A.N. Thanks so much for all the amazing reviews! I'm so glad to hear people like the story =] And thanks for the follows and the favorites, they are awesome too!
"Hello," Rory said, one hand lifted in a wave.
Rose's shoulders slumped forward and she fell back step. "Hello," she said, the words falling flatl as she motioned for him to enter.
"Thanks." He bobbed his head and entered the TARDIS that was the same police box on the outside but entirely different on the inside. "Wow. Been doing some redecorating?"
"No," Rose said dejectedly, "this was the original look, retro if you prefer."
"Ah." Rory looked around him with interest. "Very – uh – graty?"
A smile flickered on Rose's lips. "Yeah, but I bet it's easier to clean than all that glass."
"Fair point." Rory stopped before her. "So, we haven't exactly been properly introduced. I'm Rory Williams, husband of Amy Williams who met the Doctor when she was eleven and I believed he was her imaginary friend for twelve years before he showed back up again. He jumped out of my bachelor's cake and told me my wife was a good kisser. He is also now my son-in-law since he married my daughter River, but River's an entirely different story. And you?"
Rose blinked, then smiled. She'd known Rory was going to be fantastic. There was just something about him, the way he was completely calm even when everything else was chaos.
"Right then. Awful rude of me before, but I'm Rose Tyler. I traveled with this Doctor," she jerked her thumb back to the man in question, he was skulking at the back of the console, fiddling once more, "for two years during which time he missed taking me home by a year and everyone, including my mum, thought I'd been murdered. Then he regenerated on me without ever telling me he could do that to begin with, then I got separated in a parallel universe, fought my way back, helped defeat the Daleks again, and got sent off with Ten and a Half, who I married, who is currently lost which is why I'm here."
Rory nodded, he held out one hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Rose Tyler."
Rose accepted his hand. "Same to you, Rory Williams." They shook warmly.
Introductions completed, Rory's hand fell back to his side, the other slipping into his jeans' pocket. "So, do we have a plan for finding this husband of yours? Because my wife was rather looking forward to finally making it to Rio. At least this time her outfit isn't entirely inappropriate for the temperature."
"Ah," Rose commiserated. "I once ended up in 1879 dressed for summer 1979."
"Isn't it the worst?" asked a Scottish voice. Amy's vibrant head poked around the edge of the door. "And he doesn't even let you go back to the TARDIS to change."
Rose laughed. "Well, it's not like he ever changes anyway. Okay, that's not entirely true. He changed a couple times –"
"What?" Amy asked in shock, walking fully into the TARDIs but leaving the door ajar behind her. "He's never changed with us."
"Time Lord," the Doctor wheedled, slowly coming around the console to join the trio. "I'm above wardrobe changes."
Amy and Rose looked at each other before cracking up. "Yes, of course, because bow ties, height of fashion," Amy said.
"Don't forget the fezz," added River, the final memeber of the group, easing the TARDIS door shut behind her.
"Fezzes are cool," the Doctor huffed, carefully watching River to gauge just how angry she was with him. Her eyes were cool, but she didn't look particularly inclined to slap him.
"No," Rose said firmly. "Fezzes are not cool."
"And then there was the Stetson," Rory commented.
"Good lord," Rose turned to the Doctor, her nose wrinkled. "What is it with the headwear? You never had headwear when I knew you. The jacket, leather and brown editions, and glasses for Ten, but hats?"
"Hats are cool," the Doctor argued.
"On your head?" Rose asked unconvinced.
Amy laughed. "I like her, Doctor."
Rose looked to the girl, well, girl wasn't exactly the right wording, she could only be a few years younger than Rose herself. But, Rory had said River was their –
"Wait. What?" Rose asked, looking at the family in question.
"Ah." The Doctor held up his finger. "Right." He stepped smoothly between the group. "These are the Ponds. Amelia Pond, Rory Williams-Pond, and Melody Pond who became River Song." He gestured to each in turn.
"That's wonderful, Doctor, but I got the names, it's the actuality I don't understand."
"This really is the kind of conversation that requires tea," River said, hooking her arm through Rose's and heading toward the hallway.
"And Jammie Dodgers," the Doctor said excitedly, linking his arm through Rose's other.
Rose looked between the couple bookending her in. She saw the nervous pull of the Doctor's mouth and the stony set of River's features. "Right . . . think this requires a bit more than that. Like chips."
"Fish fingers and custard!" the Doctor said at the same time.
Rose made a face, guiding them down the right hallways to the kitchen. "That's disgusting."
"Don't I know it," Amy muttered, coming up behind just as they entered the kitchen.
Rose shook off her companions and set about putting the kettle on and sorting through the cupboards for the biscuits and tea things.
As the others took a seat, River joined her at the cupboards. "Which one has tea cups?"
"The left, I think. Haven't had a chance to sort through everything yet, actually." Rose stretched onto her tiptoes to pull down the sugar, but an arm reached over and took it for her.
She glanced over her shoulder at the Doctor. He fiddled with the lid, looking down at her with unreadable hazel eyes. "You can put it on the table, Doctor," she told him when he didn't move.
Blushing, the Doctor walked quickly away leaving the two women alone in the kitchen half of the room. "Bit useless if you don't give him a shove," River said, taking down five cups.
"Mm," Rose agreed, thinking of jelly jars that didn't belong to them. She cast a wary glance toward the table. "But he's over that licking everything phase, right?"
The tea cups clattered onto the counter top. "Licking what?"
Rose grinned. "I'll take that as a yes then. That's a relief. I always thought it was a bit dodgy, licking things you didn't know what they were."
"And I thought I had it bad with the air kiss nonsense." River shook her head.
Rose took a moment to envision the Doctor, this Doctor who was not nearly as suave as either of his past selves, air kissing anyone. She giggled. "Lucky he has you then."
"Us," River clarified with a wink.
"Us," Rose agreed with a smile, picking up the tea things and carrying them over to the table, River right behind her.
When the kettle boiled Rory jogged over to get it. Once everyone was settled, tea properly made, snacks distributed, Rose turned curious eyes to River. "How exactly did you become River Song?"
The story of River Song saddened Rose, it also worried her, it worried her a lot. It called to mind what the Doctor had said to her earlier, 'I am Time Lord Victorious.' That was the root of her worry.
Rose was acutely aware of the eyes on her, the eyes belonging to companions she had never and would never get the chance to know and travel with. Eyes that were hazel not blue or brown, that she knew were apprehensive without having to look at them. Eyes belonging to the woman of the tale herself, the one who should have had so much in common with Rose but whose life had taken such a different path.
This worried her as well. How does one react to news that one isn't in the least prepared for? Rose, admittedly, was well versed in this, but now, in this moment, she was coming up blank. Feeling like the Doctor when he'd been caught at something that was going lead to a proclamation of 'Run!'
She was working on keeping her attention fixed to her tea; her hands cupped the mug and she gave it a little twist to send ripples across the amber surface. What to say? Time was quickly deserting her and she still had nothing to say.
"Rose?" It was the Doctor's voice, gentle and prodding, which of course meant he was horrendously nervous.
Settling on ambivalently surprised, Rose looked up suddenly from her tea, a half smile affixed to the right side of her mouth. "How positively –" she faltered. Positively insane, positively bizarre, positively awful, positively – "life changing."
River's rather lovely mouth formed a small circle, a smile crinkling the corners of her eyes. "Exactly that, Sweetie."
And Rose knew from those words that Rive understood at least some of the thoughts Rose was working so hard to contain. "Can I show you the library, River?"
The other woman nodded, pushing back from the table and looking at the Doctor. "Clean this up, will you, Sweetie? Rose and I have some things to discuss."
His jaw flapped once, then twice, as if trying to figure out how he'd been delegated to domestic duties, but River had already dismissed him as she offered her arm to Rose who slipped around the table and linked hers through.
"Rory and Amy, you're perfectly welcome to explore the TARDIS. I know it must be different than yours," Rose offered politely.
Amy looked ready to say something, but Rory clamped his hand down over hers before she got the chance. "We'd love to."
As the two women the Doctor cared most about disappeared through the doorway of the kitchen, the Doctor shot a look around at the empty dishes and cups. He frowned. "Amy, you like washing up, don't you?"
A staccato laugh answered that question rightly enough. "Oh no, Doctor, you're not getting out of this one." She turned her head to the side, narrowing her eyes at him. "I heard my daughter tell you the washing up was your department."
"It's really best not to go against the wishes of a Pond's woman," Rory advised, drawing his wife down into his lap.
"And you two, you're just going to sit there watching me?" the Doctor groused, reluctantly gathering up the plates, crumbs falling as he did so, speckling the table top.
"A chance to see you behaving domestically, uhm, yes." Amy beamed at him, wrapping Rory's arms securely around her middle. "It'll also give you a great chance to explain what's going on here, because I'm sure you haven't forgotten this place is not Rio. Not even close."
"Close is a relative term," the Doctor said. He dumped the dishes with a rattling clatter into the sink and doused them with water. "We're closer to Rio now than we were in the TARDIS when Rose arrived. We are also close, as you put it, to Rio in the sense that the temperatures are relatively similar and the marvelous foliage that grows here does have some aspects in common with that of the type that thrived in Rio before humans –"
"Raggedy Man!" Amy interrupted loudly. "There is no talking your way out of this one. This is not Rio. End of discussion. Now, wash."
With a grimace, the Doctor poured soup onto a blue sponge the TARDIS had kindly supplied. "Couldn't have just installed a dishwasher?" the Doctor asked the TARDIS, his gaze pointed at the grating ceiling.
"Come on, Amy," Rory said, helping her to her feet as he stood. "Let's leave the Doctor what little dignity he has left with his shirt sleeves rolled up and up to his elbows in soap bubbles."
The Doctor was grateful to have his humiliation in peace, not that much embarrassed him. But really! What had River been thinking telling him to do the washing? She knew he hated domestics.
"Kill joy," Amy pouted, but she followed his lead toward the door. "Think this place has any rooms without bunk beds?"
There was a distinct splash as the Doctor dropped a tea cup into the watery depths of the sink. "Ah – Amy, I'm sure you'll find that as this TARDIS is very young, it doesn't have that many rooms and –" he was rambling, there was no point to what he was saying, only he felt a need to keep Amy and Rory away from Rose's – their bedroom. His and hers. Half his.
The pictures, everywhere, all in perfectly maintained frames, with perfectly happy occupants. Amy wouldn't even know it was him, well she might, but it wouldn't look like him. Still he didn't want her to see that. He wanted to . . . well, he wanted to keep it for himself right now.
Rory seemed to understand what the Doctor was floundering to say. "I wouldn't worry, Doctor. Even if there are rooms with queen sized beds, I'm sure the TARDIS will only let us into rooms she wants us to see, and if she doesn't want two new guests, she'll be sure to keep the doors to those rooms locked."
"But if I see one queen sized bed anywhere on this ship, I am demanding one from our TARDIS when we get back," Amy threatened, weaving her fingers through her husband and leading the way out of the kitchen. "Keep up with the washing, Raggedy Man, you're not even halfway finished."
Sinking his arms deep into the foamy depths of the sink, the Doctor retrieved the tea cup he had dropped. He grimaced. "Domestic." From his lips, the word sounded as if it was akin to the plague.
Turning the tea cup in his hands, he saw the delicate rose pattern covering the china. Well, maybe this kind of the domestic wasn't the worst you could have. Rose's tea cup with roses on it. That was rather splendid, that was. And, Rose would be impressed with him if he did the washing. Yes, she would see how mature he was, doing the washing without throwing a fit like his former self would have, as he was sure his half self did.
A small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. At least there was no carpet to be seen on this TARDIS, his half-self had persevered at least some standards. The Doctor picked up the sponge and smeared Rose's tea cup with soap.