A/N Thank you again to everyone who is taking the time to let me know you're reading and enjoying. Some days have been a struggle to find the opportunity to update, but you're the ones keeping me going!

Enjoy the Doctor and Rose's moment of fun, as the next part will take a more ominous turn.

Chapter 12

Three days had passed since the Doctor had begun repairs to the TARDIS, and though he had worked tirelessly each day, he knew a majority of the repairing would come down to the TARDIS being able to heal on her own. There was only so much he could do. Yet despite its condition, his ship never ceased to amaze him. Though the inner dimensions were still reduced in order for all possible energy to be routed to repairing the control systems, the console room was no longer charred. The burned coral had already completed the process of healing itself after the first 48 hours. He could feel the TARDIS gaining strength, and that alone was a vast improvement over what he had felt from the ship initially. Despite the significant progress that had been made, though, the Doctor wouldn't rest or feel at ease until his ship was fully restored and functional.

Rose had helped right alongside the Doctor in every moment that she could, though he had now begun to work straight through the nights as well – if not in the TARDIS then on parts he had brought back with them to work on through the night in their shared chamber. If it weren't for her bringing him food and seeing that he ate, Rose suspected he wouldn't even be stopping for meals. She was noticing more and more how the Doctor seemed to be driving himself into the ground with the near-ceaseless repairs. Aside from barely sleeping these past three days (now that they were sharing a bed she was acutely aware of these things), he hardly took notice of anything anymore outside of his focus on the TARDIS. Rose wanted nothing more than for the ship to be operational again, too; but until that happened, she didn't want the Doctor to be so utterly miserable in the meantime. His usual spark and exuberance seemed to be dwindling, and she hated seeing him like this.

On the afternoon of the third day, Rose decided it was time to try and get his mind off the repairs for at least a little bit. It was a lovely, warm sunny day – a perfect time to take a much-needed break and simply enjoy their surroundings for a little while.

"Rose, will you hand me the gravimetric aligner?" the Doctor called out from beneath the console, speaking for the first time since he had disappeared beneath it at least a half-hour before.

She retrieved the tool (something she thought looked rather similar to a sonic wrench) and moved closer, stooping down. Now was her chance. "What are you willing to do to get it?" she replied back with a grin, her voice taking on a playful note.

That unexpected reply was enough to get his attention. He pulled himself out and sat up, staring back at her in puzzlement. "What?"

Rose held the requested device in her hands, shifting it casually between her palms. "I said...what are you willing to do to get it? 'Cause I think you should have to earn it."

Ordinarily he would have played along and quipped right back, but at the moment he wasn't exactly in the mood. His eyes narrowed and his voice was impatient. "Rose, whatever you're playing at, this isn't the time. I have to–"

"This is the time." She bounced up from her kneeling position and took a step back. "It's time that you took a break, because you've been buried in repairs for days, hardly even taking time to breathe." Rose walked towards the doors of the TARDIS and looked outside. "Have you even noticed what a gorgeous day it is today?"

The Doctor stood and took a step towards her. "No, actually, I haven't noticed because gorgeous as their days may be, I'm trying to get us off this planet so we won't be stuck here for the rest of our lives," he answered tersely.

Rose turned back to him. "And you will," she answered simply. "But that doesn't mean you have to drive yourself to exhaustion along the way." He started to speak out but she held up her hand and cut him off. "And don't even start on your 'superior Time Lord physiology that doesn't ever get tired,' rubbish. Even Time Lords have a breaking point, and if you don't give yourself a little rest soon you're going to reach it."

The Doctor crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "And what exactly do you want me to do, hmm? Go back to the palace, lie down and let servants feed me grapes? Pretend this is all just a holiday? Get in bed and sleep away an entire eight hours like you?"

She wasn't going to be baited by that last line. It was just a diversionary tactic, anyway. Irritate her enough and she'd leave him alone. Not likely.

"If that's what you'd like to do then fine," Rose answered with a casual shrug. "But actually, all I had in mind to do was take a walk."

"A walk?" he repeated flatly, lacking all enthusiasm.

"A walk. A fun, leisurely walk just to take a break from things for a little while. We haven't even seen any of the hillside apart from the path we take to and from the castle. Why don't we explore a little? See what there is to see? That's what we do, isn't it – aside from finding trouble and occasionally running for our lives," she added with a grin. "And then in an hour or two's time we can come back and start working again. And so in the end we'd be an hour or two later leaving this planet. Is that really so unthinkable?"

The Doctor was fully prepared to continue arguing the point, but when he actually considered her suggestion he realized it wasn't such a monumental request. Maybe it would actually do them both some good to take a breather. Though he had not requested it of her, Rose had spent days on end in here too, working alongside him. She, at least, deserved a break, but wouldn't take it if he didn't give himself the same.

"Okay."

Rose stared at him for a second. "Seriously? Just like that? You actually agreed that quickly without making a bigger argument? The stubborn, Oncoming Quarrel..."

He arched an eyebrow. "Do you want me to continue arguing? Because if it would make you happy I ca–"

Rose lifted her hands and shook her head. "No, no. Forget I said anything. Let's just back up to where you actually said okay."

He ambled towards her, hands in his pockets. "But just remember our deal. We take this merry jaunt of yours, and then you give me back my gravimetric aligner."

Rose grinned back at him, tucking the small device in her pocket. "Deal."

The Doctor and Rose stepped out of the TARDIS together and into the warm sun, filling their lungs with a fresh breath of air. Without over deliberating it, they simply headed in the direction of a clearing amidst the golden trees off to their right with what appeared to be a path leading through that area of forest, a direction they'd yet to travel in. Rose wouldn't have minded exploring in the city a little more too, but there seemed to be a hushed chatter among the people whenever she and the Doctor would pass through, and she couldn't help but feel like they were curious outsiders at the center of the town's gossip.

They meandered along the scenic shaded path, bright rays of sunlight cutting through the thick canopy of trees. They enjoyed the sights and sounds of the surrounding nature, the call of birds and chirping of insects providing a tranquil soundtrack to their trek as they stopped now and then to get a closer look at whatever caught their eye along the way.

Rose heard a rustling of something in the brush up ahead and moved closer to get a look.

"Oh, you're adorable," she cooed, crouching down. "Doctor, come look at this," she called softly.

He lowered the sonic screwdriver from the plant specimen he'd been scanning. He stuck the sprig of interest into his bottomless coat pocket, filing it away for later inspection as he moved to where Rose was.

"Oh, hello. What have we here?" He knelt next to Rose, observing the small creature sitting in a clearing of brush, but keeping a far enough distance so as not to disturb it.

It was the size a little smaller than a domestic cat, but with coloring and a face almost similar to a panda. It sat up on its hind legs, nibbling on a branch of berries held between its paws. The Doctor leaned in just a little closer, and suddenly it spread wings from its back and flew up to perch on the Doctor's head, continuing to eat its snack from the new location.

Rose nearly fell over laughing at the sight. "I think you've found a new friend!"

The Doctor frowned, then lifted his eyes high in an attempt to see the creature that had taken up residence in his hair. "Now, now. Let's not get overly friendly here. We haven't even exchanged names."

With a sound somewhat like a cry, the small creature took flight again and disappeared into the treetops.

"Well now you've chased it off by being rude," Rose teased.

"I was being rude? I wasn't the one using someone's frankly magnificent hair as a...a dinner table." The Doctor stood up, brushing bits of berries from his hair. "Was magnificent, anyway," he grumbled.

Rose took his hand, swinging it between them as they continued to walk again. "It's still magnificent," she assured him, glancing at his hair that was now sticking up just a little higher than usual with some berry bits still clinging to a few strands.

The Doctor stopped and glanced down at her. He stood a little taller and preened, a grin stretching his face. "You really think so?"

The Doctor and his vanity. She grinned back at him then, the tip of her tongue peeking out. "Berry much!"

The grin fell from his face as he shook his head. "Oh, don't do that. No, don't. Don't. That was so not funny, Rose Tyler."

She giggled. "It so was."

"So was not."

She skipped on ahead. "So was!"

Rose came to a quick stop as she emerged from the golden clearing of trees into a new set of surroundings. She quickly turned back to the Doctor who was casually ambling towards her. "Oh, come look at this!" she motioned.

"Is my hair going to be in danger this time if I do?" he called.

He stepped out into the clearing to join her and they both gazed at the scenery in front of them. A small crystal clear lake sat nestled amongst the surrounding forest, a gilded glint from the golden-leafed trees reflecting off the glistening surface. A bubbling brook from an upper level of ground spilled over its rocky edge and cascaded down into the fresh water pool below, the tranquil sound of the flowing water beckoning them closer.

Rose walked to the water's edge and dipped her hand in. It was such a warm day, and she was already a little heated from their walk. Feeling the cool, refreshing water made her want to plunge in. Rose turned back to the Doctor.

"What'd you say we go for a swim?"

He raised his brows. "What...right now?"

She shrugged. "Why not? It's a perfect day for it, and the water feels lovely."

"And what do you propose we swim in? My pockets hold a great many things that would no doubt completely and utterly astound you if I were to begin emptying them, and would also no doubt take a few days just to complete the task, but what I don't happen to have on me at the moment is a bikini for you." He paused thoughtfully as he murmured, "Pity, that." He cleared his throat and briefly glanced away.

Rose grinned slowly, her hands creeping to the hem of her shirt. She'd been wanting to snap the Doctor out of his glum mood, and while the walk had helped, this just might go the extra mile in successfully taking his mind off other things.

"Who says I need a bikini? I do have a little something on beneath these clothes." Without overthinking it to the point where she'd undoubtedly lose her nerve, Rose whipped off her shirt, and stood clad only in her jeans and bra.

The Doctor stood frozen and gaping for several seconds before he snapped his eyes away to look somewhere just over her shoulder, somewhere much safer, and started babbling at an impressive speed, even for him. "Yes, well...that is a little something, isn't it? Mind you, women's undergarments are usually...well...small. Just enough to cover the necessary...bits. Now on Sareko, it's a bit different. The women's...underthings stretch from their necks to their feet – all four of them. 'Course, they have more...um...bits to cover. Not that I would know. Well, obviously I do know. But not from first-hand knowledge. More like third-person hearsay from a Blooshian merchant. Talkative fellow, he was."

Rose used his mile-a-minute babbling to shimmy out of her jeans. By the time he stopped for a breath and cut his eyes back to her he was rendered speechless yet again, which was quite a feat. She only hoped he was blushing enough himself not to notice her own reddish hue.

"Your turn," Rose stated casually.

"My...what?" he sputtered, dragging his eyes away from the expanse of her legs.

She shrugged. "Well, unless you want that suit to be soaking wet, which really wouldn't be very comfortable, I think swimming will work better if you take it off." Emboldened by her mission to get the Doctor to loosen up, she gave him a sassy grin and took it just a step further. "And I happen to know you're wearing boxers beneath those pinstripes. 'S not like I haven't seen it before."

The Doctor slowly arched an eyebrow. "Cheeky, Rose Tyler."

"And you, ancient Time Lord, are a prude," she accused with mirth.

"Ancient? Ancient? I'll have you know that I am the Time Lord equivalent of twenty-nine," he sniffed.

Rose snickered. "Riiight. Okay, so not ancient. Just a prude."

He narrowed his eyes at her, finally rising to the challenge. "Right. Fine. I was trying to protect your modesty. But since you don't seem to have any..."

"Complaining?" With that remark and a wicked grin, Rose turned and dove into the water.

By the time she surfaced and wiped the water from her eyes, the Doctor, now shirtless, was shucking his trousers on the bank and diving in behind her.

A walk, they both decided, just might have been a very good idea after all.