Theoretical Physics of Cuddling
There was absolutely no spooning with Rose Tyler that night. She was much too embarrassed at her own behaviour even though it was an accident. She started the evening with her back resolutely turned toward the Doctor, but it only took a few minutes before Rose was deeply asleep.
This suited the Doctor just fine. While part of him enjoyed the comfort available in Rose's proximity; he wasn't ready to leap head first down the rabbit hole of full-blown 'couple' status just yet. They were progressing nicely, he thought. He would reconcile his human Rose, with his Time Lady Rose, in time. It was just more than he had ever imagined possible. The Universe was not known for kindness, but he wasn't currently 'mucking things up'. This was nice, catching up on his research and getting to be near Rose.
His research wasn't nearly as pleasant; solving this mystery is not proving as easy as he would have hoped. It is certainly interesting, but all the read outs, from all the scanners, keep telling him the same thing in varying degrees of minute detail...Rose is unique. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it worries him. It appears that the only reason the main scanner called her Gallifreyan, is that Gallifreyan DNA is dominant, and she has more of that than anything else. It is the 8% TARDIS energy, (huon energy) that is bound up in her new TNA that worries the Doctor. And it isn't regular huon particles. They are somehow integrated with a different sort of energy referred to frustratingly as...'other'. Other! What kind of an answer is that? He's wondering if this may be the Bad Wolf part of Rose. It is completely part of her system whatever it is, and can't be removed. That at least answers one question.
Sighing to himself and pinching the bridge of his nose, he looks over at Rose. He sees she's rolled over and scooted across the bed towards him. She has one arm outstretched, and just the tip of her little pink finger is touching the fabric of his jimjams. Her hair has come out of its loose ponytail, and is strewn across her face. He could fill his night just watching her sleep. With a smile, he turns his gaze away to continue reading. The TARDIS has kindly shifted his light so the throw only extends to his pages.
Shifting through the sheets he goes to the readout dealing with her Gallifreyan physiology. It appears that she has all her necessary parts and pieces: two hearts, respiratory bypass, and the extra brain structures in place to deal with her time-sense and telepathy. They're all functioning optimally. He hasn't had a chance to draw blood yet, but there's plenty of secondary evidence, like the presence of TNA and the fact she regenerated, to support that she must have the Rassilon Imprimatur. The TARDIS said she'd given her the piloting information. Interesting; another driver would be helpful at times. Most recently that bit of real-time flying over a motorway trying to get Donna out of a cab! That would have been much easier if Rose had known what to do, other than... "Hold this, and hang on!"
The realm of possibilities that open up are vast. They could grow another TARDIS, even though it would take awhile...a long while; try a couple hundred years sort of a while. They could dock it with his, and they could visit Rose's family, well she could. He'd have to wait for her on this side. Bloody brilliant! He can't believe that he just imagined that bit of domestics, and gah! visiting Jackie. Pete seemed like a nice bloke, and of course Mickey the Idiot. Well, there will be plenty of time to work toward any of those plans. Snorting to himself at the level of understatement that is, he shifts pages again.
With a murmur, and a slight tensing of surprise on the Doctor's part, Rose has snuggled up against his side. She's curled up with the crown of her head tucked into his shoulder, and her small hand splayed across that shoulder. Her legs are tucked up and pressed against his hip. She looks like a napping kitten.
Gazing at her intently, he's suddenly enveloped in the scent of Rose; her freshly washed hair, a touch of toothpaste, and that undefinable perfume that's all hers. Since her regeneration, that Rose-ness is slightly different, richer. Choosing to be completely immersed in Rose-ness for a moment, he closes his eyes at the intensity of feelings that well up in these stolen seconds of the TARDIS's night. The joy of regaining Rose, the delighted surprise at her declaration of love, the threatened contentment that his forever and hers could match. It was all so much. He surprises himself and snaps back to reality to notice the slow tracks of tears on his face. Gently wiping then away in wonder, he's willing to consider tears of happiness are alright.
Back to his reading, he can sense there are only a couple more hours in Rose's sleep cycle. Her bodily systems appear to be stabilizing nicely. This will be her shortest sleep cycle yet, and he has personal up-to-date evidence that her body temperature has dropped. It isn't quite as low as his, but nearly. Looking at the sheet that has her genetic breakdown, he's wondering about her regenerations. His readings all come from the first moments after her change when she was still buzzing with excess energy, so there's likely to not be the in depth study that he wants. What he gets is still very captivating. It seems that all of Rose's DNA utilized for her exterior features, skin, hair, height, and eyes; comes from the remaining 12% of her human DNA. That would imply that she has the combinations given her through Pete's sperm, and Jackie's egg, but no others. The Time Lord DNA is dominant, but it must have all been reconstructed from the TARDIS matrix, from the TARDIS's own energy as well as that given by the Sphynx. The Doctor theorizes that the Sphynx's energy is what the 'Other' is, and also what bonded the huon particles with Rose's TNA. Most of the excess burned off in the actual regeneration.
Staring not at the page any longer but gazing steadily into the distance lost in all the equations and theories possible and impossible with this information, the Doctor nearly misses Rose waking up. Luckily, she murmured his name in her last moments of sleep, and he blinked back to himself.
Rose is dreaming of her first Doctor's regeneration, but this time she knows what's happening, and while she is concerned for him, it's a traumatic event no matter how biological, she's not afraid of what is about to happen. After the fire recedes, she goes to him immediately. When finished with his physical inventory, he turns to her.
"Where were we? Oh yes, Rose Tyler." With a smile he takes her hands.
Looking up into his new brown eyes with her hands in his; her first word to her new new Doctor, are just that, "Doctor."
And with that first and final word, Rose Tyler wakes. She finds herself pressed tightly to the Doctor's side. Stretching lengthwise in the bed and uncurling her neck she looks up into her Doctor's grinning face. With her own answering grin, and feeling spunky this morning, Rose leaps right into the teasing.
"Hhhhhrrrrmmmmmmm...Two days in row, Doctor. This could be habit forming." Tucking her tongue into her now toothier grin, when she sees he's not only smiling, but blushing, too. She knows he hasn't been able to resist that smile since he was leather and wool.
"Rose. You should know that it takes exactly 21 days to form a new habit." He says this cheekily.
"Really, Doctor? So is that a request or a challenge?" Feigning innocence, Rose blinks slowly at him...twice.
Eyes wide, mouth open, and eyebrows buried in hairline, she has caught him out. He keeps thinking he has a handle on his feelings and then she goes and simply tosses everything on its head. How does she do that? Instead of responding though, he prevaricates.
"Rose Tyler! I have spent the entire night going over your lab reports, and I find them woefully incomplete. I hope you don't mind iff...fff..." he stutters to a stop.
Rose, not to be mislead so easily is sitting up now, with a classic I-haven't- gotten-what-I-want-yet...full-blown...lip out...pout. Eyes even wider and a touch darker, he has to tear his gaze away from that lip.
/Omega! Is she trying to kill me?!/ he thinks in surprise, as a wave of desire leaps out of nowhere. Without thinking his body attempts to act for him.
Leaping up, he gets tangled in the covers, and ends up in a very undignified heap on the floor next to the bed. Taking pity on him, she decides not to continue her flirtatious teasing. It's obvious he's affected, but if she overdoes it he might flee, and she really doesn't want to scare him off and have to start over...again.
"It helps if you fold the blanket back first, you silly git!" She says smiling, but staying where she is on the bed.
"So, you need me to go to the Infirmary now, or can it be later? There are very important morning things that must happen first, like tea and toast with loads of marmalade," she says, smiling softly at her Doctor.
Grateful but wary of her subtle diplomacy, the Doctor unwinds himself from the blanket and the floor. Standing up, he carefully lays the offending cover across the foot of the bed. He bends to the floor to retrieve his scattered and rumpled papers giving him a chance to calm his hearts, and regain some composure. Taking a page from his ninth self he would like to insult her species a bit to make himself feel better. Since that's now self-defeating, he picks on her gender instead, but even that doesn't go quite like he wants.
/Infuriatingly wonderful, terrifyingly magnificent, horribly beautiful...Rose!/
Growling softly to himself in frustration, he feels under the bed for a couple of the dropped pages. For some reason, he abruptly has a memory of Romana flash across his mind. Sitting back thoughtfully he allows the entire memory to take him.
Paris, France 1979. That was his fourth self; tall and inordinately proud of that ridiculous scarf. They'd had so much fun running through the streets, seeing the Eiffel Tower, and there was that great little cafe where they made the tastiest bouillabaisse. The entire business with the Louvre , the Time slips, and copies of the Mona Lisa. She was so brave through it all, and so smart-figuring out the hidden room. She had been utterly brilliant keeping that idiot Count occupied while he was traipsing though 16th Century Italy. He'd said she would be superb, and she certainly was.
Rose reminds the Doctor of Romana, at least a little. She has the same deep fearless curiosity, the strength and fiery personality, the ability to keep him on his toes, and keep up with him, but none of the Time Lord arrogance that he'd finally convinced Romana was unnecessary, well mostly convinced...ok, partially convinced. Oh, Romana. He misses her. Up to this point, he has done a passable job of not thinking of her. It had been Romanadvoratrelundar that sent him on his final mission; the one which ended it all, and Rassilon had found out too late to stop them.
Taking a deep breath to banish the memories back into the past, he realises he's still on Rose's floor. Glancing up, he sees she has her head tilted a bit watching at him. He's expecting perhaps irritation or worry to be writ on her features, but it isn't.
"What was her name?" She asks knowingly. She's curious but not demanding.
"Her name was Romana," he says quietly, but with a small smile.
"How did you lose her?" So perceptive his Rose.
"She helped orchestrate the end of the Time War, and stayed to implement the plan." he pauses taking a breath before continuing, "I was on the outside; the focal point. She's gone with the rest of them."
Rose can't believe he's being so candid about the War, but she's actually more interested in what she saw in his face while he was remembering Romana.
"You loved her." She states this simply, as if it can only be true.
"What makes you say that?" he asks, wondering how she came to this conclusion.
"The look on your face," she explains. "She was a person you cared deeply about, and had much respect for, but there was nothing unresolved between you."
"You could tell all that from my face? I should never play poker with you, Rose Tyler," the Doctor teases.
Rose's face is still filled with compassion for him and his grief. It makes him feel small to have joked about it.
"Yes, I loved her at one time," he starts running his hands through his hair and down his face. Leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes, he allows some of the memories of Romana surface, so he can explain her to Rose. "Well, as much as was possible between us. For most Time Lords it was more a 'Great Affectionate Respect'. Can you hear the capitol letters? All the respectable long-term bits, with none of the passionate short-term bits. Those are the parts that humans are so brilliant with. Romana was special though. She was sent to keep me in line, and then ran away and traveled with me for awhile with my fourth self. We got into some magnificent trouble, and it opened her eyes to the greater Universe. Sometimes observation alone should not be enough. I like to think it made her a better Lady President." Finished with his explanation, the Doctor remains against the wall a moment with a soft sad smile on his face.
Seeing his feelings so plainly on his face is maybe even more of an explanation, than his actual words. Getting up and wrapping herself in her robe, Rose comes around the bed. Holding her hand out for the Doctor.
"Come on, let's go get that tea and marmalade," she says with smile.
Leaving the papers on the floor, he takes her hand. Standing, he sweeps Rose into a hug. Holding her close and resting his chin on her head, he's silently grateful for her understanding of him. It's times like these that he continues to learn to appreciate her. She innately knows what he needs. It had been painful to remember Romana, but it seemed a bit like honoring her memory to tell Rose a little about her, and it felt good to be honest with Rose about how he'd felt. It is yet one more step on his path in this journey with Rose Tyler, and he's determined to take it.
Rose, gladly wraps her arms around the Doctor, pressing her face against his chest and listening to the comforting tattoo of his heartsbeat. Surrounded with his scent, spicy and musky this morning, she thinks on their conversation about Romana. She's curious what made him think of her, but Rose isn't jealous. She's actually delighted in the confession of his feelings. He's capable of having them, therefore he should be capable of expressing them to her. She can tell that he never told Romana that he'd loved her, but she senses that she would have known. In a moment of insight Rose realises that there must be an understanding possible between telepaths that she doesn't grasp yet.
Both of their reveries are broken when Rose's stomach growls loudly. Sheepishly looking up at the Doctor, she apologizes. Grinning, he releases her, picks up his pages and steps to the door.
"Completely my fault, Rose Tyler. I'll go start water and toast. See you in a mo'!"
And just like that, he's off.
Rolling her eyes, Rose takes a moment to use the bathroom and make her bed. This gives her a little time to replay the past 12 minutes. Very interesting bits and pieces she's learned. Happily, Rose sets off for the kitchen. Today will be a great day, she just knows it!
A/N: Wow! I am loving all the reviews. Thank you so much! Many thanks to Ash for keeping me literate.