~oOo~

Rose popped the cork on a bottle of red wine, pouring herself a rather large glass. Things had been heated in her office earlier during her formal reprimand of both Joan and Dr. Redfern. After seeing the footage, it was abundantly clear that Joan had acted inappropriately, and Clara had let her off easy with just the write up. This one was her final warning. If she put one more toe out of line it was her job. As far as her father was concerned, well, he really needed to learn to open his eyes to his daughter soon or his own career would suffer.

There was a knock at the door just as Rose dropped pasta into the now boiling water. She placed the lid on the pot and turned down the sauce to a simmer before going to let John in.

He was grinning broadly when the door swung open. "I come bearing gifts of friendship." From behind his back he produced a gift bag. Inside was a box of microwave popcorn, a tin of chocolate and a spray can of whipped cream. "My contribution to tonight. Thank you for inviting me over."

Rose grinned and started back towards the kitchen. "Well, you are very welcome." Deftly, she put the whipped cream in the fridge and set the bag on the counter. "The food should be ready in a few minutes."

"It smells delicious. What's on the menu tonight?" John asked, plopping down on the bar stool.

Rose opened the lid to a pot and used a spoon to test the pasta. Still not done. "Nothing special. Just a simple dish of pasta with marinara sauce, but I have wine. Would you like a glass?"

"Why not," he agreed with a cheeky grin.

After filling a glass that she had left out with the deep red wine, Rose handed it to him. When his fingers brushed hers she ignored the familiar tingle of electricity that she felt. "So, um, I figured that since you suffered the trauma of the dragon lady today, that I'd let you pick the movie." A sly smile formed on her face. "Just this one, so you know. I don't want to end up watching a sappy love story every time."

John winked at her. "So this isn't just a one off then? Are we going to make movie night a friendly thing that we do?"

"I like watching movies," she replied, rolling her eyes. "And on occasion, I might invite you over to watch them with me. But don't you dare think that I'm cooking you dinner every time either. I'm not that domestic."

"Oh no. Of course you're not. House, job, carpets." He picked up the wine glass and meandered over to the shelf where she kept her film collection. "The only thing that you're missing is the dog." He started to examine which titles she had.

"Or a cat," Rose replied, stirring the sauce. "For all you know, I could be the crazy cat lady."

Looking up at her, John smirked. "You most definitely have the crazy part right."

"You had better watch it, mister." She pointed the spoon threateningly at him. With a large plop, some of the sauce hit the counter top. "You never know what I'll put in your food. I think I have some tinned pears around here somewhere."

His nose crinkled in disgust. "Pears wouldn't be good with pasta. I'm sure there are much better things you could poison me with than that." Lifting his glass to his lips, he took a large drink and Rose stared at the way his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Rose forced herself to turn around and focus on dinner, not the Doctor, no, John. The pasta was now perfectly al dente, and she began putting the finishing the touches on dinner. After dishing up the food, she added garlic bread to each plate.

When she finally turned around after several minutes, plates in hand, John was lounging on the sofa. He'd kicked off his shoes and his feet were resting on the coffee table, the remote in his hand. "So what movie did you choose?" she asked, handing him one of the plates before settling in on the opposite side of the couch.

"Thanks, this looks delicious." John licked his lips as he took the plate from her. "As for the movie… I was going to pick one of your romantic comedies. Pillow Talk is a brilliant movie, by the way. I love Doris Day."

"Well, she is blonde. Seems to be your type," Rose mumbled into her wine. John must have brought it over while she was plating.

"What was that?" He shifted so he was sitting sideways with his back against the arm of the sofa. "Did you just imply I have a thing for blondes? Because that is simply not true." He feigned indignation. "I have a thing for brilliant, funny, spunky women. Also, I would think you were gorgeous no matter what color hair you had."

A blush crept up her cheeks. It was so easy to get caught up in this man's wake. He knew all the right things to say. All the things that she wished that the Doctor had said to her. John is not the Doctor, Rose thought to herself for what must have been the hundredth time today.

It was time to change the subject. "Who doesn't love Doris Day? Especially when paired with Rock Hudson? I love old Hollywood movies. Besides, I didn't say I didn't like romantic movies. It's just sometimes I like to watch a comedy or something with explosions."

He nodded slowly but there was a look in his eyes that indicted that he didn't quite believe her. "Well then, I'll have to see if I can find a copy of Send Me No Flowers, since your extensive collection seems to be lacking it. For tonight, however, I figured that a comedy was in order: a Mel Brooks classic."

Apparently, John had figured out how to work her overly complicated surround system/DVD combo because soon the familiar scrolling text filled the screen. Space Balls was the perfect choice for a little non-romantic relaxation. With a small sigh she sunk a little deeper into the cushion and tucked into dinner.

John had watched her out of the corner of his eye all night. He loved the sound of her laugh. He loved how she enjoyed the cheesiness of the movie and how she was unafraid to poke fun at the parts of the movie that were clearly impossible. And don't even get him started on how adorable she had looked with the dollop of whipped cream on the end of her nose.

He had pushed the boundaries with his comments tonight, but he couldn't help himself, no matter how hard he tried. There was no denying that he wanted her, in any way she would let him have her. Late nights in the lounge laughing, or going for a run in the morning, and maybe one day they could be more. He needed them to be more, needed her. Of course he would wait for her to sort out whatever she needed to sort out. No matter how long that took because Rose Tyler was worth the wait. She was worth fighting for.

At the end of the evening, when Rose could barely keep her eyes open, even if was only half ten, he bid her good night. "I'll see you in the morning, Rose, for our run." She trailed after him to the front door, probably to lock it behind him. "Unless, of course, you're going to want a lie in for being up so late."

"Oh, I'll be there, and I'll be the one leaving you in my dust." Her crooked grin made her all the more beautiful. Maybe he would let her beat him, just so he could enjoy the view.

"We'll see about that," he replied softly and leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek. "I'll see you in the morning."

Rose looked slightly bemused as he bounded down the stairs. He was happier in that moment than he had been in his entire life so far.

~oOo~

The moment that she got into the cab, Rose slipped out of her shoes and into the ballet flats that she had brought for just such an occasion. Normally, she wore something more practical than heels but when she had to meet an investor in Denver. That had meant a bumpy plane ride from the small airport nearby, heels and a business suit. But it had been a successful day that had ended with signed contracts.

Once she made it to the airport, she made it through security quickly and started the long trek through the terminal to where the local flights departed. Finally sinking into a chair across from her gate, her mobile chirped. It was a text from John.

I missed you today.

Rolling her eyes, she started typing back.

Don't you have better things to do than sit around missing me? :-p

John had been doing little to hide his growing affections for Rose. He was very sweet, funny, and brilliant, and she enjoyed spending time with him. Enjoyed it a little too much, maybe.

Her phone alerted her to another message.

The book was going gangbusters but my muse ran off to Denver

She didn't have time to reply back before she got another message.

Lunch and the cinema tomorrow? My treat…

Her breath hitched. Up until now, Rose had insisted on going Dutch. John had been subtly hinting that he wanted to move them into the dating category even though she had asked him to give her time. He wasn't pushing her, but he wasn't shying away from spending time with her either. It had only been two weeks. How on Earth was she going to survive three months?

After that first movie night, they had gone for a run and had breakfast every morning. They were extremely competitive about it although Rose thought that he purposefully lost every now and then just so he could check out her bum, and maybe she had let him get ahead of her a few times so that she could do the same. She never just let him win, though. In the end, she'd fight him hard for the win. They hadn't been able to go for a run this morning because she had an early flight.

Their runs hadn't been the only time they spent together. One night they had met Clara at a local pub for drinks. He cooked her dinner and made a right mess of her kitchen in the process once. Enjoyed another movie night or two. On Halloween, Rose had pulled out this hideous dress that her mum had made her buy last winter. Jackie had insisted that it was haute couture. Rose thought the skirt looked like it was made from a down comforter. When John asked, she told him she was dressed as a sleeping bag. After composing himself, he disappeared for twenty minutes. When he came back he was wearing a heavy army green poncho and declared himself to be a tent. They had laughed for hours.

Last night, though, they had gone stargazing. John had an incredible knowledge of the stars. She wondered if any of that had come from the Doctor. Sometimes she couldn't tell the two apart, especially with John's minute mannerisms: the way he grinned, inflections in his voice, the way he varied the pressure while holding her hand depending on his mood. But that was impossible. The Doctor had said so himself.

Are you trying to complicate things? She typed back the response, hoping that he would take the hint.

Beep. Me? Complicate things? Never. XD

Rose giggled in spite of herself.

Her phone beeped again. So friendly lunch and a film tomorrow?

The voice of the flight attendant on the loud-speaker cut through the din around her. "Now boarding United flight 4723 from Denver to Gunnison, all seats."

Sounds fun. Got to go, flight boarding. Come round 11 tomorrow. G' Night

Rose grabbed her boarding pass, purse and computer bag and joined the short queue to board the plane. Once she was settled into her seat she pulled out her mobile to turn it off and found one last message.

Can't wait. Have a safe flight.

Two more months, Rose thought with a sigh. She'd survived over a year mostly alone in the TARDIS with the Doctor where the sexual tension was palpable, and absolutely nothing had happened. Surely she could deflect John's charming advances for two more months. He's not the Doctor, not the Doctor, and in a few months he'll open the watch and John won't exist anymore. Rose had to keep reminding herself not to allow feelings to develop for a fictional man. But when faced with said fictional man in front of her it was hard to believe that there wasn't some part of the Doctor in John. The more time she spent with him the more the lines between John and the Doctor blurred.

No! This line of thinking wouldn't help. Friendship, that's all she wanted. That's all she could have. Absent-mindedly her left thumb rubbed the ring finger on the same hand. There were other obligations that she still had. One that was sitting right in a small velvet box in her safe right next to the Doctor's pocket watch.

She powered down her mobile and stuck it in her computer bag, missing another message by mere seconds. A message that would have alerted her that someone had just used an access code to gain entry to her home.

~oOo~

There was a feeling of anticipation and excitement filling John as he skipped up the steps to Rose's door. They had been growing closer over the last few weeks. Despite her protests that her life was too complicated to date anyone at the moment, they still spent copious amounts of time together. And if all she was willing to give right now was her friendship, he'd take it and hope that it could grow to something more.

He was whistling as his knuckles met wood. Almost immediately, footsteps sounded on her hardwood floors. As the door creaked open, he was ready to launch into a speech about the reviews for the movie that he had read online when he was greeted with by someone other than Rose.

"Oh. Hello. I um, didn't expect to see you here," said a very confused looking man whom John had never seen before. "What are you doing here, now? After all this time?"

John quickly appraised this new person. His dark hair was damp. With an angular jaw and bluish-green eyes, he didn't look like he could be related to Rose, even if he did have a London accent. Instantly he didn't like the man. It felt instinctual. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? And while we're at it, who the hell are you?"

The man's eyebrows shot up. "You don't know who I am?"

"If I knew who you were, I wouldn't have asked." Even John was surprised by the harshness in his tone. "Where's Rose?"

"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I'm not exactly sure what's going on around here, but Rose is upstairs in the shower. I can go and get her if you want." The man stepped aside. "Would you like to come in, Doc..."

"It's Smith, John Smith," he snapped, pushing past this unknown element and heard the door close behind him. "You still didn't say who you are, or how you know Rose. Must not be all that important, seeing as we made plans and Rose didn't bother to mention you."

"Probably because she didn't know I was coming." The man chuckled and shook his head. "I'm Liam Donnelly, Rose's fiancé. Pleasure to meet you, John. Wait here a mo' and I'll grab Rose." Without another word he turned and went up the stairs.

At the word fiancé, John's heart dropped. Complicated. She had said her love life was complicated. Was Liam the reason? His eyes searched the dozens of photographs lining the walls. Surely if Rose were betrothed there would be a picture of him somewhere in the mass of photos.

And there it was, set on a side table near the front door. It was obvious that they were in London; Big Ben was in the background. Liam had Rose tucked against him on one side and on the other was a young blonde girl no more than eight years old.

Okay… so maybe complicated didn't just include a fiancé, maybe complicated meant a daughter too. How had he not seen this before?

Bloody hell.