to me, so it could come from anywhere and be done by any group or any individual in the universe. I don't know how to prevent this kind of thing from happening again if I don't know who did it."
"You can keep having a look and even keep studying it after the school is sent back. I'm sure you'll find a clue."
"Thanks. I hope so."
Rose stood up and took the dishes to the sink.
"No, no, I'll do the washing up. You relax for while," the Doctor offered.
"If I relax, I doubt I'll be able to get back up," she chuckled mirthlessly.
"Then don't get back up. I'll go talk to the school by myself tonight. Draw yourself a hot bath, put on some comfy jimjams, and rest. I'll be back in a bit."
"I love you," she told him. "I don't know if I tell you enough. I love you."
The Doctor pulled her into a hug and she gave him a kiss. As soon as they broke apart, she went to go draw that bath. Doctor's orders.
When her bath was through and she had dressed for the night, she headed to the library to do some reading and push away the next day's agenda. After a couple chapters, she decided she should go get some sleep. But not before she said goodnight to the Doctor.
She stood in the doorway of his workshop and he immediately looked up.
"What are you doing up this late?" he asked.
"10:00 isn't really late," she replied.
"It is when you're as exhausted as you are and plan to be up early again."
"Yeah, I know. I'm getting ready to turn in now. I just wanted to see you first," she explained. "How's it coming along?"
Rose walked over to have a look at his work. She hadn't even seen the 'time bomb' that he'd recovered. When she saw it sitting on the counter at his side, she was stunned by its condition. He said that the shell had broken and even shattered, but it was busted up even more than she'd expected. It was larger than she'd expected, too. The way the Doctor had been scouring the ground for tiny bits, she expected it to be about the size of a 2 liter soda bottle, not the huge device that was nearly as large as a laundry basket. She wondered how they could have possibly gotten it down from the roof and to the TARDIS. She was sure the Doctor had the tools to do it, but it was still likely extremely difficult.
"Good. I think I'm making nice progress," he said brightly. He picked up his notebook to give her a look. He had two pages dedicated to the readings he took, three and a half pages of notes on the 'time bomb' he recovered, and nine pages of notes and calculations for his own design. On the counter in front of him was the device he was building.
"Wow, it really does look like you're making progress. It looks like you're a quarter of the way through."
He appreciated her praise but had to disagree. "This is just the center. Many more pieces to go on. It's cylindrical so think of it this way: when you draw a spiral starting from the inside, you don't need much ink to make it around a few times, but as you progress and the outside gets larger, it takes a lot more ink to circle it just twice. It might look a quarter of the size, but there are a lot more pieces to go on. Then comes calculations and calibration."
"You're still doing fantastic. All of this in about ten hours? Very impressive."
He smiled with appreciation. "I plan to get even more done tonight. Well, tonight and all day tomorrow."
Rose's smile slipped. "You're not coming to bed tonight?"
"No, you know me. I can go days without sleep and suffer nothing for it. That's the plan. I'm pushing through 'til it's done. I can sleep once the school's back where it belongs," he said with determination.
Rose looked down and nodded.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"s'alright. I was just going to ask you to spend some time in bed with me. I haven't been able to spend much time with you for two days. I understand you wanting to work hard though." She did understand, but she was still disappointed.
"Some time in bed?" he asked with a goofy smirk. He took a few steps with a funny, teasing swagger to close the small distance between them and put his hands on her hips. Rose couldn't help but giggle. When it came to romantics like this, he tried to be smooth, but it ended up looking more humorous. It still had the effect he was looking for. She loved him, everything about him. He wasn't very suave or seductive when they flirted, but he was perfect the way he was. His manner might not be as smooth as he believed, but his intentions and attraction toward her were clear. He loved her and desired her intimately. Who he was and the way he loved her was what made him alluring.
"Honestly, I was just talking about a little cuddling," she admitted. She ran her hands up his chest and rubbed back down slowly. "But if it's something more that you're looking for, I'm pretty sure I can be persuaded."
The Doctor began lightly rubbing her hips. She smiled warmly and initiated their kiss. It was almost always her that kissed him. He always kissed back, but very rarely initiated. It had made her unsure at first. When she came back to him after so many years of separation, it felt like he had been waiting for her to be ready to step up to physical displays of affection, but once she opened kissing between them, it was only ever her that would kiss him. He seemed pleased when she did, but he never kissed first. If he ever did kiss her, it was only an endearing kiss on the head. She'd backed off a bit, afraid that her advances might not have been as welcome as she thought they would be. But then when they shared an embrace, she could see his disappointment when she didn't kiss him. She wasn't sure what to think or what to do. She tried again. She started every kiss and began light intimate touches. With every move she made, he reciprocated. Before long, she realized what it was. He was waiting for permission. After one and a half centuries, he still did it. The only signs he gave her that he desired such attention was a certain look when they embraced or a bit of light flirting. This time, he assumed it was what she was asking for. She still needed to kiss first.
Permission granted, the Doctor moved his hands up and down her sides and back, raising her shirt with each motion. Rose reached up and began undoing his bowtie. The Doctor moved lower, gripping her bottom and pulling her closer. Rose moaned in pleasure. He kissed a line down her throat and she continued unbuttoning his shirt. When his chest was exposed to her, she stroked his bare skin and wrapped her arms around him to lightly draw her nails down his back.
"Perhaps we should continue this in the bedroom," she whispered the suggestion.
It was difficult to stop even though they knew it would soon be continued. They made their way to the bedroom and advanced their affections. Rose pushed her exhaustion aside and made love to her husband.
The Doctor laid behind her, holding her close. He felt the call of his project in the workshop, but the heat of Rose's soft nude body against him had a greater pull and held him there with her. He waited until she fell asleep, and then a bit longer after that, before he gave in to the work that required his attention.
He didn't want to leave her side, but there was work to do and he was the only one that could accomplish it.
Character study - In all of my Eleven/Rose stories, I haven't really had intimate moments between Eleven and Rose. The reason is because I had a hard time picturing it. I love Ten/Rose and love Nine/Rose. I see Nine as very passionate and I think Ten is passionate, too, but more playful. I have a hard time picturing Eleven like that. I don't think he loves any less; I think he loves Rose very deeply. The last part of this chapter is me exploring their physical relationship. I write for other people (you) but I write just as much for me. When I have a hard time imagining something, writing it out helps me examine my thoughts on it. I guess I picture that, before Rose's return, Eleven thought of sexual things as sort of a game and he didn't really feel the desire for physical intimacies. Rose is different. He doesn't want to play games like that with her. He loves her deeply and wants to be careful with her. He does emotionally connect soft touches and kisses with love now and he desires them, but he's still not really sure where and when they fit in. He leaves that to Rose. - Those are my own thoughts on it. What do you think?
Thank you SO Much for your reviews!