"The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one."
― Margaret Atwood

"Oh thank god it's finished!" Rose said, suddenly rising from her seat. She immediately pulled her hand away from the Doctor's. They were in the middle of a thumb-wrestling match but she was actually quite relieved that she had an excuse to stop because it would be a bit humiliating to lose at thumb-wrestling for, what, the 31st time in a row? Wincing, she realized that her hand was quite moist.

"Eurgh, Doctor…your hands sweat," she said, wiping her hand on his coat.

"Oi!" the Doctor cried indignantly, "It could've been your sweat. I'd assume it was because Time Lords can control their bod—"

"Okay, enough information, thanks." Rose interrupted, stretching for a bit. She watched as the Doctor got up from his seat with elegance. She bit her lip as a strange wave of déjà vu enveloped her.

Why couldn't she shake the feeling that she had seen this man before? Could this Doctor sometime in the future…she brushed away the thought. The Doctor knew the consequences of messing with timelines and wouldn't risk all of that just to visit her sometime in the past—nor did he have any reason to. Perhaps she was thinking of some look-alike, maybe some customer she had spoken to at the shop she had once worked in.

"Rose, you alright?" the Doctor said, waking her from her thoughts. He was staring at her and she realized, with some embarrassment, that all the while she was staring straight at him.

"Oh yeah, uh, sorry. 'Was just…daydreaming, that's all." She said, quickly. He nodded and offered her his hand.

"C'mon, before the next play starts," the Doctor said, flashing a grin. She nodded as he pulled her towards the door at a quick pace. This Doctor, she supposed, seemed to have some traits of his previous self—especially the running. She smiled fondly at the memory. That was the Doctor, she supposed. Always running.

She let him pull her until they got to a door: light green with a flower etched on it. She watched the Doctor as his eyes lit up in realization and recognition.

"What's that room, Doctor?" she asked, "The garden?"

Rose had been to the garden once before. It was beautiful. A dome shaped room with artificial (but definitely realistic) sunlight streaming through the dome's glass panes. The garden, she remembered, had hundreds of different species of plants from across the galaxy. She wondered then whether the Doctor had had any regeneration that had liked plants or whether the TARDIS just picked plants wherever they went.

"Rose," the Doctor suddenly said, snapping her back into reality for the second time that day, "Were you even listening?"

"Ah, sorry, no, what were you saying?"

"I was just—ah, never mind, why don't you just see for yourself."

Rose nodded and turned the door knob.

(x)

The Doctor grinned as the door swung open, revealing rows upon rows of roses. He turned to face his companion who was staring at her surroundings, eyes wide in utter shock.

He laughed, "Rows upon rows of roses for Rose. Nice tongue twister, don't you think?"

"Doctor…" she said.

"Well, I suppose it's not a tongue twister because it's not very hard to say. Or is that just me?"

"Doctor…"

"Rows upon rows of roses for Rose. Rows upon rows of roses for Rose. Rows upon—"

"Doctor!" she said, glaring at him with the Tyler famous listen-to-me glare. His mouth snapped shut with an audible click. He looked her in the eyes, trying to figure out what she was feeling but they revealed nothing. He inwardly scoffed; windows to the soul…suuure they were.

"You're listening now?" she said. He nodded.

"Good," Rose said, "Now, Doctor, think about it—if your name were, say, Marigold, or some other type of flower, would you like it if your…friend…brought you a bouquet of marigolds?"

"Or any other flower. Well, I suppose we'd have a laugh. Pretty ironic once you think about it," he said, his hands slowly slipping out of his pockets. He wondered where she was going with this.

"Mmhm. Yeah…'Prolly somethin' you wouldn't mean to do anyway…just irony…" she trailed off, her eyes distant. He looked at her, "Rose, what's wrong? What d'you mean something that I wouldn't mean to do? Are you…" he briefly considered the thought, "Allergic to roses or something?"

"No, no, it's nothin'. Forget about it," she said. He furrowed his eyebrows in frustration, opening his mouth to ask once more but before he could even say a word, she raised her hand. He looked at her questioningly.

"Doctor, 's my personal life. If I don't want to talk about it, and I don't want to talk about it, I won't talk about it."

He shut his mouth again, sighing inwardly. He wondered what she must think of him. Now that he was…different…he guessed that she would find it a tad awkward to just act like they were best mates again after his face and personality but he never imagined it would be this difficult.

He could slightly understand where she was coming from, though. Being best mates with someone then have them suddenly change in not just face but personality. He frowned, locking the memories of his childhood away. Reminiscing could wait another time.

He watched as she wandered off, walking past the rows of roses from so many different planets. He noticed she wasn't even looking at the flowers, just straight at the door to the other end.

Silently, he thought about whether she would've confided in him if he still had big ears and blue eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me…to her, old girl?" he asked, brushing his hand on the TARDIS wall. The ships probably knew why roses would trigger something in his companion. The ship was telepathic. She might have planned it all along. But why?

It'll come together in time, she hummed.

You're a bloody time machine!

The TARDIS didn't reply. The Doctor groaned, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He was beginning to wonder whether this idea of Rose's would actually help them or just harm them.

It wasn't her fault, he supposed, that the TARDIS was doing this to them. His hands clenched in frustration. This body didn't react well to stress too, he noted.

And it was only the third room they had been to!

Author's Note

This chapter only took so long because it took a while to finish the next one. Yes, the next chapter is ready but I always make sure to be done with 2 before posting one. How are you guys liking this so far? I'd really appreciate it if you left a review! And ideas are very much welcome!

Doctor Who and its characters is (c) to its respective owners