You Are My Home (19/?)
Title: You Are My Home (19/?)
Pairing: Nine/Rose
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13 for this chapter
Author's Note: Again, many apologies for not updating as often as I wanted to do so. Computer troubles are unfortunate. I tried to read through this a few extra times since my keyboard has been acting up but in case I did miss any glaringly obvious typos, please let me know and I will fix them. I was quite excited when I was doing my research to discover that there was actually a place in Edinburgh that opened in the 1850's called Short's Observatory and Museum of Science and Art, that housed a very impressive telescope. It sounds quite interesting and obviously was quite perfect for this story.
The sun has barely started to rise when she is woken by the Doctor kissing her shoulder as he splays his hand out on her stomach. She is still drowsy and a bit sore but she thinks she could easily become accustomed to waking like this every morning. They make love after she sleepily tells him this. She is less hesitant this time and so is he but it is still slow and gentle. Her Doctor is a quick learner it seems as he finds all the right spots that had her breathless and biting back moans the night before and draws out the same responses again.
Fortunately the Doctor does not seem any more inclined to get out of bed afterwards and Rose falls back asleep to the steady rhythm of his heart beat beneath her ear and the soothing feel of his fingers gently running through her hair.
When she wakes again though this time of her own volition, it is far later in the morning. The Doctor is already awake she realizes as the hand that rested on her shoulder begins to draw idle patterns across her skin. "Good morning," he murmurs against her temple before he presses a kiss there. This is more than she ever dared to hope for from a marriage. She had heard in hushed whispers from friends horrid tales of fumbling, awkward lovers or worse rough men who were only concerned with their own pleasure. She cannot imagine having to go through with the sort of life which had been expected of her until she'd met this amazing man.
"Good morning," she replies though she makes no attempt to actually rise from the bed. The light from the window is much brighter now and without thinking she shifts and curls closer to him, pressing her face into the crook of his neck to avoid the light. The Doctor chuckles a he takes her hand and kisses it.
"Planning to spend the whole day in bed?" he asks. Rose considers it for a moment and then nods. She knows even without looking that he is grinning. "Can't say that I object though I had intended to show you more of Edinburgh today."
That gets her attention. They have just gotten out of bed and into their dressing gowns when there is a knock at the door. The maid enters with a large trunk as well a smaller piece of luggage which she learns is generally all he takes with him. The far larger trunk is from her mother and Rose is grateful that she must be handling out better than expected. She supposes that is Jack's doing. The Doctor tells the maid that her assistance won't be necessary that morning. He helps her to dress instead. It takes far longer than usual, not because he does not know what he is doing but because they are easily sidetracked. Whatever Rose had expected from her eventual marriage, she had not once considered the possibility of such easy affection.
After a late breakfast, the Doctor as promised takes her to see the sights of Edinburgh. Rose does not even attempt to conceal her delight as she clings to his arm and takes it all in. He is the one who is thrilled when they arrive at the Observatory that now houses the telescope which he had helped Mr. MacLeish's father to build. It has been turned into a public attraction, doubling as an observatory as well as a museum of science and art. Science has never been a field of study in which she is overly interested but then she has never had much reason to be. When the Doctor grins, almost manically, as he all but drags her in (not because she is unwilling to go but because the way he suddenly comes alive and rushes about catches her by surprise). He takes her straight up to the observatory with a quick promise that they will explore the rest later. They are the only people up there, which Rose supposes is not surprising as Mr. MacLeish had said that they do not get many tourists this time of year. She is glad of the fact though as the Doctor steps up behind her and slips one arm around her waist to hold her against him as he begins to explain the complex display in front of them.
She supposes she is getting the simplified version of the explanation since if she focuses very carefully on his words (she isn't managing that very well with him standing so close and his voice rumbling near her ear) most of what he's saying seems to make sense. "You really helped Mr. MacLeish's father to build this?" she asks once he pauses in his explanation. She is certain that he could have talked for much longer if he wanted. She likes the way he treats her and talks to her far better than the way Mr. Mitchell had.
"Good with my hands, me," he replies easily as he briefly tightens his grip on her and causes her to blush rather furiously. She slips forward and out of his grasp under the pretenses of getting a closer look at the telescope. The Doctor stays where he was and starts into another brief explanation of the part she's closest to as though he'd never even paused but Rose notices he's smirking when she chances a glance back at him. They spend most of their afternoon in the museum and Rose is fairly certain that even if she has only retained a quarter of the things that he's taught her, it is probably more than she's ever learned of science before.
The Doctor seems startled when they finally leave the building and he realizes how late it has gotten. "Don't often lose track of time so easily," he confesses, sounding rather sheepish as they walk back to Torchwood Inn.
Rose beams up at him and squeezes his arm. "I don't mind. I liked listening to you," she tells him honestly.
"Not regretting runnin' off to Scotland with me instead of staying with Mr. Mitchell, then?" he teases but Rose feels the need to reassure him anyway.
"I wouldn't trade this life for anything."
He takes her by surprise and kisses her right there in the middle of the pavement, firmly but not overly scandalously. That doesn't stop the disapproving stares from passersby and tutting from a particularly dower looking older woman. They break apart rather quickly and dissolve into a fit of laughter as they walk the last block back to Torchwood Inn.
They have dinner with the MacLeishes again that evening. Rose spends most of the meal talking with Isobel. She is going to miss the MacLeishes quite a bit once they leave for their next destination. Just as she always has with love, Rose tends to throw herself wholeheartedly into friendships. That has always come easily to her and friends didn't disappoint the way that men did because they would always be there for her in London, even if she didn't always want to be part of the society parties. She supposes that is another thing she had just taken for granted. She supposes she is just going to have to make new friends wherever they go. She will miss her friends, the new and the old, but as long as the Doctor remains the constant in her life she will be more than content.