No recommended song for this chapter, so I'm taking suggestions for it this time. Feel free to suggest a song through requests. And who ever can guess what Rose is saying when her nose is covered gets a cookie! Or I'll do a challenge/request fic. Just let me know. :)
When the TARDIS reached its destination, for the second time, the travelers found themselves in the surprisingly clean alley behind what could only be described as a florists. It wasn't so much the people walking past carrying bouquets as it was the fact that the entire structure was covered in flowers. Blue flowers, silver petals, violet leaves. Various colors coated the wall of the building they had parked behind, and the sight brought a smile to Rose's face, leaving the Doctor hoping that they weren't the same flowers from before. Happy Rose was one thing. A drug induced euphoric Rose was another. Especially when she wouldn't stop asking him about how he'd been affected.
Fortunately, it didn't seem like the same flower. The blonde just seemed to be in awe of the sight. She could see from where she stood that not every building had the same floral motif. That made her appreciate the beauty before her all them same. Well, that was until she was struck by the scent of the wall decorations.
Resisting the urge to dart back into the TARDIS, Rose instead opted to cover her mouth. The scent was pungent to say the least, and, despite all of the things she'd seen and smelled while working for Torchwood, her stomach was not prepared for the stench.
"Oh, now that's pungent," she heard the Doctor exclaim as he stepped out of the TARDIS. If it wasn't for the way his face was scrunched up, she wouldn't have been able to tell he was bothered by the smell. "That's beyond pungent. That's borderline noxious."
Rose stood there with both hands covering her mouth, as the stink had penetrated her single hand. She attempted to speak, but it came out muffled. "Er eh smerh o maa, zin i taa ow?"
"What?" he asked, looking at her in pure and utter confusion.
She pointed to the TARDIS before darting inside the blue box. He followed her closely, figuring that he would get a clarification of what she said once within.
It would be a while before he'd get his explanation. Rose was taking in deep breaths and coughing as she struggled to rid her lungs of the rancid smelling air. "Are you all right?" he asked when she didn't seem to be recovering as fast as he would like.
"Yeah," she croaked out. She took another deep breath before clearing her throat. Her voice was still harsh sounding, though that could be attributed to the coughing just moments before. "Sorry. That smell was just a little too much. Didn't think flowers could smell that bad."
The Doctor crossed the short distance between them and stood before Rose, stooping a bit so that he could look her in the face. She blushed faintly at the way he seemed to be studying her face so closely. His hands came up to gently cup the sides of her face, thumbs gently brushing over her cheekbones.
"Do you want to rest a bit before going back out?" he asked in a hushed tone that made Rose feel like she was the only person in the universe. The same tone he used in his other regeneration that night after her first encounter with a Dalek.
After a moment of thought, Rose shook her head. "I've been resting enough. Besides, the scent of the flowers shouldn't carry too far, right? Just get away from this building, and I'll be fine."
"If you start to feel ill, I want you to let me know right away," he told her, sounding more like Pete when he went on missions more than the Doctor. It was sweet, but annoying. She was used to the idea of being someone who treated her almost as an equal. Not as someone who was worried over.
She wasn't going to let it bother her though. The blonde tried to understand. She wouldn't want him put in any sort of harm either, and she had just been hacking up her entire respiratory system. She supposed that the same sort of reaction would be deserved if roles had been reversed. So she nodded and agreed.
He smiled at her, his hands not moving from where they were on her cheeks. His eyes were peering into hers, searching for... Rose didn't know. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her, but before he did, he turned away, leaving her more than a little confused. He'd kissed her earlier.
Sometimes men were just confusing. Especially aliens.
"Think we can head back out?" she asked, deciding to try and distract herself from the feeling of disappointment.
"Of course. As long as you're feeling up to it," he replied leaning back against the railing beside the ramp that led to the exit.
"Yeah. More than up to it. That whole coughing thing's passed. Just gonna have to hold my breath or take really shallow breaths considering how using my hands didn't keep the smell from getting to me last time.
The Doctor studied her for a moment with a concerned look before nodding. He'd move the TARDIS if he was sure that they wouldn't land in yet another unfavorable area. First time landing they'd wound up in a field where the substance in the air left him feeling like his pants were far too small in certain areas. He was still trying to maintain strict control over himself. Took far too much to try and make sure he didn't jump Rose when he had wanted to make sure that she was all right.
Knowing their luck, one more landing on the planet would wind up with them stuck in a building with a bunch of unfavorables who would wind up wanting them dead. Besides, there was something about this planet that was sending out a message that was proving too much for the Psychic paper to transpose it all. He didn't quite know the terrain well enough, and the TARDIS was only so good at landing in certain places.
As Rose started towards the door, the Doctor reached out and gently took hold of her arm. When she turned to look at him, she noted that he had pulled out a small handkerchief.
"It might not prove useful, but it couldn't hurt," he suggested, glad to see a grateful smile on her face instead of the look of hurt that he'd seen when he walked away just a moment ago. He hated seeing her with any look but a relatively happy one – realization, joy, laughter, adoration. These were the acceptable ones.
"Thanks," she said before carefully taking his hand, trying not to make him run off to the other side of the TARDIS. Maybe that was the reaction he had to the flowers. Maybe they made him into a prat? When he didn't pull away, she lifted the piece of fabric to her face, taking a moment to breathe in the scent before heading out of the ship. She looked back at the Doctor who had covered his mouth with his free hand.
The pair quickly darted past the flower covered wall and ran a bit further before stopping to catch a proper breath. A relieved laugh escaped the blonde as she breathed in the fresh smelling air. She wasn't sure which she preferred though – the fresh air or the scent of the handkerchief. She looked at the Doctor who seemed to be enjoying the lack of stink as much as she did.
"Remind me not to stop and smell the roses while we're here," she quipped with a laugh as she pushed her hair back out of her face. She looked around at the surroundings before smiling.
"Oh, some of them might not smell as bad as the ones we've come across," he said in an attempt to convince her that the planet wasn't entirely bad. The Doctor walked up and held out a hand for her to take.
"We won't know until we do a bit of exploring," she agreed, taking his hand. While the doctor seemed to have become the master of mixed signals, one constant remained. "So, where to first?"
"I was thinking we go wherever you want. You're first trip off Earth in a while," he said, motioning for her to show where she'd want to go.
"Anything you might want to warn me about?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. "I mean aside from the plant life of course."
"Now where would the adventure in that be?" he retorted playfully before shrugging. "Besides, I've never actually been to this one. I told you. I wouldn't be sure if I knew where we were when we landed. Where we were when we landed. Try saying that five times fast."
Rose laughed and lightly hit him with the hand that was clasped with his own. "So you back to normal?"
He blinked and looked at her feeling confused for a moment before nodded. "Yup," he said, popping the p for an extra effect. "The smell of those flowers will kill any sort of effect of any substance. The ultimate hangover medicine. Unless you really are hungover. Then you're probably going to be sick as a dog."
Granted this was all bollocks, but he wasn't going to see that hurt look on her face again. Besides, the effects were fading still, and he was sure that he'd be back to normal in a bit. Just don't look anywhere at Rose except her forehead. He could handle that.
Rose laughed and started walking, pointing out shops that only looked appealing until one saw what was within the confines of the walls. Some of the items even had the Doctor blushing, which was saying a bit considering his usual open minded perspective on things.
The two finally reached a small cafe and took a seat at one of the tables. Upon placing their orders, Rose commenced with glaring at the Doctor. "Do I even want to ask why the TARDIS brought us to a planet obsessed with keeping everyone shackled to beds?"
The Doctor cleared his throat and looked slightly uncomfortable. He was going to have to discuss such options with his ship about that at some point soon. "You'd have to ask her yourself. Though that would explain a few things. Namely the flowers and the abse-"
"The flowers?" Rose caught, her glare fading into a curiously amused look. From the look on the Doctor's face, she could tell that he was wishing he'd not brought up the subject. For someone whose previous incarnation enjoyed making random jokes about "dancing," the Doctor was awfully prone to schoolboy behavior. "Is that why-"
"Certain flowers are known to have certain effects on specific species. Human could have completely different reactions than the ones expected," he explained, trying to avoid any of her questioning, though she was having none of that. There were times that he regretted his current form's gift of gab. He was going to have to learn to keep his mouth shut at some point wasn't he?
"While Time Lords have the standard ones?" she retorted, having to suppress a case of the giggles. The idea was highly amusing. Especially considering the behavior he so often exhibited during their travels before.
"I'm not saying anything of the sort," he commented, crossing his arms over his chest. So much for keeping his mouth shut, he might just have to find a way to keep himself from talking altogether.
"But you're not saying anything to deny it," she said as she leaned back in the chair, losing the battle to her laughter. "Those flowers made you-"
"Don't go there," he interrupted, shooting her a mock threatening look that just made the blonde laugh all the more. "I had a biological reaction to those flowers, and that is all that I'm saying."
Rose was tempted to continue on with her annoying of the Doctor, but the look on his face was turning into one that was keeping her from continuing. She'd only seen that look around Mickey and her mother. More specifically when he'd been snogged by Jackie Tyler.
"All right, but it's still funny," she said. She cleared her throat, still leaning back in the seat. She kept her arm around her midsection, trying to ease the stitch in her side that had developed from her laughing. "But I'll stop."
He nodded with a slight grin on his face, silently admitting that though it wasn't entirely funny, he could see some of the humor. After a moment, he shifted in his seat and looked around.
"Didn't think tea would take this long," he said. "Even the civilizations without electricity seem to know how to make drinks faster than this."
"Maybe it takes a while to steep?" Rose suggested as she noticed a young looking man with light green skin walking towards them wearing something close to what the earlier server had worn. Granted, everyone she'd seen seemed to be wearing almost the same thing, so she didn't say anything. She did think that it was odd how he was staring at the small device in his hands and muttering.
She noticed that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and almost called out when he tripped over the leg of one of the chairs, but it was too late. The young man was flat on the ground with his device about four meters in front of him. She heard him groan as the Doctor moved to help him up, while she picked up the device.
"No!" started the figure as Rose released an almost screech and dropped the object she'd been holding. When the Doctor looked to see why, he took note of how the thing had sprouted various spikes, some of which glinted red in the light.
"You all right?" the Doctor asked, moving up to her side and gently took her hand, examining the small bleeding openings in her palm. He reached into his jacket for the handkerchief he usually kept, only to remember that he'd given it to Rose. He reached around her to pull it from where she'd stuffed it in her pocket once they were clear of the odoriferous flora earlier on. He lightly dabbed at her hand, frowning when it the blood flow didn't seem to be slowing.
"Y-You might want to go get that checked out, if she's bleeding," came a lilting, albeit ancient, sounding voice. The pair looked over to the man pointing to Rose. "Pardon Krezton if he is speaking out of turn, but the Drikston Analyzer's theft deterrent has a solution surrounding the spines it releases that is in part an anticoagulant. It's meant to help identify the thief."
"But she wasn't attempting to steal the device," the Doctor pointed out.
"Krezton knows, and so will the examiner since she is injured no further. Just the Analyzer is tuned to the small set of nano bots injected into the buyer upon purchase. Anyone who it doesn't belong to will be marked until they go to see one of the Health Officials. If the thief tries to escape even after the first deterrent, the Analyzer generates a sort of energy that will incapacitate the criminal," he explained, keeping a distance as he studied the device, seemingly more concerned with it than the injured Rose. "Krezton can lead you there if you wish."
"Thanks," Rose said with a nod. She wasn't worried per se, but she still wanted to get her hand to stop bleeding, and if there was something on the offending device that would stop her blood from clotting, then she wanted to deal with that as soon as she could. She would have suggested going back to the TARDIS, but considering the flowers there and how she wouldn't necessarily be able to cover her mouth very well, this seemed like a good idea.
"Very well. If you'll both come with Krezton," said the young looking man. The two looked to each other before hesitantly following. From where they walked. They could see that Krezton was more than likely working on his device, leaving the Doctor wondering just what it was. Was it the society or the device that demanded such high security? He felt it was something worth investigating once Rose's hand was taking care of.
When Rose seemed to start lagging behind after a while, the Doctor stopped and gently took her hand. The cloth she'd been using to try and hinder the blood flow was almost entirely red. Upon closer inspection of the blonde, the Doctor frowned. There had to be something more to this. Wounds like the one Rose had in her hand shouldn't have been slowing her down so far. She may have suffered blood loss earlier, but she'd been seeming fine.
"Rose?" he asked softly when he realized that she seemed to be swaying a bit.
"I think I might need to sit down for a mo'," she whispered quietly before her knees seemed to give out on her. The Doctor caught her before she hit the ground, carefully gathering her up in his arms. "Too fast," she muttered, blinking rapidly.
As Rose's head head came to rest on his shoulder, the Doctor couldn't help but wonder what exactly was in the substance that made up the anti-theft deterrent on the Analyzer. While humanoid in appearance, the Doctor wasn't quite sure about how the substances in their anti-coagulants would affect a person who actually was human.
"It'll be all right, Rose. Just try to relax," he told her, almost scoffing at his own words. Relax? Relaxing while traveling the universe with him? That'd be the day.