Beta'd by the lovely HpGwperfect.

Standard disclaimer: I own no part of Doctor Who.

Chapter Two-All in All, It's just Another Day Now

[In which the Doctor and Rose have a relatively normal day for a relatively unusual couple]

When Rose woke again, the Doctor was tinkering in the lab they'd put together in the spare bedroom. He seemed particularly engrossed in whatever he was studying, so Rose made her way to the kitchen for some much-needed caffeine before joining him in the lab.

"G'morning, Doctor," she said, cup in one hand and a banana in the other. "Did you have breakfast, or did you forget again?"

"Rose! Come look at this!" he replied without answering her question.

"Okay," she said, walking over to the table the Doctor was working at. "What am I looking at?"

The Doctor gestured enthusiastically at one of several items for which Rose could never remember the name, despite the fact that she had a much better scientific knowledge base than she'd had in the other world. He turned to her as she approached.

"I was thinking about your dream and how much stronger the link would have to be to send you my perspective thrice simultaneously. I know we haven't tried to isolate the link in years, but I thought it couldn't hurt to try, right? So I narrowed the parameters while expanding the focus and reactivated the," he paused mid-sentence. "Did you bring me a banana? I love bananas. Did I ever tell you…"

"Doctor," Rose interrupted.

"Rude," said the Doctor. "And I'm supposed to be the one who's rude and not ginger. Don't you know you shouldn't interrupt? You know, I once saw a whole society…"

"Doctor!" Rose tried again. "You had something to show me, and it seemed urgent."

"Oh! Yes! Rose, why did you let me get sidetracked? Anyway," he said through a mouthful of banana, "So then I…" He trailed off again as he looked back at his workstation.

"Then you what, Doctor?"

"Oh," he said, rather lacking his prior enthusiasm, "It's stopped. It was beautiful. The structure of the sample was unlike anything I've seen in years. It was glowing, Rose. The cells were actually emitting light on a wavelength that matched, well, Bad Wolf's glow." He grinned, excited again. "Do you know what that means, Rose? We confirmed it! It was still not enough to follow, and the walls are still sealed, but somehow, and it's just brilliant, you're still connected to the TARDIS. Well, not our growing TARDIS, but the other TARDIS, you know."

Rose smiled patiently, not surprised at the information since she'd been sure the Doctor's guess was right. "I know, Doctor. Speaking of our TARDIS, you should probably finish that banana and check on her before work." She looked at the clock and grimaced. "We've got to leave early to pick up our dress and tux for Mum and Dad's event tonight."

It was the Doctor's turn to grimace.

"Rose, do we really have to go? You know it's bad luck when I wear one of those. Can't I at least go in something else?" the Doctor whined.

Amused, Rose replied, "Yes, we really have to go, and as much as I enjoy seeing you in this particular state of undress, I really think Mum and Dad might object. Not to mention," she added, "the press is supposed to be out in full force for this event, our biggest one together since they figured us out."

"Right. Well, it was worth a shot. I still think I shouldn't wear a tux." The Doctor sighed and turned away from the table to face Rose fully, a look on his face that she would never tire of seeing. "You go wash up. I'll join you shortly."

O~O~O~O~O~O

"Really, Rose, what's wrong with my suit?"

Rose sighed. "Really, Doctor, because I can't remember: were you always this stuck on a point you wanted to argue, or did you get that bit from Donna?"

"Welll," the Doctor drawled, hand rubbing the back of his neck as they walked down the Torchwood hallway, "maybe it was a bit of both."

Rose chuckled. "Well, yes, Doctor, Mum was very specific. And she's serious this time, too. She says Tony will be there in a tux, and if a six-year-old can wear one without complaining, so can you."

"Oh, alright," the Doctor responded. "I suppose I don't want to anger Jackie. I can still feel the slap from two faces ago." He rubbed his cheek gingerly.

Rose smiled, a bit of tongue peeking through her teeth. "I love that you're still afraid of my mum."

"Rose Tyler," he said with a sigh, "The things I do for you."

As they approached the door that proudly labeled itself as belonging to Pete Tyler, the Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver with an expression that shifted from resignation to anticipation. He aimed the sonic screwdriver at the door. Rose watched, amused, as the tool unlocked the door.

"Ah ha!" the Doctor exclaimed excitedly. "You can't keep me out yet, Pete Tyler!"

He opened the door, clearly expecting to see a disappointed Pete on the other side. Rose nearly collapsed in laughter at the baffled look on the Doctor's face.

"He got you good," she said, still laughing as she pulled out a key.

"Another door? He put another door behind this one. And it's wood. We clearly established that wood was against the rules."

"Nope," Rose replied happily. "The agreement was that he wouldn't replace this door," she patted the one the Doctor had opened, "with wood or wooden parts." She unlocked the old-fashioned second door and opened it. On the other side, her father was managing a straight face.

Mostly.

"Well, hello, Doctor," said Pete, "Why didn't you open the door yourself?"

The Doctor simultaneously glared and pouted.

"Come on, Doctor. You gotta gimme this one. It's been years and I haven't so much as slowed you down once." Pete looked down at the paperwork on his desk and cleared his face of the smile that had managed to find its way there. "Right. So I called you here for an assignment."

Rose and the Doctor sat in the chairs in front of Pete's desk, Rose still looking amused and the Doctor still pouting.

"We've had something come up in America," Pete explained. "Reports of a man who won't die, reports of a man who comes back from the dead, and one report of a man who can vanish at will. The descriptions are all very similar: dark hair, solid but fit, possibly military. Women have described him as handsome." He chuckled slightly. "Not all of them used quite so tame wording for it, though. Anyway, it took us quite a while to figure out this was a pattern. These reports span a good fifty years, and he doesn't seem to have aged much, if at all." Pete looked up from his desk before continuing. "He was last seen in Utah, reportedly causing a ruckus in as many bars as possible, starting fights he doesn't always survive. Then, apparently, he is in the habit of making off, undead, with the most attractive person who was there, male or female."

The Doctor stared at Pete. "They go off with him after he's dead?"

"Right," said Pete, continuing. "So we need you to check it out. You're on a flight in three hours, so you'd better get out of here and get ready. Your e-tickets have been sent to your Torchwood emails."

The Doctor's face changed from one of attention to one of glee.

"You mean," the Doctor asked, "we won't be able to go to the gala tonight?"

Pete sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Please, don't remind me," he said. "I still haven't told your mother," he added, looking at Rose. "I'm going to have to remind her that she doesn't want to be my widow again."

Rose chuckled briefly and stood to leave. She turned to the Doctor. "You coming?" she asked him.

"In a mo'," he replied.

"Alright," she said, squeezing his shoulder momentarily before leaving the men to themselves. She was used to their need for "guy talk." The Doctor, being unable to share his past, had made few friends in this universe. Pete's positions in both Vitex and Torchwood made him an intimidating man with similar problems opening up. The two had formed an odd sort of friendship, and thinking of it had Rose smiling genuinely as she exited the office.

O~O~O~O~O~O

Rose passed time waiting for the Doctor by straightening her desk and sorting emails. This assignment had her a little on edge, and she wasn't sure why. She looked from her monitor and over to a framed photograph on her desk. In it was a photo of Rose and the Doctor from about a year ago. Rose was smiling at the person taking the photo. The Doctor, meanwhile, was watching at Rose with a look of adoration, hope, and longing. Rose loved that she no longer had to try to reason away that look; her Doctor loved her, even if he still didn't say it often.

"Rose!" said the man himself, coming into the office they shared with a few other co-workers. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, Arthur," replied Rose, shutting down her computer. She still had a little bit of trouble remembering to call him Arthur at times, but people just assumed she was using his title when she slipped with a "Doctor" instead of the name he'd chosen as a reminder of the last time he was in a new body, with jim jams that were "very Arthur Dent." Of course he would pick a science fiction name, and a Hitchhiker's reference just seemed to fit him perfectly, so she didn't slip often.

The discussion while they headed back to their flat was mainly focused on work, and a lot of teasing was involved with packing. Rose thought the Doctor packed far too many random gadgets and pieces from their lab. The Doctor, meanwhile, thought Rose packed far too many clothes.

"Why do you need more than just the one outfit? I can sonic it clean if we can't wash it. I still don't understand why you prefer to wash your clothes the long way. Honestly, the sonic does a better job. Do you know what kind of chemicals are left behind with…"

"Doctor, do you really need three of the whatchacallits? They're such a bother to get through security," Rose interrupted.

"Yes, Rose, I do! What happens if one breaks and we lose one? Then you'll be happy I brought three thermonucleoregulators." The Doctor looked proud of his explanation, and the two continued packing, good-natured bickering continuing the whole time.

O~O~O~O~O~O

The zeppelin ride was uneventful, with a good deal more public showing of affection than Rose was used to; nothing was inappropriate, and Rose delighted in cuddling with the Doctor, but they were so used to avoiding "compromising situations" for the media that the electronic-free ride was a treat. Rose was also looking forward to being in the states for a bit since fewer people tended to recognise the London-based couple.

After arriving at JFK airport for their connecting flight, Rose and the Doctor decided to fill the time by discussing ways to track down their mystery man.

"It makes me think of Jack," said Rose after they'd talked for a bit. "With the dying and coming back and all, and the description."

"Yes," said the Doctor cautiously, "but it's a pretty vague description. Could apply to me if I wanted it to. I am devastatingly handsome, after all, and I have dark hair."

Rose responded to his preening by looking him up and down. "That's true. And you do have really great hair. But I don't know about that 'solid' bit of the description. But I quite like that you're easy to grab onto when we…"

"Rose Tyler!" the Doctor interrupted, looking scandalized, "You can't talk about that in public!"

Rose chuckled. "Right, Arthur, because you've never recounted in public how many times you made me o…"

"Okay! Okay," he stopped her again. "Welll, it was pretty impressive."

He paused, looking at her appraisingly. "I wonder if we could…"

"Doctor! Back on topic, please. I can't concentrate when we discuss this." Rose smiled at him in the way she knew he loved, all teeth and tongue and happiness.

"I know. I can smell. Ahhh, tell. I meant I can tell. Anyway, so, mystery man. We checked for Jack Harkness when we looked up the rest of our friends from the parallel world, and nothing came up, no indication he has ever existed here. So we can probably safely assume it isn't him. Plus, I think even Captain Jack would avoid attracting quite so much attention."

"You're right," Rose sighed.

Their conversation was brought to a halt when the airline made the announcement to board the flight to Salt Lake City.

As they approached the Utah airport, Rose studied the sleeping Doctor next to her. She still rarely saw him sleep. Though he was much more relaxed in general since the meta-crisis-she attributed this to Donna's influence-he was still so much more serene while sleeping. Rose smiled and leaned in closer, appreciating his warmth-just a touch cooler than a standard human's-and the much-smoother landing the zeppelin offered as compared to the couple of airplane landings she'd experienced in her original world. She sighed in contentment before closing her eyes.

She was startled, then, when the Doctor tensed up just before they landed.

"That's not possible," said the Doctor, staring blankly ahead.

"What is it, Arthur?" asked Rose as she turned to face him, concerned.

He shifted to look at her, but she wasn't sure whether he was actually seeing anything in front of him.

"A fixed point, Rose. There's a fixed point moving around nearby. We may have to reconsider the connection of our mystery man to Jack Harkness."