A/N: Well, they don't get to Pompeii yet- that's still coming! Sorry for the delay in chapter updating, life's been crazy, and plus, lost the whole document and had to rewrite the darned thing. Which I suppose allows for improvement but drives me crazy. Hope this is at least a nice tide-over chapter until I get a possibly more actual adventure-y one done. :D Please leave a review if you like, it's the closest thing to payment fanfic writers ever get and it really means a lot to know someone out there's enjoying it or even thinks it's worth the time to critique/comment! ;D
It was his turn.
Rose wasn't going to tell the Doctor that, though. Not telling him was practically the point. Rose had made up her mind, and if there was one thing she'd learned during the past few years at Torchwood it was to stick to her guns.
"Please," he said, almost threateningly, from the passenger seat of their rented blue Jeep.
It was not his turn to drive.
Rose kept her eyes focused on the road, flexing her hands slightly on the steering wheel. "Nope."
"Rose Tyler," he said, her name snapping off his tongue unfamiliarly. "Times beyond count- well," the Doctor said, pausing, the hurry gone from his voice, "countable, but it'd take even me a while- well, a quarter hour… look, to clarify, I have on a regular basis guided a rather more complex vehicle than this across the Void, where even Eternals fear to tread. I've gotten to Cyrennis Minima by way of the Althrace System, during rush hour."
He waited a moment, clearly expecting some sign she was impressed, but she merely glanced into the rearview mirror with a polite expression. The Doctor scowled.
"I've evaded the clouds of air mines in the skies of Rit, I've circumnavigated the seven moons of Avalon in seven minutes while siphoning toxic gases from their atmospheres, I've navigated the Kessel Run in less than twelve- no, wait, sorry, that's Star Wars. But I have been known to get the TARDIS through the takeaway drive-through on New Alexandria, which is a rather impossible thing to do to get breakfast."
"Speaking of, you hungry?" she asked airily.
"Rose!" he snapped, darkly. "I am more than capable of operating a twenty-first century Jeep in this or any other universe."
"That's not what the French police said," she said, lips tight though her tone was light. Rose wasn't really sure herself if she was fighting a smile or keeping them from trembling.
"Oh, well, France," he blustered, a rough edge to his voice. "Different planet, whole other kettle of bouillabaisse. They're the lot who gave bizarreness to bizarre. And I have it on good authority the French police won't give you no peace-"
"That last bit's from a Rod Stewart song," said Rose, now definitely fighting a smile as she looked over at him.
"Oi, Rod's a good authority," said the Doctor. He propped his elbows up on the car door and arm rest, lifting himself up a bit to face her better and stretching out the seat belt she'd made him wear. "Granted, he can be a bit- tarty, but still a trustworthy bloke, and a good harmonica player- you can count on harmonica players. Really, you'll never meet a two-faced harmonica player, Rose- well, not metaphorically, though I don't suppose we ever will get to Ganesh, their musicians have quite the respiratory advantage what with both mouths – but generally harmonica players aren't ever duplicitous. Misunderstood, certainly, slightly maniacal, quite possibly, but there's just so much soul behind a properly played harmonica- and oh no, you can't fake that."
His brown eyes were alight and wide, his eyebrows lifted halfway to his hair, his grin was open-mouthed and completely pleased with himself. His brand-new purple tie was too tight and looked far better than it should've against the blue of his suit. Rose thought it definitely needed to be tugged loose.
Of all his traits, she was so glad he still had this one, able to be enthused by the smallest, most seemingly mundane thing. He looked so alive. He made her feel so alive.
"Rose," said the Doctor, in a lower, sharper register.
"Mm-hmm?" she said expectantly, eyes still idling on him and the serious expression dawning in his eyes.
He grabbed the wheel. "The road!" he shouted frantically, yanking the wheel to the right in time to narrowly evade plowing down an oncoming black mini-Cooper. Rose, jerked back against her seat by the sudden movement, tightened her grip on the wheel.
"I've got it," she growled, eyes focused ahead, rapidly wheeling one hand over the other to smoothly pull over to the side of the road. It wasn't easy, since the Doctor kept his broad bony hands on top of the wheel too, trying to do the exact same thing from shotgun.
They ended up skidding off the road while turning a full 360 degrees, coming short of a tailspin only because Rose had the good sense to slam the brakes. They were well off it, three more cars whizzed by in a succession of seconds. The Doctor finally let go of the wheel, but in pulling his long arms back, one of them swept over Rose's head and caught on the pinned front of her hair.
"Ow," she said, ducking away, which only made it harder for him to disentangle himself. She elbowed him, and his hand shot back, taking a few strands of her hair with him. Rose leaned back with a huff of breath, pushing her hair off her face.
The Doctor let out his own huff of air and burst out laughing with it.
"Shut up," said Rose warningly, brandishing her elbow at him.
He kept laughing.
She turned off the car, rather than leaving it stalled. "That was on you, anyhow," she said. "With your talking, and, and things."
"Honestly, I was only talking about harmonicas," said the Doctor, shaking his head. "Not a valid excuse for distraction. Now, if I'd been playing a harmonica-"
"Can you play a harmonica?" said Rose, surprised.
The Doctor hesitated. "I'm very musical," he said.
"Yeah, but how are you with harmonicas?" she said, persisting.
"Brilliant," he said immediately. "Almost certainly."
"Can't," she said, tongue pressing against her teeth as she laughed silently.
"Could," he said, still looking delighted himself. "If it was a Venusian harmonica, anyhow."
"As in Venus?"
"No, as in Venusia- of course as in Venus."
He leaned towards her and she drew in her breath thinking about damned time. She'd chased him down, she'd kissed him, and it was his move now, it was all on him because he'd kissed her back but they'd never been like that before and she wasn't sure she knew how to be more without ruining what they already were, to be sure he wanted what she wanted. Because this Doctor needed to show her how he loved her, since even though it had always been so easy to forget, even now he was only part human and she loved him too much to push him. Yet here they were, pulled over in a blue Jeep smack in the middle of the Italian countryside, laughing and together and really Rose thought it was an absolutely fantastic time for their relationship to take a few human leaps forward. It was all the same and all so new but his breath was brushing against her face and for a moment she was sure new was good.
And then his breath whooshed right past her face, as he pulled out the keys and leaned back into his own seat, twirling the key ring triumphantly around his fingers.
"So," he said, popping the word and grinning. "Are you going to let me drive now?"
Rose resisted the impulse to strangle him. She'd gotten used to moments like this a few years ago, she could get used to it again. Her patience was admittedly thin, but there was bound to be an adjustment period. And the Doctor did dance, she knew that, only not with her – not yet.
She was pretty sure he would, the way he'd kissed her back, but she supposed it wasn't fair to jump the bones of this new-new-new man. She'd keep telling herself that.
"Well?" he said, still jingling the keys.
She thought about his question for a moment, once she'd remembered what it was, then sighed, adjusting the ends of her hair. "Ten quid the Italian police pull you over within the hour," she said, because Yes meant surrender.
The keys fell silent and he frowned, lowering his hands to his lap. She didn't like seeing the life drain from his face that quickly. It gave him a wan look.
"Fine, benefit of the doubt, three hours," said Rose, holding up three fingers.
"Rose, I don't have ten quid," said the Doctor quietly.
He'd always pulled money practically out of the air and now here he was with empty hands, with only her and the money Pete had wired to her to take them where they wanted to go. She drew in a breath at the seriousness in his eyes. "Well then," she said resolutely. "I suppose I'll have to take my winnings out of you in flesh."
He gaped. She froze.
"That is- that was-"
"Do you m-" the Doctor stopped himself as they both spoke at once. "You first," he said, quickly.
"That was a rather poor Shakespeare reference," said Rose resolutely. "What were you-"
He was smiling again, though she wasn't sure if that was to her relief or her disappointment. He opened the door on his side in one smooth movement. "Hop out, Rose Tyler," he instructed. "You know, you're my favorite passenger but as a driver- quite honestly, you scare me."
"Says you," she said, insulted, even though she opened her door as well. "After all, you were only thirty miles over the speed limit-"
"Oi-"
"You were."
"Yeah, but I was still driving well," he said loudly, peering at her through the windows as they walked around the car from opposite ends. "Not my fault full humans can't safely handle highways with speeds over a hundred miles an hour-"
"No speeding," she called back.
"It takes so long to get anywhere," he grumbled, getting in the driver's seat a second after she got hers, a bit disgruntled she beat him around. "And we've only got so much time."
"We've got enough," said Rose firmly. She gestured to the green rolling hills and the silhouettes of villas a few miles off, took a deep breath of the fresh air, which seemed to have an extra flavor to it, something a touch earthier. "It's a bit nice, really, taking it all in this way with you along."
"Stopping to smell the roses," said the Doctor off-handedly, eyes on the countryside. "Oh yes, the slow path has its upside. Though the Jeep can't exactly make us breakfast. Hungry?" he asked her, nodding to the open road.
"Absolutely," said Rose fervently.
They shut the doors in unison. She nodded to his seat belt as he moved to turn the keys. The Doctor buckled himself in resignedly.
She liked him safe.
"Oh fine then," said the Doctor, shaking his head. "We'll trundle along and I won't get us pulled over." He started the car, looking over at her with a wink. "You'll have to find another excuse to get my flesh."
Rose blinked. "I'll come up with something," she said, a touch throatier than she meant to sound.
After all, there were endless miles of road to ride and though he didn't know it yet, sooner or later she'd be taking back those keys.