You Are My Home (9/?)
Title: You Are My Home (9/?)
Pairings: pre-Rose/Nine
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG for this chapter
Author's Note: This took a bit longer than I intended unfortunately but I'm already working on the next chapter.
The Doctor is not sure that he should have come to London. Helping Jack to escape from the troubles he gets - used to get- himself into is one thing. Spending his time making social calls for no other purpose than that Jack wants him around though; well, that’s a different matter. He doesn’t like to spend enough time in one place to get attached to people. Jack was easy because Jack was a traveler too. Sure, he met lots of people on his travels and he’d spend a bit of time with them but then it was always obvious that’s all it was. He didn’t really do attachments.
So why had he talked to Miss Rose Tyler the way that he had? He doesn’t have an answer for that. He needs to think of one quickly as they walk down the street to the florist... He thinks he’ll probably just pick what he thinks she’d find pretty and Jack will tell him whether it’s a good idea or not. This, he realizes, is a dangerous plan, even if Jack is reformed.
He’s proud of the man, more so than he’s made obvious thus far. He supposes he is going to have to make it clearer since the man is clearly seeking his approval. He wants, just a little bit, to shout that he’s not someone worth looking up to like Jack apparently does. He has no idea how long he’s going to stay here and that worries him. It’s… domestic and frivolous and he isn’t that sort of man. Not even for beautiful little blondes, perhaps especially not for such young ladies.
“You could try looking less like you’re going to a funeral, Doctor. Sending a girl flowers isn’t going to kill you,” Jack teases as he nudges him with his elbow and pulls him out of his thoughts.
“Suppose not. Still, not the flower buying type, me.”
“That’s why you’ve got me,” Jack replies with a grin as he holds open the door to the florist’s.
“Good morning, Captain Harkness,” the man behind the counter greets. “The usual orchids to the Tyler residence, then?” The Doctor still finds himself expecting a longer list of names to be read off and immediately feels a bit guilty for the thought even if Jack doesn’t know.
“Yes, of course. My friend, Doctor Smith, is to be sending flowers to the Tylers as well,” Jack responds.
“Certainly, do you have a particular preference, Doctor Smith?”
The Doctor frowns slightly as he walks through the shop, carefully inspecting the flowers he passes. He doesn’t quite know what he’s looking for and suspects he won’t until he sees it. “Give us a moment, if you don’t mind.” The Doctor realizes he probably should have responded to the man behind the counter instead of just walking off but no matter. He isn’t here to impress the florist. He’s here to impress Miss Tyler. Well, no, he’s here to do what’s expected of him. He’s seriously considering insisting that they forget this rubbish when he finally spots exactly what he’s looking for.
“Those,” he says as he gestures to the ones he wants.
Jack steps up beside him and looks at them for a moment before nodding. “The Dahlia flower. They’ve got a few meanings but mostly harmless. Certainly not going to get you slapped by Lady Tyler anyway,” Jack says with a grin as he claps him on the back.
The Doctor supposes he ought to ask what those meanings are but really he doesn’t care. The flowers just seemed like they would suit her. Each flower has dozens of thin petals. They’re mostly a deep pink in color with white tips and a burst of yellow radiating up from the center. He isn’t sure why his mind has associated the woman with pink and yellow since she was in a red and black (and really quite fantastic) dress the night before but he’s absolutely confident in his choice now.
~*~*~
Rose wakes earlier than she normally would that morning and spends a bit longer on getting ready that normal to make up for it. She chooses her favorite royal blue day dress, starts to feel foolish for the choice but is assuaged by the maid’s insistence that she looks quite lovely.
Her mother seems rather suspicious of her motives as Rose settles onto a loveseat in the front drawing room. She pointedly ignores her mother as she opens a book of poetry and softly hums one of the tunes from the night before. She is a bit nervous to honest. She doesn’t want to have another row with her mother and can’t imagine that having the Captain and the Doctor around when Mr. Mitchell shows up could possibly end well. She doesn’t regret inviting them though.
She tenses when there is a knock at the door and waits silently, hoping to hear an American and Northern accent responding to the maid. It doesn’t sound like Mr. Mitchell either though at least. The maid appears in the doorway a few moments later with two bouquets of flowers. “Miss Rose, these flowers were sent for you,” she says as she brings them over to her.
“Oh they’re beautiful,” Rose exclaims as she takes them carefully, setting the orchids in her lap before inspecting the dahlias.
“They are quite lovely. They must be from Mr. Mitchell,” her mother says with a pointed look. Rose rolls her eyes.
“No,” Rose says as she starts to open the small envelope to check the calling card, already certain who they are really from. “He’d never send me these. He only sends daisies.” She can’t help breaking out into a wide smile. “They’re from the Doctor.”
“Well… I suppose the man has rather decent taste in flowers then at least,” Jackie replies.
Rose smiles fondly as she brushes her fingers over the petals. “He told me he would try to guess what my favorites are.”
“Well, he got it wrong then, didn’t he? Lilacs have always been your favorite flowers.”
Rose thinks she might have a new favorite flower but doesn’t say so. She doesn’t want to fight with her mother yet.
“Mother, I should warn you-“ Rose’s statement is cut off when there’s another knock at the door. This time it is followed by the voices of the Captain and the Doctor. “I’d already invited them over before you said I can’t see them,” she finishes in a rush.
“Mr. Mitchell is going to be here soon!”
“If Mr. Mitchell is such a good man as you claim than he can deal with company he’s not so fond of for an hour or so, mother,” Rose complains in exasperation.
“If you start causing trouble because they’re here…” Jackie’s threat trails off as the maid shows the two men into the drawing room.
“Captain Harkness, Doctor Smith,” her mother greets them as she rises from her chair. “I’m afraid my daughter only just informed me you’d be visiting this morning.”
“If you’d prefer that we come back another time, it would be no trouble. I’d hate to impose, Lady Tyler,” the Captain replies with a bow.
“Nonsense,” Rose interrupts. “We’d be delighted to have your company. You are always welcome here.”
“Mr. Mitchell is due to call upon us this morning as well,” Rose’s mother adds. Rose hopes her mother doesn’t notice the way that she is giving their guests a pleading look not to leave her alone with her mother and that man. Jack winks at her when Lady Tyler’s attention focuses on the Doctor.
“Fantastic, I’d been hoping to get a chance to talk to him about his research,” the Doctor replies with a grin. The Captain chuckles and claps the other man on the shoulder before settling into one of the chairs.
“I must offer my apologies, Lady Tyler, for not being able to devote more of my attentions to you last night. Unfortunately due to my absence I had many obligations which had to come before those which are far more pleasant,” Jack says, drawing her mother’s attention away from her and the Doctor for which she is grateful.
Rose gestures for him to sit beside her. He hesitates only a moment before he does so, keeping a respectable amount of space between them. “Doctor I must confess myself most disappointed,” she says as she adjusts the bouquet in her hand. She secretly delights in his momentary look of surprise. “You didn’t follow the rules of our game properly.”
“Well, Miss Tyler, I must ask your forgiveness. How though did I break the rules? I was supposed to try to guess your favorite flowers, wasn’t I?” he asks.
Rose beams at him. “Precisely. You were to try to guess my favorite, not send me flowers so impossibly wonderful that they surpass my old favorites.”
The Doctor laughs and Rose can’t help but join in. “Well in that case I am not sorry at all, Miss Tyler. Particularly not when my gift is rewarded with such cruel teasing. I confess I’m curious. What was your favorite flower?”
“Lilacs,” Captain Harkness offers. Rose had not realized that the Captain and her mother had stopped talking but she supposed that wasn’t surprising with the way they’d been laughing.
The Doctor stares incredulously at his friend and Rose finds she cannot stop grinning. “You knew this whole time?”
“I told you, Doctor, it was not something I generally endeavored to keep secret. You could have asked any number of people the answer and they would have easily told you,” Rose explains.
“Rose, dear, would you go tell the kitchen staff to prepare two more settings, Mr. Mitchell will be here soon,” her mother requests. Rose wants to protest that the maid could easily do this but holds her tongue.
“Of course, mother.” She offers an apologetic look to the Captain and the Doctor as she rises. “Forgive me, I’ll return shortly.” She hates this, wants to overhear what her mother has to say with her out of the room but knows she cannot linger outside to eavesdrop.
10. The Inquirer
Pairings: pre-Rose/Nine
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG for this chapter
Author's Note: This took a bit longer than I intended unfortunately but I'm already working on the next chapter.
The Doctor is not sure that he should have come to London. Helping Jack to escape from the troubles he gets - used to get- himself into is one thing. Spending his time making social calls for no other purpose than that Jack wants him around though; well, that’s a different matter. He doesn’t like to spend enough time in one place to get attached to people. Jack was easy because Jack was a traveler too. Sure, he met lots of people on his travels and he’d spend a bit of time with them but then it was always obvious that’s all it was. He didn’t really do attachments.
So why had he talked to Miss Rose Tyler the way that he had? He doesn’t have an answer for that. He needs to think of one quickly as they walk down the street to the florist... He thinks he’ll probably just pick what he thinks she’d find pretty and Jack will tell him whether it’s a good idea or not. This, he realizes, is a dangerous plan, even if Jack is reformed.
He’s proud of the man, more so than he’s made obvious thus far. He supposes he is going to have to make it clearer since the man is clearly seeking his approval. He wants, just a little bit, to shout that he’s not someone worth looking up to like Jack apparently does. He has no idea how long he’s going to stay here and that worries him. It’s… domestic and frivolous and he isn’t that sort of man. Not even for beautiful little blondes, perhaps especially not for such young ladies.
“You could try looking less like you’re going to a funeral, Doctor. Sending a girl flowers isn’t going to kill you,” Jack teases as he nudges him with his elbow and pulls him out of his thoughts.
“Suppose not. Still, not the flower buying type, me.”
“That’s why you’ve got me,” Jack replies with a grin as he holds open the door to the florist’s.
“Good morning, Captain Harkness,” the man behind the counter greets. “The usual orchids to the Tyler residence, then?” The Doctor still finds himself expecting a longer list of names to be read off and immediately feels a bit guilty for the thought even if Jack doesn’t know.
“Yes, of course. My friend, Doctor Smith, is to be sending flowers to the Tylers as well,” Jack responds.
“Certainly, do you have a particular preference, Doctor Smith?”
The Doctor frowns slightly as he walks through the shop, carefully inspecting the flowers he passes. He doesn’t quite know what he’s looking for and suspects he won’t until he sees it. “Give us a moment, if you don’t mind.” The Doctor realizes he probably should have responded to the man behind the counter instead of just walking off but no matter. He isn’t here to impress the florist. He’s here to impress Miss Tyler. Well, no, he’s here to do what’s expected of him. He’s seriously considering insisting that they forget this rubbish when he finally spots exactly what he’s looking for.
“Those,” he says as he gestures to the ones he wants.
Jack steps up beside him and looks at them for a moment before nodding. “The Dahlia flower. They’ve got a few meanings but mostly harmless. Certainly not going to get you slapped by Lady Tyler anyway,” Jack says with a grin as he claps him on the back.
The Doctor supposes he ought to ask what those meanings are but really he doesn’t care. The flowers just seemed like they would suit her. Each flower has dozens of thin petals. They’re mostly a deep pink in color with white tips and a burst of yellow radiating up from the center. He isn’t sure why his mind has associated the woman with pink and yellow since she was in a red and black (and really quite fantastic) dress the night before but he’s absolutely confident in his choice now.
~*~*~
Rose wakes earlier than she normally would that morning and spends a bit longer on getting ready that normal to make up for it. She chooses her favorite royal blue day dress, starts to feel foolish for the choice but is assuaged by the maid’s insistence that she looks quite lovely.
Her mother seems rather suspicious of her motives as Rose settles onto a loveseat in the front drawing room. She pointedly ignores her mother as she opens a book of poetry and softly hums one of the tunes from the night before. She is a bit nervous to honest. She doesn’t want to have another row with her mother and can’t imagine that having the Captain and the Doctor around when Mr. Mitchell shows up could possibly end well. She doesn’t regret inviting them though.
She tenses when there is a knock at the door and waits silently, hoping to hear an American and Northern accent responding to the maid. It doesn’t sound like Mr. Mitchell either though at least. The maid appears in the doorway a few moments later with two bouquets of flowers. “Miss Rose, these flowers were sent for you,” she says as she brings them over to her.
“Oh they’re beautiful,” Rose exclaims as she takes them carefully, setting the orchids in her lap before inspecting the dahlias.
“They are quite lovely. They must be from Mr. Mitchell,” her mother says with a pointed look. Rose rolls her eyes.
“No,” Rose says as she starts to open the small envelope to check the calling card, already certain who they are really from. “He’d never send me these. He only sends daisies.” She can’t help breaking out into a wide smile. “They’re from the Doctor.”
“Well… I suppose the man has rather decent taste in flowers then at least,” Jackie replies.
Rose smiles fondly as she brushes her fingers over the petals. “He told me he would try to guess what my favorites are.”
“Well, he got it wrong then, didn’t he? Lilacs have always been your favorite flowers.”
Rose thinks she might have a new favorite flower but doesn’t say so. She doesn’t want to fight with her mother yet.
“Mother, I should warn you-“ Rose’s statement is cut off when there’s another knock at the door. This time it is followed by the voices of the Captain and the Doctor. “I’d already invited them over before you said I can’t see them,” she finishes in a rush.
“Mr. Mitchell is going to be here soon!”
“If Mr. Mitchell is such a good man as you claim than he can deal with company he’s not so fond of for an hour or so, mother,” Rose complains in exasperation.
“If you start causing trouble because they’re here…” Jackie’s threat trails off as the maid shows the two men into the drawing room.
“Captain Harkness, Doctor Smith,” her mother greets them as she rises from her chair. “I’m afraid my daughter only just informed me you’d be visiting this morning.”
“If you’d prefer that we come back another time, it would be no trouble. I’d hate to impose, Lady Tyler,” the Captain replies with a bow.
“Nonsense,” Rose interrupts. “We’d be delighted to have your company. You are always welcome here.”
“Mr. Mitchell is due to call upon us this morning as well,” Rose’s mother adds. Rose hopes her mother doesn’t notice the way that she is giving their guests a pleading look not to leave her alone with her mother and that man. Jack winks at her when Lady Tyler’s attention focuses on the Doctor.
“Fantastic, I’d been hoping to get a chance to talk to him about his research,” the Doctor replies with a grin. The Captain chuckles and claps the other man on the shoulder before settling into one of the chairs.
“I must offer my apologies, Lady Tyler, for not being able to devote more of my attentions to you last night. Unfortunately due to my absence I had many obligations which had to come before those which are far more pleasant,” Jack says, drawing her mother’s attention away from her and the Doctor for which she is grateful.
Rose gestures for him to sit beside her. He hesitates only a moment before he does so, keeping a respectable amount of space between them. “Doctor I must confess myself most disappointed,” she says as she adjusts the bouquet in her hand. She secretly delights in his momentary look of surprise. “You didn’t follow the rules of our game properly.”
“Well, Miss Tyler, I must ask your forgiveness. How though did I break the rules? I was supposed to try to guess your favorite flowers, wasn’t I?” he asks.
Rose beams at him. “Precisely. You were to try to guess my favorite, not send me flowers so impossibly wonderful that they surpass my old favorites.”
The Doctor laughs and Rose can’t help but join in. “Well in that case I am not sorry at all, Miss Tyler. Particularly not when my gift is rewarded with such cruel teasing. I confess I’m curious. What was your favorite flower?”
“Lilacs,” Captain Harkness offers. Rose had not realized that the Captain and her mother had stopped talking but she supposed that wasn’t surprising with the way they’d been laughing.
The Doctor stares incredulously at his friend and Rose finds she cannot stop grinning. “You knew this whole time?”
“I told you, Doctor, it was not something I generally endeavored to keep secret. You could have asked any number of people the answer and they would have easily told you,” Rose explains.
“Rose, dear, would you go tell the kitchen staff to prepare two more settings, Mr. Mitchell will be here soon,” her mother requests. Rose wants to protest that the maid could easily do this but holds her tongue.
“Of course, mother.” She offers an apologetic look to the Captain and the Doctor as she rises. “Forgive me, I’ll return shortly.” She hates this, wants to overhear what her mother has to say with her out of the room but knows she cannot linger outside to eavesdrop.
10. The Inquirer