"Fascinating."

Rose nodded graciously. "Thank you."

John sniffed, hands to the labels of his coat as he looked down on it. "Still, a contraption such as this cannot compare to the skill of a soldier."

Rose narrowed her eyes at the floor, resisting the urge to retaliate. Ever the Doctor when he's not, his ideas far outwit her own.

Rose sat hunched over a box in the TARDIS storage. Or Spoliation Area, as the Doctor called it. A small green walled space with metal shelves piled high. All holding the spoils of their travels, boxes included; plastic, paper, wood, anything they could get their hands on. She knew beyond the open doorway across the room, opposite to where they entered, more awaited. But didn't wish to scare John—

"Relying on a complicated tool when I know methods that are tried and true," John huffed.

—however tempting...

"If you knew how it worked," Rose muttered.

"Poppycock!" Ohh, was he asking for a it. "These are hardly weapons for war." He eyed a styrofoam ball resting inside, wrapped in tubes and wire. "A mess at best." He reached for it.

"No!" Rose shouted. He stiffened. "You really don't wanna know what that does."

He clenched his hand, stuffing it into his pocket as he went to the door. "Very well. This is hardly my field."

Excuses.

Not my field, my expertise, my knowledge. It's all beyond him, she knew. John gave up on the books days ago. He felt useless, and sprang up defenses when she tried explaining. Already accepting he couldn't understand, and running any chance he got.

Belittling oneself.

A human quality she empathised with well. But he remains in the TARDIS, so that must mean something.

And once standing in his shoes has to mean something as well.

Her thirst to discover once introduced to this new alien world matched how he'd been at the start. Eager for her stories, maybe not verbally, but when he offered her tea out of the blue. Waiting as she sipped to not sway the topic. Leaning forward, hardly blinking, mouth parted when she settled on what to recount. The Doctor, how he brought the best of others. Even her.

Oh.

Maybe it's—

no.

It could be—

Rose slapped her forehead.

Her interest sparked by how easily the Doctor explained it all. Knowing she could learn complexities made simple. And what had she done for John? Nill. A dictionary with an index that took her two other dictionaries to decipher. Answers to his questions with jargon his head tilted to.

John stepped out.

"S'like," Rose started, hesitating when he paused in the hall. Already half-gone. "A..." she motioned her hands to prolong thought. "A... a snare!"

That John understood. Hunting. Basic bloke pastimes. To be sure he asked, "animal traps?"

"Yeah!"

He scoffed. "Like comparing apples to oranges."

"Both fruit," Rose said quickly to explain the rest. "See this." She held it to him. The appearance of a flower, flat like the outline of a forget-me-not. Black, powdered with a color of neon blue. She peeled the flower off, a plain metal bracelet hidden underneath. "The flower's the trap. And this bracelet— some snares have bells, yeah? This bracelet will alert me if the flower is disturbed."

John gently grasped the object. "Fascinating." His rapt attention making the word sincere this time around.

Rose leaned in, tucking her hair behind her ear, observing closely like him, hoping to not break the spell. "That's... really?"

He blinked rapidly. "Yes, well." he handed it back. "How do you plan to use the object?"

"The Family of Blood have sharp noses." Rose spoke through the motions of cleaning up. Habit. If nothing else. "Therefore; bait. Something of the Doctors for them to track and trip this."

John sniffed his wrist, a self evaluation. "I suppose that would make my scent hardly unique."

The color drained from Rose's face. "I... hadn't thought of that."

John's eyebrows sprang to his forehead. He smirked, crossed his arms, and leaned to the doorway. "Rose not thinking something out? Rubbish."

She chuckled despite herself. "Shut up."

"What shall my guardian do?" His hands splayed over his chest. "To protect me? Her charge from bloodhounds?" He cocked his head. "Padded suit. I'm thinking... a fierce bath."

Rose snapped her fingers. "But that's brilliant!"

"What?" he chirped.

"Bloodhounds, tracking dogs! I mean, not that the Family is, but there are survival tips, guides, how to's. I couldn't find anything on escaping the Family's sense of smell, but how do you hide from tracking dogs!?" She skipped merrily into the halls. "Scents! Mask it, deter it, drown it out! There's gotta be something that tells us how!"

John stood idly by as she stacked books about different breeds of dogs, tracking dogs, living with dogs, Barcelona dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs. Impressively, she wobble out. To the console room.

He understood the muts as much as she. Having once raised a K... canine. He shook his head. What's she to find that he cannot?

Furthermore, she's very keen on species. Specifics. Why not broaden the topic? When pondering scents, odors come to mind.

He pointed his finger to search the spines of some odd books. And the author Gregory sat next to Zen.

What?

Endless rows of novels. A spiral staircase taking it higher. And books covering every inch of wall. Both in messy periodic stacks on the floor, laid upon down on the stairs. No signs to indicate categories in the shelves. Is there any order here?

A tickle on his scalp took John left. He blinked. The sensation stopping upon a catalogue of household supplies from the 2000's.

He flipped through it. Vibrant colors popping off the page, and he shut it. ...okay. He checked again. Supplies he could hardly believe. Window cleaner that made glass sparkle. Laundry detergent that removed blood.

And his delight lit on the last page.

Eyes glued, he called, "Rooose?"

"Rose!" John ran past, feverently tracking her down. Book in hand, nose in book, and no clue where he's going. "Rose!" Still as excited he passed in and out the main corridor. Again. "Rose!" And stop. His pitter patter of running ceased. A confused, "Rose?" echoing down the halls.

Rose bit her lower-lip. "Marco!"

And his head popped round the corner, finally looking the correct way. He grinned. "Polo!" He took broad steps to her as his nose returned to the book. "Rose, you must read this!" He plopped into the captain's seat beside her.

"Is that Mum's old mag?"

"Look," he shoved it to her face.

Rose pinched the edge, pulling down. "Sale at Tesco's?"

"Rose," he took tugged the other side closer. "This," and he struggled on the word, "fee-breeze. It eliminates odor! Surely this infinite blue box is stocked with it somewhere!"

Suddenly she laughed disbelief, thinking of the possibilities. "I'd have never..." John's eyes sparkled. All hope. Rose beamed, and threw him into a hug. "You're fantastic, John! Amazing!"

He remained silent till they pulled apart, eyebrows scrunched together, and an amused smile set on his lips.

"Oh." Rose cupped her mouth. "I'm, um, sorry. Mister Smith.."

"No, Rose that's..." He tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Fine."

And all at once she couldn't make eye contact. How'd they get so close? She could feel the air escaping him. And, oh yeah, their previously shared kiss hit her with vivid detail. Her face felt far too warm, she knew it showed.

"You sure?" she asked his collarbone. Collarbone? When did he unbutton his suit, and why hadn't she noticed earlier?

"Positive," John's breath tickled her cheek, and she practically fell out of the seat.

"I'm gonna..." Rose took in what she hoped looked like long a casual breath, hand flailing to the hall. "Febreze."

A/N

Doctor Who tonight! Who else is psyched!? I'm posting this now as celebration, despite my various essays due soon. Haha... but never mind that, Doctor Who! I hear Missy's making a reappearance. Still iffy on her. Also, maybe spoiler, does anyone else think that girl who said "what took you so long, old man?" in the preview is Jenny? Might just be wishful thinking.

AkumakoRonso: Your wish is my command. Just be careful what you wish for. If the next chapter is less plot development, and more them goofing off, all blame is on you. Heh. Thank you for reviewing!

MirrorFlower and DarkWind: Hah, glad you think so as well. :) Thanks for the review.

Missfantasyfreak: THANK YOU for assuming otherwise! That's a bit of Who history to brush up on! I'd no idea, but that's amazing! Thank you so very much for telling me that, because I actually don't know much of the past. Oh wow, I feel like I owe you now. Anything you want? And don't be shy, please, I'm all too glad to spoil you up right now.