Disclaimer: miserably, I still don't own Doctor Who or the Mayflower...maybe in a parallel universe!!!

RECORD! Well, I don't know about that exactly, but I published twice in the space of two hours?

Sky

"Hmm," he murmured against her hair. Rose smiled to herself as his arms tightened subtly around her.

She leaned back, offered him a teasing smile and nestled back into his embrace, brushing her cheek against his jacket again, content to stay cocooned in his arms. Rose held her breath as the Doctor lifted a hand from her back and began stroking her soft, golden, wavy curls tenderly.

"I can smell the bananas you were eating earlier," Rose risked whispering. It was worth it, for the Doctor gave a soft laugh.

Against his chest, Rose could feel his chuckle from within him, deep and rich, and she found that she like it. She must have tightened her grip on him without realizing it, for she felt something light and as soft as a feather land on the top of her head and felt something brush it. Rose froze for a moment in time, and a wave of warmth washed over her. Was it her imagination or did the Doctor just kiss her head?

Rose blinked, leaned back so she could see his face clearly and looked up at him curiously. She was shocked at what she found in his gaze. His eyes seemed darker than usual, as if a burst of smoke had clouded them.

"What?" asked Rose, in an almost timid whisper.

In silence, the Doctor seemed to pull her closer to him gently, and, eyes never leaving hers, his right hand rose to brush her arm and move up to her shoulder and up the side of her neck, and ever so gently touch her cheek, sending delightful shivers down Rose's spine.

"Doctor?" she asked him again, this time breathless.

With his hand warm and tenderly resting on her cheek tilting up her head, it took all of the strength she could muster to refrain from flinging herself at him and give him a big snog, but his next actions distracted her completely.

"Oh Rose—" he began huskily, but didn't bother to finish. Before Rose knew what was happening, to her delight, his lips were on hers, warm and comforting. He pressed her still closer gently and Rose sighed against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, brushing her fingers through his hair gently, causing him to deepen the kiss. It became longer as they both did not want it to end, and soon Rose was gasping for breath and trembling. The Doctor almost reluctantly moved back an inch, and a second was all she needed. Before he could completely back away, Rose grabbed the sides of his face with her two hands, and before she lost her courage, snogged him back, hard. Before he got the chance to explore and deepen it, she moved to his cheek and gently kissed him there. Releasing him, she inhaled deeply, still locked in his arms.

Rose sighed, feeling her emotions roil.

"We're here," the Doctor, comment brightly, also taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a whoosh. Rose just stared at him, unable to switch gears as fast as he, and not wanting to. She wanted to savor the fact that he, the Doctor, had snogged her, Rose Tyler. It was almost unbelievable. She had fallen in love with the ninth Doctor, had also fallen in love with the tenth. They were the same, yet they were different. Rose didn't want to dwell on it any longer then she had to. Some things were better left a mystery.

The Doctor carefully and almost casually untangled their entwined arms. "Come on, Rose, let's go look around."

But Rose didn't hear him. Had he reacted to the heat of the moment? Probably. Had it been wrong for her to return his kiss? She didn't want to think so. Rose really hated the Doctor at that moment. He had forgotten already. He was, in fact, halfway out the door, and she wondered what would happen if she chucked a hard shoe at his head. She struggled against the temptation, knowing it was one of those actions that would probably get her expelled from the TARDIS, and as Sarah-Jane had told her, "Getting your heart broken is worth it."

Rose doubted this strongly at the moment. Is it really worth it? How can I live with him when he discards the most beautiful and magical moment of my life like that? Didn't it mean anything to him at all? How can he possibly love me the way I love him? Rose shook her head. Sarah-Jane was right, and will always be right in that regard. Rose had loved every adventure, every scene, every moment and every second. She wouldn't have given them up for the world.

Suddenly the Doctor poked his head around the TARDIS door to where Rose still stood. "Coming?" he asked her, and Rose noticed with a pang that he was careful not to look her directly in the eye.

Probably wishing he had never snogged me in the first place! Rose thought, overcome with anger and hurt.

"Yeah, I guess so," Rose replied with a shrug, trying to hide her pain, and struggling to conceal her anger.

"Well, it's kind of chilly out there, so you'd better grab a coat or something."

Rose almost screamed at him to look her in the eye, but decided against that too. She stormed into her bedroom, flung on a coat, not caring to impress the Doctor, and made her way back to him in ten minutes flat.

She saw the Doctor blink twice when he saw what she was wearing, and she tossed him a glare, meaning "I-really-don't-care-if-I-blend-in-or-stand-out-so-stuff-it" and stormed past him, and out the TARDIS door.

In an instant the Doctor was forgotten. Rose stood on a clear mountaintop overhang looking over a beautiful stretch of water. The sky was gorgeous, and it looked to be about September. Below was a giant ship, as if itching to be off on an adventure, and Rose realized that it would be a gorgeous day for sailing.

"Where are we, Doctor?" Rose asked him in awe and curiosity, staring at the beautiful view below her.

Now, her anger and hurt towards him had been momentarily forgotten, but it came rushing back as he placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them. She moved away from his touch uncomfortably and didn't see the hurt look he shot her.

"Past. England. 1620. The Mayflower is about to set sail."

"Doctor, there's nothing to do here, and I don't want to be stuck on a ship and possibly die, since there's no way back to the TARDIS once we're on board," Rose protested good naturedly.

"Yup, I know," the Doctor replied, staring intently at the beautiful scene.

"Then why are we here?"

"You wanted something beautiful."

"True," she conceded the point.

"And you said you wanted to go somewhere we'd never been."

"Yes," she acknowledged slowly.

"Well, here we are."

Rose blinked again.

"Oh," was all she could say. She turned around and found the Doctor gazing at her with longing in his eyes. He quickly averted his them but not before she had caught a glimpse of it.

She almost caved. Instead, she turned around and started for the TARDIS. The Doctor was about to follow her when she turned around and raised a hand to stop him. She laid her hand on his arm and felt his muscles flex under her fingers. "No," she told him, softly and firmly, no longer angry but plenty upset. "Watch the Mayflower set sail. I'll go put the kettle on."

"You don't want to?"

"I can't," Rose shook her head. "You go ahead. Have fun." She smiled at him reassuringly.

"It won't be nearly as fun without you."

"It's better than me crying over you," Rose teased, trying to remain light.

The Doctor sighed then nodded. "Ten minutes," he promised as she nodded and entered the TARDIS.

He wanted to hold her again so badly it ached. He wanted to kiss her again. It was so hard not to reach for her when he had told her to go get a coat back in the TARDIS. He hadn't because he didn't want to get hurt, but more importantly, he hadn't wanted to hurt her. He smiled weakly to himself. The kiss had been a mistake, though how he had enjoyed it! She had seemed to enjoy it as much as he did, which made it worse. When she had entered the console room with her white, fluffy jacket, it was all he could do to stop himself from snogging her again then and there. She had looked like an Angel, and of course, she was already. His angel.

Outside, when he was behind her, he was sorely tempted to encircle her waist with his arms, sweep her off her feet and snog her. However, he had had to settle for resting his hands upon her shoulders. It had hurt and still did when he was brushed aside.

His mind kept returning to one thought. He really wanted to kiss her again. He had enjoyed their first real (Rose being possessed didn't count) kiss tremendously, and wouldn't hesitate again if she so much as smiled at him with those beautiful brown eyes. In fact, he had avoided looking into those eyes for that exact same reason.

He smiled, closed his eyes briefly, and recalled the most magical moment he had ever experienced to date. She had tasted sweet, of tea and bananas. A beautiful mix, he thought to himself.

His grin grew wider as he remembered that Rose had eaten bananas earlier that day, because she had claimed that she couldn't breathe in the same room as him. Of course, he had encouraged her when he had wiggled his eyebrow at her and responded with, "Not if you eat one yourself." She had deliberately eaten the banana, and he loved her for it.

The Doctor blinked. He loved her. Dearly. Without ceasing. Madly. He was absolutely enthralled. He was crazy about her. And he would die if something ever happened to her.

He breathed in deeply and let it out slowly, rubbing his face with both of his hands.

There was no doubt about it. No convincing himself otherwise. Rose had gotten under his guard like no one else ever had or ever will. He knew it from the moment he had asked her name when they first met and told her to run for her life, she had had him hook, line and sinker. Okay, maybe it helped too when she didn't really lose her cool when he blew up her job. And the fact that she had swung down on a chain to save him. Whatever the case, he was in love with her.

He sucked in another breath and exhaled in a rush, noticing for the first time that he could see it, and closed his eyes again. Oh, right. It was September, and he was standing on a mountaintop with a blue copper phone box and a lot of wind at his back. It was kind of cold. I wonder what the people feel like— his eyes shot open and he lost his thought as he squinted down into the water where the Mayflower had been anchored. There was nothing in sight. Oh great! He had managed to miss it! Him and his lovesick brain! He mentally kicked himself as he turned to enter the TARDIS, his thoughts whirling, mostly about Rose.

He had just admitted to himself that he loved Rose. Could he ever get up the courage to admit it to her?

Would adore ideas! As far as I've gotten. critisim reviews are gratefully recieved!!