Rose stared into the Doctor's eyes. He stared back. Both bathed in the horror of the information she just gave him.

"You...You are kidding, right?" The Doctor's voice sounded more like Jackie's when he showed her that dead 'alien' rat a few weeks before (it wasn't really alien... Tony just thought it needed to be washed so he stuffed it into the washing machine. Turned out it didn't enjoy that as much as Tony did... ).

"I fear not, Theta." Oh, nickname. Not good. "She read them bedtime stories... She didn't even do that for Tony. That was always Dad's job."

The Doctor stared at her. Rose stared back.

He gulped. "I'm dead meat, aren't I?"

Rose nodded attentively and stroke his cheek. "Don't worry, I will never ever forget and always love you."

"No."

"Wha-"

"No!"

The Doctor looked with the determination at her, he always had when he fought the most dangerous creatures in the whole universe.

"I'm the Doctor! The last Time L-... Well... the last human Time-... No, wait... the only human Time Lord that ever existed in all of the universes!" He mumbled something that sounded like "yeah, that sounds good!" and stroke a superman pose. Rose thought the only thing missing was the cape and tights... hmm... tights...

He even looked a little like Clark Kent when he wore those glasses of his.

Hmmm... could she get him into tights?

She was dragged out of her wanton thoughts when she noticed a finger snap right in front of her nose.

"Oi! Stop daydreaming, Missy!" He froze and swallowed hard. "Oh, sorry. That was Donna, I think..."

Rose grinned at him. It didn't happen often that he slipped into her speaking way any more but it was still funny to see him acting like a female thirty-something Londoner temp. It reminded her of the time when Cassandra possessed him, since he began to move like that sometimes.

That caused some confusion once, when a friend of Jake thought the Doctor was into their 'league'. Rose waited until he asked if the Doctor wanted to go to his place until she told him that he indeed wasn't talking about 'coffee'.

The Doctor never wished more that alcohol wasn't prohibited in this universe than that day and Jake couldn't resist to laugh and pinch his butt every time he met him.

"He-ey! You are doing it again, Ro-ose! You have to help me save my butt!"

Rose snickered when she heard the word 'butt', but quickly found her composure again. She stretched her fingers as if she had to cope with an unbelievable difficult task (which she did).

"Alright then! Don't get your tight-... I mean... um... panties! Don't get your panties in a bunch." She coughed and looked sheepishly at him. "First we have to call the garden designer-" She ignored the Doctor mouthing 'you even had a designer for the garden' and continued, "-and ask him if he still has the plans for the flower bed... That is, only if you can't say which flower grew where of course..." He got that look on his face, he always got when he didn't want to admit he hadn't the slightest idea about something. "Guess not... Alright, I'm going to make the call and you get dressed to buy the flowers."

The Doctor didn't look enthusiastic about the prospect of getting dressed again but obeyed without questioning. The wrath of one Tyler woman was more than enough for him.

The designer thankfully still had the plan and sent it to them per email. The Doctor drove off to buy the flowers ("No, you can't take the Lamborghini!") and Rose went to also get dressed. Although she loved their new-found freedom, running around naked all of the time was obviously way too distracting. The flowers already had to pay...

Sighing, she took a bucket out of a cupboard and made her way downstairs to retrieve the dead flowers.

Half an hour later, the Doctor came back and stopped Pete's Jeep right in front of Rose. She gaped at the sight in front of her.

The Jeep's back was full of flowers that the Doctor was supposed to buy but in the seat next to him stood a thin palm tree.

Rose could feel a vein popping up. "Doctor... what's that?"

He beamed at her, oblivious to her enragement. "That's Chuck. Isn't he brilliant?"

Now she felt a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Trying to keep a straight face, she asked, "Chuck?"

"Yep!", the Doctor answered, popping the 'p'. "Poor Chuck had been in the shop for ages and no one wanted to buy him. Isn't that right, Chuck?" Now he began to pet the palm's leaves like he did so often with the TARDIS before.

"Riiiiiiight. Care to tell me how you want to explain to Mum where a big palm tree suddenly came from?"

"Ow, won't have to of course! He is coming home with us, aren't you, you fabulous little green wonder?" The Doctor cooed and bowed forward to plant a big smooch on the plant (no pun intended).

"Watch it, Doc. Your girlfriend is getting jealous here!" Rose chuckled and shook her head. "I should have known about that kink when you flirted with that tree on Platform One."

"Don't worry, darling. Chuck and I are just friends and I only love you." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to have a laughing fit.

After sobering up, she said, "Okay, get us some shovels. We have some work to do."

The Doctor had never been much of a gardener and he certainly didn't remember it being this hard work... Looking over at Rose, he noticed that she also had a bead of sweat running down her face. He reached into his pocket and took out the well worn list, he always carried around with him (as long as he didn't do something on it, that is).

He searched through its content and grinned when he found what he was looking for.

The Doctor tapped Rose on her shoulder and showed her what he found. She grinned back and together, they began to take their clothes off.

Time for some naked gardening! the Doctor thought and began to whistle.

Rose rolled her eyes and looked worriedly at the burning sun above them. She stood up but stilled when the human Time Lord asked her where she was going.

"I'm gonna get us some sunscreen. Our skin will get burned otherwise..."

The Doctor shot her a smug grin. "Maybe you, but I haven't had a sunburn in all of my 900 years of life!"

Rose arched an eyebrow. "Technically speaking, you are about three months old. Well, your hand is a few years old, I guess... and still fully Time Lord. The rest, though... Are you sure, you won't get burned?"

"Of course!"

Two hours later, he screamed like a baby when Rose put some lotion on his red skin.

After he had his necessary time of pouting, Rose found him in the living room again. Apparently, he told 'Chuck' some things about their work at Torchwood. She put his steaming mug of tea on the table and asked with sarcasm dripping voice, if Chuck would also like to have a cuppa.

Scandalised, the Doctor made a motion with his hands as if to cover Chuck's non-existent ears. "How can you say something like that?! Tea is brewed out of leaves! You don't want to drink something made out of your ancestor's body parts, do you?" He pointed an accusing finger at her and Rose groaned. Sometimes the urge to strangle him was unbelievable strong.

She sat down and answered with a surprisingly sweet voice. "No, I don't. I'm sooooo sorry Chuck, it won't happen again," she said and shook one of his leaves.

The Doctor beamed at her. "See, Chuck? I told you, she is brilliant! I'm so glad you two are getting along!"

Rose banged her head on the table ("Oi! Watch the tea!") pondered once again, how she will be able to keep her sanity around him.

"And you really don't have to be jealous, Rose! You will always be the Number One in my heart! Chuck is coming close second, though," he said lovingly and stroke the palm again.

Instead of strangling him, Rose settled for slapping his aching, red back. Hard.

Seconds later an agonizing scream echoed throughout the mansion.