A/N: To avoid confusion for the conversation between Alex, Hanna, and Aderyn, all of Aderyn's words will be in italics. However, it should be understood that anything Aderyn says is actually Alex translating her words into English and anything said to Aderyn is translated by Alex into her language after being spoken in English.

Chapter 11

"I need your assurances that you will not send me back to my planet."

"Aderyn, you don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to," Hanna answered, clearly concerned for the creature.

Aderyn moved slowly forward, her expression showing that she was starting to relax but was still mildly upset.

"I'm not sure that you should keep calling her that name," Alex warned the human female gently.

"I have no objections to the name Dear Pink Friend has bestowed on me. It is beautiful sounding and, given the circumstances, very understandable."

"'Dear Pink Friend'?" Hanna questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I seriously doubt that her species has an equivalent to your name anymore than we have one to hers," the Doctor informed.

"What is her name?"

Alex gave a series of short whistles in response. "Kind of hard to translate into English. It sort of means 'She whose gracefulness fills the sky and trees and whose heart soars with joy' but that's a very rough translation."

"I think I'll stick with Aderyn."

"Since she has no objections." He turned back to the bird-person. "Aderyn, tell us why you are afraid to go home."

"The Great Forest of Rain no longer belongs to her Protectors. The Empire now rules over her."

"What Empire?"

"The Empire of Great Power. Their rule spans across the galaxy. They conquer those planets they feel are either a threat to them or whose resources they can use. Those who are not like them are enslaved or forced to fight for their survival to amuse the Powerful Ones. They attacked and conquered my people because our soil is fertile and our minerals are abundant, resources they can use for their Empire. And since we can soar the skies, most of my people have been murdered out of fear of retaliation from above. Those who are enslaved obey because they fear they will be killed themselves. If I return to my planet, I too will be either killed or enslaved. Here, while my dwelling is not as vast as it was in the Great Forest of Rain, I am free from harm and am well-cared for."

"I can see why you'd want to stay here, then," Hanna put in. "Is there a chance that they might try to attack Earth?"

"It is doubtful. They despise the Blue and Green Planet and all her children but the Powerful Ones do not fear her because she is unaware of her neighbors and doesn't have the strength to mount an attack on the Empire even if she were aware of them."

"But the Great Forest of Rain did," Alex concluded.

"We are a peaceful people. We may have had the means but we never would have attacked any of our neighbors. We only used what we had for self-defense. Now, because of the fear the Powerful Ones had for us, we have nothing. Not even our blessed Great Forest."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor told her gently. "I'm so sorry." He paused, thinking about all that he had learned of Aderyn and her current situation as well as what Pete had told him concerning resident non-humanoid aliens and what Torchwood expected of them. "Torchwood will want your assistance. What that means for you, I don't know. But, based on what I've seen thus far, I trust them to never cause you any harm."

Aderyn turned her head towards Hanna, a querulous expression in her eyes. "What sort of assistance?"

Hanna hesitated, plainly uncomfortable for having been placed suddenly in the limelight. "We have a policy that any guests who wish to stay on Earth need to contribute to their own well-being. Unfortunately, because you are not human in appearance, it means that the only employment available is through Torchwood, as is your housing."

"Why is that?"

"The majority of Earth's people would not be as accepting of you as Torchwood," she responded. "We're still developing as a planet and, even though we are aware of extraterrestrial life, most people would be afraid of you because you are different, even though you mean no harm. Keeping you isolated from the general population is for your safety as well as theirs since they tend towards panic when faced with the unknown."

"This is a very primitive planet, then."

"I wouldn't say primitive…" Hanna started to protest.

"And this policy… what exactly is it that you wish for me to do to repay you for your kindness?"

"It's not exactly a repayment. We want you to be able to contribute to your own well-being," Hanna told her. "Certainly we want something in return for the time and money that we put into your habitat. But my people would eventually grow stagnant if we didn't have something meaningful to do and, if your people are anything like ours, I believe you would as well. I want you to be happy here, Aderyn. And I think that we can both benefit from our friendship."

"I agree. While I have enjoyed your hospitality, I am finding myself becoming increasingly bored. I am happy here but I feel that I need more."

"It would be easier for all of us if we could better understand your language," Hanna put in.

"Or had translation software," Alex added. Seeing Hanna raising an eyebrow, he sniffed. "You know what I said earlier about such software? Well, I lied."

"You didn't answer my question. How is that lying?" she questioned.

"Fair point," he conceded. "Thing is I can provide it for you since you don't have it. I'd just need access to whatever language databases you have, a computer with sufficient memory, and about a month to actually do the work. The software would be able to extrapolate meanings based on what information it has already in the database, thus increasing said database. Fairly simple stuff, really."

"A month? You can write a sophisticated program to translate alien languages in only a month?"

"Well, a week actually. But I have to account for the technology available to me and the fact that I will very likely be busy with other activities as well. Besides, it took me about a month and a half the last time and that was in the late 1970s on a different Earth and I was more interested in fixing the TARDIS than in helping UNIT. Different situation now."

Hanna gaped at him for a long moment. Realization came to her face a moment later. "You're Rose's Doctor. She found you."

"Rose talked about me with you?"

"All the time! That woman is madly in love with you."

"Where is the Wolf Flower?" Aderyn interrupted. "She has not visited for a long time."

"'Wolf Flower'?" Hanna questioned.

"Obviously, her name for Rose," Alex supposed. "She must visit Aderyn quite a bit."

"She does," the scientist agreed. "Tries to communicate with her all the time. But… 'Wolf Flower'? What's that about?"

"If it means what I think it means… it's complicated."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's helpful."

Alex turned to Aderyn, who had been patiently waiting for a response to her inquiry. After talking with her in her own language for a moment, he stood up and gave her a respectful bow before turning to walk towards the exit.

"So, what did you say to each other?" Hanna queried, hurrying to catch up with him.

"I told her that I'd let Rose know she was asking about her. Then I told her of my intentions of creating software to ease communications between her and us. She is willing to negotiate with Torchwood concerning her role on Earth once the software is active."

"So, she'll work for us?"

"As long as certain stipulations are met. I told her that she should negotiate directly with Pete Tyler, since he's the Director, and that I would be willing to act as a mediator during the negotiations if necessary."

"Are you going to work for us?" Hanna asked, her eyes hopeful.

"That depends entirely on whether or not Director Tyler and I can come to an agreement. Where is the break room?"

"I'll escort you there," she informed him, doing just that the moment they exited the pressurization chamber.

Pete was no longer talking on his cell phone but was in the middle of speaking with one of the scientists the Doctor has seen when he first walked into the laboratory. Seeing the half-Gallifreyan standing in the room, the head of Torchwood finished his conversation with the scientist and asked him to close the door to the break room on his way out to allow him some privacy with the Doctor.

"So, what do you think?" he questioned once they were alone.

"She's a beautiful creature," Alex responded, sitting down next to Pete. "Quite a lovely person. And I appreciate the habitat you built for her. Costs Torchwood quite a bit, I would imagine."

Pete laughed gently at his words. "I was referring to our operation here. But you're right. She is a lovely person, from what I could see. Kind of hard to talk to a bird, though."

"Oh, I'll help you out with that problem."

The patriarch raised an eyebrow. "So, you accept my job offer?"

"There are stipulations," the hybrid told him firmly. "I won't carry a gun. Ever. And I refuse to be involved in anything that I find morally objectionable. In fact, you can guarantee that if there is anything going on that I find objectionable, I will put an end to it. I was a scientific advisor for UNIT once and half the time they completely ignored my advice, sometimes to the detriment of others." He looked at him intensely. "I won't let anything like that happen here. In addition, I demand a fair salary for my services and to be treated with the same respect as any other Torchwood employee. And I demand the same for Aderyn and for any other non-human employees."

The older man gave him a knowing look. "You can relax, Doctor. We aren't the Torchwood that caused what happened at Canary Wharf in that other universe." Seeing the latter raise his eyebrows, he continued. "I've already had this lecture with Rose when I recruited her to Torchwood. Minus the no-gun stipulation, that is. It's required for field agents. Self-protection."

The half Time Lord gave a little nod at his words. He could understand why some Torchwood personnel would need to carry weapons. After all, he imagined that there were hostile extraterrestrials in this universe just as there had been in the other. And he knew Rose would never use a gun for anything other than self-defense, which actually was a plus in Torchwood's favor. If she was okay with working for Torchwood, they couldn't be in the habit of shooting first and asking questions later.

Pete continued when the Doctor didn't respond to his comments. "Since you would prefer to avoid using weapons, I think you'd best be suited in Research and Development. Most of the time, it's collecting and studying artifacts, making sure the dangerous items stay out of the wrong hands, researching technologies and then slowly introducing them to the public if they aren't dangerous."

"And if I change my mind about working for Torchwood?"

"You're free to resign at anytime, if you want. But I hope that you won't. We could use someone of your expertise. So, what do you say?"

Alex leaned back in his seat, a pensive look on his features. "I need some time to think about it."

Pete nodded with understanding as he stood. "Very well. In the meantime, we have a long drive back and, by the time we get to the mansion, dinner will already be in the making."

"Actually, I was thinking of finding a library, checking out a few books, going back to Rose's flat to read…"

"I insist," the visibly older man put in abruptly. "Besides, you already told her that you would meet her back at the mansion."

The Doctor watched him for a long moment. The tone that Pete had used was almost worried, telling the half-Gallifreyan that the former was concealing information and, based on his insistence of him joining the Tylers for dinner, it had something to do with keeping him either at the mansion or away from the library or Rose's flat or all of the above. "What errand is Rose finishing that requires you to distract me?" he questioned, suspicion clear in his voice.

"I promised that I wouldn't tell," Pete admitted.

"A surprise? I like surprises! Then again… depends on the surprise." He gazed into the other man's eyes with childlike eagerness. "So, what's the surprise?"

The former chuckled slightly. "I can see that Christmases are going to be quite interesting with you around."

The Doctor frowned slightly. "You're not going to tell me, are you."

"I know better than to incur the wrath of a Tyler woman," came the blunt response as the patriarch headed for the door.

Alex shrugged slightly at his inability to gain the information he wanted, standing and following him out of the Torchwood facility.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Doctor!"

The half-Gallifreyan halted his journey through the foyer of the Tyler mansion upon hearing the exclamation that exuded from young lips. He grinned broadly as the source of the excited cry bounded closer to him and ignored Pete Tyler's greetings. He'd originally mistaken Tony Tyler for being about four or five years old but was corrected on his assessment while he was in the hospital. Tony was three years old and bigger than most kids his age.

"Master Tony Tyler!" Alex responded back enthusiastically to the boy's greeting. "Bit rude not to say hello to your dad, though, don't you think?"

The boy considered the Doctor's words for a moment before wrapping his arms around Pete's legs. "Hi, Daddy."

Pete smiled at his son's affection. "Hi, sweetheart. Where's Mummy?"

"In the kitchen," he responded with a shrug, as if the answer was obvious to anyone.

"Of course, she is." Pete messed Tony's hair to show him his love and approval before turning to the Doctor. "I'd better go see what she's up to. Very likely, she's getting under Paula's feet. Do you mind keeping Tony company? This could take a while."

"Nah," Alex assured. "It'll be my pleasure."

As Pete went towards the kitchen, Tony tugged on the Doctor's hand, regaining his attention.

"Yes, Master Tony Tyler?"

The boy giggled at the repetition of his full title. "See my TARDIS," he ordered, tugging on his hand again.

Alex's eyebrows went up at his words. "You have a TARDIS?"

"Uh-huh," came the enthusiastic reply.

He grinned at the boy's excitement, not wanting to ruin that attitude. He really didn't want reminders of the loss of the TARDIS as it was still a touchy subject for him, but he was finding it to be less hurtful thanks to the treatment he was receiving. He knew that time would be the great healer of the ache in his heart and eventually he would be able to talk about the time ship without a sharp pang of loneliness filling him. "Well, I suppose I'd better see your TARDIS then," he responded, deciding that encouraging the child's imagination was far better than dwelling over the loss.

Tony guided him into the living room and to one corner where a plethora of playthings was piled into a large plastic toy box. On the floor in front of it was a small blue rectangular box made with Legos, strongly resembling a 1950s police box, including the signs above and on the doors. Beside the police box were two action figure dolls which appeared to be Han Solo wearing a trench coat and a blond Princess Leia. Tony sat in front of the toys, the Doctor following, and picked up the box, presenting it to him with the smile only a child could give. "This is my TARDIS. Rose helped me make it but I did most of the work."

"It's a great TARDIS," the half-Gallifreyan complimented. "Love your TARDIS."

"We had to glue it to keep it from falling part." Putting the blue box down, he picked up the dolls. "And this is you and Rose. You're going to Woman Wept."

"Oh, really?" Alex responded, his smile widening. "I love Woman Wept. Frozen waves as far as you can see. So, what are we doing on Woman Wept?"

"Looking around," the boy told him as he played with the toys. He lowered his voice into a whisper. "But you don't know about the monster in the cave." Upon saying that, he twisted around to find and retrieve said monster, namely a triceratops.

"Ooo, that monster looks mean," the Doctor reacted dramatically.

"It's just a triceratops really except on Woman Wept where it's a Tricecor."

"Never heard of a Tricecor. They must be very dangerous."

"Yeah," Tony agreed.

"So, on Woman Wept it's a dangerous Tricecor but on Earth it's just a triceratops."

"Yeah." Having affirmed his current fantasy, Tony laid on his belly and enacted it, encouraging Alex to join in the fantasy. The latter did so, also lying on his stomach, taking over the role of the Time Lord. Together, the two of them – or rather the Doctor and Rose – defeated the vicious monster before being attacked by a hoard of green Grasks – which were in reality plastic army men – and taken prisoner.

The Doctor was just about to show Tony how clever he was at escaping from fantasy prison cells when the sound of a door closing intruded their play. Turning his head in an attempt to see the source of the sound without stopping his entertaining the boy, Alex saw Rose standing just in the doorway, a smile on her face.

"Hello," he greeted, returning the smile.

"Rose!" Tony exclaimed, having raised his head upon the Doctor's greeting. "The Doctor and me are playing TARDIS!"

"So I see. And it's 'the Doctor and I'," she corrected gently as she walked into the room. Tony took the correction in stride and returned to his play as the Doctor stood and went over to Rose. "Is Dad trying to pull Mum out of the kitchen?" she questioned.

"Does he have to do that often?" came Alex's inquiry.

She laughed gently. "Only when they have guests over. I think she wants to impress you with your first meal here as a diner rather than a waiter."

He shrugged slightly. "She helped us save the universe. That's impressive enough for me. Maybe we should rescue him though. He has been absent for quite a while." Glancing out the door, he noticed the two large suitcases in the foyer. "What's with the suitcases?"

"We're staying here for a few days," she answered.

"And why is that? Something wrong with your place? Is this part of the surprise?"

Rose groaned in frustration. "Dad," she grumbled under her breath, clearly mildly upset with her father for an apparent breach of trust.

"Your father didn't tell me anything. I swear," Alex assured her. "But it was a little bit of a give away when he wouldn't let me return to your flat to read up on this universe's Earth history. It didn't take much of a leap of deduction to figure out you had a surprise for me." He grinned broadly. "So… what's the surprise that requires that we be absent from your flat for a few days?"

She looked into his eyes. "You're worse than Tony."

He blinked in confusion. "I'm not sure if that's a teasing show of affection or an insult." Seeing her smile slightly at his response, he smiled in return. "But I'm guessing it's the former."

"Of course, it is, you git!" she berated with a laugh before pulling him with her, leaving the suitcases in the hallway. "Come on, let's check on dinner. Don't worry about the luggage. Callie will take care of them."

Alex blinked as he allowed Rose to guide him towards the kitchen. "Who's Callie?" he questioned.

"The housekeeper," she told him. "I'm sure you'll run across her a couple of times while staying here." She gained a slight nod of acknowledgement in response.

The Tyler family, as it was now, wasn't into formality. Certainly there were servants to make sure that beds were made and the rooms were clean and there were cooks and chefs to make meals. But every once in a while, Pete or Jackie would handle procuring a meal on their own, either by a family member cooking or by ordering delivery. Pete's first Jackie would never have ordered delivery for the world, relishing the lavish life of the wife of billionaire entrepreneur Peter Tyler, and she stopped cooking once she could afford to hire a cook. His second Jackie, while still loving the more upscale life, enjoyed stepping away from that life every once in a while, especially if she felt as if she were being overly pampered. She'd told Pete that cooking and ordering take-out reminded her of how her life used to be like and how good she had it now. Pete had to admit that he actually liked the simplicity of take-out; he really was more of a beer and nuts than a wine and caviar man even if he did enjoy the latter luxuries.

The Doctor and Rose walked into the kitchen to see the table already set-up informally. Jackie was pulling a glass dish from the oven while Pete was finishing making a salad.

"I see you put Dad to work quick enough," Rose commented, taking a slice of Julianne carrots and getting a "hands off the food" glance from her father.

"Well, I was hoping that the Doctor's first meal here would be special but your father went and invited him on Paula's day off," Jackie replied with slight derision. "I didn't even have time to get it catered properly."

"I'm sure that whatever you are making will be just fine, Jackie," Alex assured her.

"Well, it isn't anything special, with this kind of short notice," she continued to complain. "And it was your father's idea to set up the table in here rather than the dining room."

"The Doctor's part of the family now, Jackie," Pete put in to his wife. "I don't see a reason to be formal for just a simple dinner invite, especially when you don't make this much of a fuss when we invite Rose over for dinner."

"I wanted it to be special," she reiterated her previous statement. "As it is now, the most I could do is shepherd's pie, bread rolls, and a salad."

"Which I'm making, I will remind you," the husband told her gently.

The hybrid grinned broadly. "Shepherd's pie is brilliant! I had this friend… Ian. His wife Barbara made the best shepherd's pie. Almost as good as yours." Not allowing anyone a chance to comment on his compliment, he tucked his hands into his pockets before offering, "Anything I can help with?"

"No, we've got it all covered, love," Jackie responded. "Rose, go get Tony, will you? I baked some chicken fingers for him. Should be cool enough for him to eat by now."

"Okay, Mum," she replied, leaving the room before returning a couple of minutes later with the boy resting on her hip. "What do you want with your chicken?" she asked him as she set him in his high seat.

"Mashed potatoes!" the boy exclaimed vehemently.

She laughed gently at his word. "I already told you you're getting chicken and carrots. I mean, what do you want to drink?"

He seemed to think about her question for a long moment before answering, "Apple juice."

"You got it," Rose told him. Putting the requested items in front of him, she rubbed his head gently before giving him a kiss where she had rubbed.

At that moment, it struck her what she had almost given up looking for the Time Lord Doctor. If I had stayed with the Doctor as I had planned, I would have missed on watching Tony grow up. She turned to regard her mum, who had just finished loading the last plate, kissing her husband as she handed it over to him. I would have missed seeing my mum spending the rest of her life with my dad. She looked at the half Time Lord taking a seat beside Tony before showing him the proper way to eat sliced carrots and getting the boy to laugh when he balanced a slice on the tip of his nose. She smiled at the sight. He'll make a good dad and Dad will be a fantastic granddad, she thought as she took her seat at the table, immediately feeling her face flush with her thoughts. She hardly knew this version of the Doctor and she was already thinking about starting a family with him? She knew he had been a dad before; he had told her once. But she hadn't just thought about the Doctor being a dad in the past tense or in a subjective way. Did that mean that she wanted to be a mum?

Over dinner, Alex related to Rose and Jackie how he met Aderyn and how, with his "super Time Lord brain," he broke the communication barrier that had existed between her and Torchwood's scientists.

"So does this mean you're joining Torchwood?" Rose asked, hope clear in her voice.

"It means it's a possibility now. I still need to know the details of what exactly my position would be and what it would entail." He looked at Pete with firm eyes. "I want to see first hand what Research and Development does."

"I'll arrange it," the patriarch told him with a nod.

Once dinner was finished, the group seemed to all go their separate ways. Pete went to his home office to do some work, Jackie gathered Tony into her arms and took him up to a bath and then bed, and Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand and guided him up to the room where he would be staying. The suitcases had already been brought up and emptied into the dresser – by the mysterious Callie, Alex presumed – and the bed was ready for use.

"Nice room," he commented as he looked around. "Very posh."

"Yeah, well, comes with being a Tyler," Rose responded with a shrug. "There's more bedrooms in this place than in a whole Council Estate." Seeing him raise an eyebrow, she chuckled. "Bit of an exaggeration, I know."

"I'd say more than a bit," he countered with a wry grin. Looking around again, his eyes widened with interest. "Oh, I've got a telly in my room! Blimey, it's like staying at a five-star hotel." Jumping on the bed, he kicked off his trainers and, wiggling his now bare toes, gestured for Rose to sit on the bed with him.

Grinning at his happiness, she followed suit and grabbed the remote to turn the device on. Secure in her position, she laced her fingers with his as they allowed themselves to be entertained. It was only a minute before they were bantering back and forth the way they had years ago, commenting on what was airing and laughing at each other's words.

During one particular show, as the half-Time Lord watched the television with interest, Rose watched him with equal attention, a gentle smile gracing her face. It was almost a minute before he turned towards her with a querulous expression.

"What is it?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I was just thinking about how much I've missed this. You and me watching telly."

He returned her smile and squeezed her hand slightly. "Me too. We haven't had much time for ourselves in the last few weeks, just you and me, have we." Seeing her shake her head in response, he pulled her closer to him and, with one arm around her, used his free hand to brush her hair out of her eyes. "I haven't yet said it today." He looked into her eyes. "I love you, Rose Tyler."

Her smile widened at his words, her eyes glinting gently. "I love you, Doctor."

He blinked at her with wondrous happiness. "You said it," he commented, his tone sounding surprised and thrilled at the same time. "You finally said it." Seeing the confusion that played on her face, he clarified, "You've never said it to me. To him – my brother – yes. But not to me."

She seemed embarrassed by his words. "I'm sorry. I should have. I suppose I wasn't sure until today. I mean, I always thought of you as a friend and I wanted to love you but…"

"It's okay. We already agreed to take our time and find out for ourselves. I'm just happy that you finally know how you feel about me. Ecstatic, in fact, especially since I wasn't expecting it from you so soon."

"Why not?" she questioned with a frown.

It was Alex's turn to be embarrassed as his face flushed slightly. "Well, given the rocky start that we had… and the fact that I'm him but different… and the mental issues that I have…"

"You're my Doctor," Rose interrupted firmly. "This whole thing of you being him but different… it isn't any different than when you regenerated. Not to me. Not anymore. I know you're still a little uncomfortable with yourself, especially with being bipolar now. But that doesn't change who you are."

He smiled at her assurances. "Even if I need you to reassure me of that fact every once in a while?"

"Even so," she confirmed, returning the smile.

"I'm so glad I met you," he reiterated the words he had said to her so long before when he had a different face.

"Me too." She leaned into his hold, her eyes returning to the television in front of them as she sighed with contentment.

Feeling her head on his shoulder, the Doctor turned his head and slowly breathed in the scent of her hair, smelling coconut and strawberries as well as an aroma that was uniquely hers. He didn't realize that he gave a moan of satisfaction from the sensations of her bouquet.

Rose relished the feel of his embrace, noticing the scent of the man she loved just as he had her. He smelled like spice with a hint of something far more subtle. The fragrance of him was almost like an old leather book with fresh ink in the pages, both old and new at the same time. She wondered how she had never really noticed the scent of him before.

"Human pheromones," he replied to her thoughts. "You always could smell me; it just never had as much of an effect on you as it does now thanks to my new biology." He gave another small moan of appreciation. "You smell so good."

"No fair reading my mind without my permission," she berated him but didn't pull away.

"Sorry, couldn't help it," he murmured. "Your thoughts right now are really open." He sighed contentedly. "They're nice."

She chuckled gently at his words. "Oh? And what are they saying?"

"Oh, that you like the way I smell and the feeling of my arm around you… that you love me and want to kiss me…"

"And what are you thinking?"

"Exactly the same," he responded quietly before turning and tilting her head so that he could act on said thoughts.

The kiss was brief but gentle and when the two separated it was clear that neither had been satisfied with its brevity. Almost immediately, and without a word, gentleness vanished for intensity as they mashed into each other, nipping at each other's lips, hands running through hair before they wrapped their arms tightly around each other, seeming to want to be as physically close as possible.

They were still actively interested in the taste of each other when Rose moved her hands to the Doctor neck to remove his ever-present tie. She was grateful that he had taken his jacket off when he was playing with Tony earlier as that gave her unhindered access to his shirt, which she immediately started to unbutton, pulling the shirttails from his trousers.

Human hormones, the Doctor was finding, were difficult to manage as he felt Rose starting to divest him of his clothing. He discovered himself reciprocating the actions, pulling at her shirt to free it from her jeans. He stopped briefly to allow her to finish removing his dress shirt and then his t-shirt before he pulled off her shirt, revealing her practical cotton bra. It was only as she started to undo his belt that it occurred to him that their actions were more than just showing affection and were leading towards sexual intercourse.

"Wait a minute," he said quietly, gently taking Rose's hands from her activity and holding them so that she wouldn't continue. When she seemed intent on continuing, he squeezed her hands gently. "Rose… stop. Just stop."

Hearing his words, the blond-haired woman frowned and gazed upon him with confusion, her breathing heavy from the foreplay they were engaged in. "What's wrong?"

Alex breathed for a long moment, his eyes dark with desire but with resolution and disappointment on his face. "I can't," he told her bluntly.

"Why not?" she questioned, her tone lacking any judgment.

"It's complicated."

She gave a little laugh at his statement. "Story of our life. When is anything uncomplicated with us? Tell me anyway."

He considered his words for a moment before speaking. "I don't know how human I am when it comes to reproductive biology."

She grinned wryly. "Well, you're equipped with the right parts, aren't you?"

"Physically, yes. I mean, there's very little difference in external physical characterizations between humans and Time Lords when it comes to…" He searched for a more gentile term to use and found himself at a loss before deciding that Rose had heard every euphemism in the past. "…genitalia. Well, there are some differences but nothing that would prevent us from engaging in intimacy."

"So, what's the problem?"

"We could have sex now and be mated or absolutely nothing but sex could happen. Biologically speaking, of course." Seeing the confusion on her face, he clarified, "Time Lord reproductive biology is different than Human. Humans… well, monogamy for you is a social standard, not a biological one. You're biologically designed to hop from one mate to another. If you wanted, you can drop one mate in favor of another simply because he or she has a better smile. Time Lords can't do that. We become telepathically linked with our mates the moment we have conjugal relations. It is literally impossible for us to cheat on our spouses, unless there's no intense emotional or psychological attachment to the action. If I am more Time Lord than human when it comes to sex, the only time I might ever be able to sleep with you is during and after our wedding night and we would be instantly linked for life. Otherwise, it would be like I'm sleeping with a prostitute, which is not how I view you. If I'm more human than Time Lord… well, I feel that… when we do sleep together… it should be the most intimate, most meaningful first time either of us has ever had."

"Oh," came the quiet response. Rose slumped back on the bed, clearly frustrated by the turn of events while, at the same time, touched that her Doctor felt so deeply about the matter. Her eyes flickered as a variety of thoughts came and went before she spoke again. "What about… oral?"

Alex's brow furrowed at the question. "Fellatio?"

"Yeah," she confirmed, curious about how he would reply.

"Umm… I don't know." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I've never done fellatio."

"Never?" Seeing him shake his head, she gaped at him. "Over a thousand years old and no one has ever given you a blow job?"

He grimaced. "It's just so dirty and primitive."

"Oi!" she exclaimed. "You're half-human now. You're just as 'primitive' as me."

"I didn't say you are primitive. I said fellatio is primitive."

"I'm guessing that's a no then," Rose concluded, crossing her arms over her chest and slouching down.

He blinked at her actions, confusion plain on his features. "So, now you're not even interested in cuddling because I don't like fellatio?"

"How would you know? You've never done it, remember? And now you won't even try because it's 'dirty and primitive.' Can't shag you… can't do oral… and you're the one that started it all in the first place."

"I just kissed you. You, however, decided to divest me of my clothes."

"Well, you didn't object, did you? In fact, you joined along."

"I'm not used to these human hormones," he defended himself. "It's like they think for themselves."

She gave a huff of a laugh. "Isn't that the truth."

"Besides, we keep saying that we want to wait. I think any sort of intense sexual activity would violate that agreement. I also think that you and I should find the right balance of intimacy that would alleviate both of our sexual tensions without delving into an area neither of us are truly ready to get into, especially me as I still don't yet know myself. Not completely. Besides, last time you were the one to put things on hold which makes me wonder if you're ready yourself."

She thought about it for a long moment before responding. "Maybe I'm not. Maybe I was acting out of the realization that I'm sure that I love you and I wanted… well, I wanted…"

He brushed his hand through her hair reassuringly. "So do I. Believe me, I want to, so much that it's affecting the way I behave around you."

"Like suddenly being all quiet?"

"Well… you're being dressed in only a towel this morning as you were yelling at me didn't help. The point is, Rose, you don't need to show me physically that you love me. Just the words are enough. That and frequent snogging." He grin at the chuckle she gave. "But the prospect of one day showing our affection for each other in such a manner is quite appealing so…" He gave her a small smile. "Rain check?"

"Definitely," she agreed vehemently. "As long as you stop worrying me, making me think you're having a depressive episode when you're just… interested."

"Done," he concurred. Taking a breath, he appraised her with a quick glance. "Given the circumstances, it's probably a good idea if you put your shirt back on and we say goodnight."

Glancing down at herself and seeing her state of undress, she gave a little smile. "I suppose you're right." Crawling off the bed, she located and put on her shirt and shoes before turning to Alex, who had also vacated the bed in favor of waiting by the door.

Opening the door for her, the hybrid gave her a gentle smile. "Another busy day tomorrow," he commented.

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. "Good night, Doctor."

"Good night, Rose Tyler," he returned and then watched as she slowly left the room.