I got to thinking the other day... well, I'm not sure what I got to thinking, but this is-- OH WAIT. I remember now. My dad and I got to talking about my old dog, Patch, who was the nicest, sweetest, fluffiest dog in the world before he died. I guess I was feeling nostalgic, so this was the result! It was actually pretty quick to write, surprisingly. And the light fluff was totally unexpected; I wasn't planning on writing it like that.

But who am I to deny the muses their way? I hope you guys enjoy, and thanks to all readers, whether you've reviewed or not, who've happened upon this little set of fics so far! :) You guys inspire me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. But I do own 26 of the episodes on iTunes now. Best $55 I've ever spent.

Scratch 'N Lap

There was that strange slurping sound again. The Doctor frowned, pushing himself out from underneath the TARDIS's central console and sitting up, scratching the side of his face curiously.

The TARDIS was quiet at the moment, since Rose had been exhausted and had decided to go to bed a few hours earlier. The Doctor had never really understood what it was about humans that made them need more sleep than most other species, but they did. Terribly inconvenient, but at least it gave him time to do some much-needed tinkering with his ship.

Which is what he had been doing, until that noise had started -- and there it was again! It sounded like somebody with a milkshake (probably banana) was nosing their way around somewhere in the room, and now that he was out from under the console the Doctor swore he heard a gentle scraping-like sound, too.

"What is that?" he asked himself, forehead crinkling in confusion as he pressed the tip of his tongue against the edge of his teeth. The Doctor quickly pushed himself to his feet, spinning the TARDIS's screen around to look at it.

"What, have you got something blocking your bypass systems again? Indigestion? Stomach cramps?" He stroked the edge of the screen comfortingly as a series of numbers and symbols danced across it. He shook his head. "These readings aren't helping. They aren't telling me anything. What's wrong?" The screen flashed again, and the Doctor's eyes widened. "What? What d'you mean, three? There's only me and Ro--"

Something bumped gently into the back of his legs, and the Doctor froze as he realized exactly what that strange slurping-and-scraping sound was.

"Oh. Oh, no. You have got to be kidding me." He pressed his fingers between his eyes, shutting them tightly for a moment before risking a glance down. Please let him be wrong. Just this once, let him be wrong.

The Doctor opened his eyes, and he let out an amused sigh. "Of course."

* * * *

Rose frowned in distaste as something stirred her from her sleep. She had been having a lovely dream, she was sure, but the ends of it were quickly falling out of her grasp and were only leaving her with that content aftermath. Which wouldn't be so bad, really, but something had woken her up in the first place. She should still be enjoying her dream.

Rose grunted, burying her face into her pillow, cuddling it to her in an effort to tell whatever it was to shove off and let her sleep.

Apparently it didn't get the hint, because the next thing she knew there was something cold and wet and slimy trailing across her neck. Rose shrieked, jumping straight up and swatting at the air behind her with her pillow. The Doctor was grinning at her, the pillow squashed up against the side of his face as he held the tongue-lapping, tail-wagging, noseless puppy in his hands.

"Funny thing, these Barcelona dogs," he said, scratching her under the chin. Her tail wagged faster. "Since they've got no nose, the only way they've got to smell is by licking. Like a snake," he explained. "And Meiske here, well, she decided she wanted to know what Rose Tyler smelled like. Who was I to refuse?"

Rose blinked drearily, sleep still pushing at the corners of her mind even though she was awake. "You... you snuck into my room to get a dog to lick me awake?" She paused, shaking her head. Then something else struck her. "Wait a minute, Meiske? You named it?"

"Named her, Rose," the Doctor defended as he plopped himself and the puppy down on the bed next to her. "I couldn't just call her 'you, dog'! Meiske. It's Hylion for 'loyal,' you know. But that's not the point. There's an important question you're missing here."

"There's a question?" Rose blinked innocently, but the Doctor knew her too well to fall for that. She knew it, he knew it, and, judging by the way she tilted her head to the side, Meiske knew it too. The Doctor raised an eyebrow questioningly as the puppy licked his hand.

"Are you really going to make me ask?"

Rose faltered, looking sheepish. "Well, she was cute, an' she was all alone nosing her way through a trashbin. Was I supposed to just leave her?"

"Technically, she was tonguing her way through a trashbin," the Doctor said lightly, before looking her apologetically in the eye. "Rose, we can't have a dog on board the TARDIS."

"Why not?" Rose demanded, feeling a flash of anger. This is why she had snuck the dog on in the first place. He was unreasonable. "She won't cause trouble! I can take care of her. We can't just go and plop her back on Barcelona like she's nothin'!"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor murmured, placing the hand that wasn't holding Meiske still at the crook of her elbow. "But you know that the life we live isn't really conducive to having a pet. We saw how that went with Mickey."

"Oi!" She elbowed him sharply, but she couldn't keep her tongue from sticking itself out of the corner of her mouth. She knew he was right -- he usually was -- but it still wasn't fair.

The Doctor smiled gently, reaching out and smoothing down her hair. Rose felt her eyes close on their own accord, having forgotten that she had been sleeping until recently. She probably looked a right mess, but the feel of the Doctor's fingers threading through her hair made her not even care. And here he was, probably not even realizing what he was doing.

"I'm not going to just abandon her," the Doctor promised. "I'll find her a good home. Or we can, together, if you want. Is that okay?"

Rose 'mmm'ed in agreement, leaning into his hand as it moved to cup her cheek. She opened her eyes to find his locked on hers, shining in that rare way they did every now and again. For a moment she didn't even allow herself to breath. Or maybe she couldn't, with the way her heart was hammering so loudly in her chest. The Doctor's thumb traced the curve of her jaw once, slowly, before he pulled back, cradling Meiske to his chest.

"Go back to sleep. I'll let you know when we touch back down on Barcelona again, all right?"

"Right," Rose said, and the Doctor smiled once more before slipping out the room and closing the door with a 'click.' Rose groaned softly, throwing herself and her pillow back down on the bed, and she breathed in deeply.

Sometimes, that man drove her crazy.

* * * *

Back in the console room, the Doctor rested his head in a hand as Meiske stared at him knowingly, tongue lapping at the air with a kind of innocent ferocity.

"You and your lot," he sighed dramatically, ruffling the hair on top of her head. "Tasting the emotions in the air. Far too clever, you are. I should be glad you can only communicate within your own species."

Meiske blinked, and the Doctor lifted his head as he started setting coordinates. "Right. Next stop, Barcelona. Again." He pointed at her accusingly. "And don't look at me like that. It's rude."

The Doctor pressed a button, and the central column sprung to life.