taxonomites | twelve | location: streets of taxon |

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twelve | location: streets of taxon |

The Doctor has to start working eventually. And while nobody hates the idea of working quite like the Doctor hates working, he hates the idea of being back in prison even more than that.

So, behold the Doctor, carrying things from a replication unit to the square where he's working on his next project. At present, the things he's creating are three-foot pieces of metal. He's spitting out a few at a time, and then moving them to a large pile where he has more already stacked up.

There's also a series of papers he's had made up sitting not far off from the stacks of sheet metal. They read: MISSING: ONE SONIC SCREWDRIVER. HONESTLY, NOW, STEALING ISN'T RIGHT AT ALL, IS IT?

Oh, he's also got a plate of pink-frosted cupcakes. A Time Lord's gotta eat, y'all.

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"Oy alright then, I take it back," Rose laughs. "Lazy and self-satisfied. Describes you to a tee. Don't know what I was thinkin'. Guess I went a bit mad in our time apart."

And though she says it teasingly, it's entirely true as well.

"Mhmm," the Doctor agrees with her. "I think you have. Now! I've got some more sheet metal here to stack up. Think you can count off the smaller sheets there? Make sure I've got the right amount?"

"I think I can manage that," Rose says as she moves over to the stack of smaller sheets. She sits down on the ground, crossing her legs and shuffles some of it around. "How much you need here?"

"Hundred fifty," he says, tossing a larger piece onto the other pile. "And then seven thousand of the slightly smaller."

"At least you plan on having me 'round a while today," Rose smirks as she starts counting. It's a few minutes before she speaks again.

"You haven't asked 'bout that locket you wanted me to pinch from Morgana."

Granted things have been a bit charged since he was released so she hadn't thought much of it but now they're settling into normalcy.

"Locket?" the Doctor asks, looking over at her. "What locke---oh, that locket! Right, right. Didn't find it, did you?"

He really needs to keep his lies in order.

Rose fixes him with a look that says she's suspicious. "How'd you know?"

Or stop telling them to her.

"Well, I suspected she might've moved it elsewhere after our last---conversation," he tries, weakly.

He's going to end up in the very very side of trouble at this rate.

Rose stops with her counting, fixing her full glare on the Doctor. "But you didn't see the need to tell me?" There's a pause. Rose is trusting but she's also clever. It's the lack of conviction in his statement that gives him away. "You didn't want me in the court room when they sentenced you. Did you? Thought I couldn't handle it? I'd go mad, that's it?"

Might want to add a very.

The Doctor doesn't respond for a long moment. He tosses another piece of sheet metal onto the pile and stops to take a breath and consider his options. He could stick with the lie, but he doubts he could hold onto it much longer. He's not even entirely sure what he said about the locket, much less what he said it might've done.

"I didn't know what they were going to decide," he says, finally. "I didn't want you to do something stupid and get hurt."

For a minute she's breathless at his admittance of the lie. It doesn't take her long to recover, getting to her feet so she can talk to him properly instead of looking up at him from the ground.

"Doctor, we traveled together for two years. Seen all sorts of horrors and exciting things. In all that time did I ever give you the impression that I couldn't handle that sort of thing? Maybe I'm overestimating myself but I think I've done pretty well at dealin' with the sorts of things you throw my way. Rolled with 'em even. Never thought people ever said 'Oh Rose Tyler, she's a bit of a fragile thing'. That wasn't fair of you. It wasn't right and it's insulting to me that you don't think I could handle your sentencing."

She crosses her arms over her chest and taps her foot. He's entered very very territory now.

The Doctor turns to her, suddenly angry. "And if they were going to kill me, Rose? What would you do, then? Someone suggested torture on the punishment panel. What if that was in the cards for me? Would you just sit back and let it happen?"

She swallows hard, gone completely silent because he has a point. It's several seconds before she speaks again. When she does it's quiet, a little broken around the edges. "No. They would have had to kill me too."

A deep breath because she has a point to argue here. Even if he's right about this part of it. "But that should have been my choice, Doctor. Not yours. I should have been allowed to be there for you so you wouldn't--you don't have to face anything alone. Not ever. Not as long as I'm here."

"And if they killed me, Rose, then I'd regenerate," he says, sadly. The end is coming for this life, he knows it, but he'll cling to it as long as he can. "And you'd still be dead. So, in the end, I've made sure that you did what you wanted to. Kept me from being alone."

She hates that he's right and it shows in her face. She's not entirely sure he's telling the truth though. She's only seen the one regeneration.

"Even without the TARDIS. You'd regenerate?"

It's important knowledge to know and it keeps her from having to say he's right. For the moment.

He's not sure. He's actually almost certain he wouldn't, but he keeps his expression calm and schooled.

"Of course I would."

"Then why didn't you tell me that the night before. You let me get so upset," Rose answers. This may or may not be her questioning him. "Thought the regeneration was something in the particles that lived inside the TARDIS. All that gold vapor."

"Rose, I'm---"

He looks down, and then back up at her. How can he comfort her if he knows that it'll all just be one big lie? He is going to die, and it is going to be soon.

"I'm sorry."

She takes a deep breath. This is why they don't row much. She can't stay mad at him and it's worse now than when she was traveling with him. He's so broken and that's so very obvious to anyone that looks below the surface. She shakes her head and steps close to him, her arms going around him and hugging him tight.

When in doubt, always hug the Doctor.

He'll take that hug and return it with gusto. Really, though, sometimes just a hug can improve the whole world.

In his future lives, he hopes he likes hugging as much as he does in this one.

"And thanks," he says. "For going off and doing that. Even though it wasn't necessary."

Rose hopes he does as well. Hugging is good for him. For everyone really.

She tilts her head back to answer him so that she can look at him but she doesn't stop hugging him. "You know if you'd regenerated I would have walloped you once you'd felt better. I like this incarnation of you. You've got fantastic hair."

And that reminds her. "Got some scans of a book Morgana was writing in. She has a thing or two to say about you and me. Apparently you've entranced me."

"Really?" The Doctor isn't even going to pretend. He's utterly fascinated with whatever Morgana has to say about him. He's not entirely sure why Morgana's opinion of him matters, but, really, it does. Maybe he should start taking notes on her.

"Can I see?" he asks.

She nods, moving out of the hug but still standing close enough that her shoulder touches his arm. She flips through her tablet, taking a moment to find the proper scans. Once she's got them she leafs through to the ones about the Doctor then hands the tablet over to him.

"There's that one and one more. She's also got some interesting notes about dreams she's been having."

The Doctor slips on his glasses and looks at the scans, then over to Rose. "Did you scan her diary? Rose, you sneaky thing, you."

That's not going to stop him from reading, of course.

"Let me guess, she's been seeing things that haven't happened yet," he says.

"It was sitting out!" she defends. Oh it's not much of a defense. "Besides not like I had a choice since I'm entranced by you." Oh yes that's teasing.

"Seems like. Bit psychic? Explains how she knew where you were that day."

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