Disclaimer: The BBC owns all and I'm just playing with their toys a little.

She could clearly remember the first time she was truly glad of the Doctor's change.

They were in a grubby little pub on some grubby little outpost in some grubby little solar system. The chips were tolerable, the ale less so. But it served its purpose and most of the locals were thoroughly pissed.

One poor fellow tripped over his own tentacles and went down hard. Rose jumped up to help him to his feet, dust him off and pat him where she thought a shoulder ought to be. She was in no way prepared for the sudden uproar from the onlookers, nor the way the creature's tentacles suddenly wrapped around her. The barkeep was handing out drinks as fast as it could pour and she was surrounded by aliens offering congratulations.

The old Doctor would have been in there with screwdriver sonic-ing or possibly fists flying the moment she'd been entangled. A very unpleasant scene would have followed, possibly escalating to an incident involving the area authorities.

The new Doctor didn't do that. He smiled and ambled over to shake a random tentacle, while leaning over to whisper in her ear, "Seems that you showed a bit too much concern there. The fellow is claiming you as a sort of concubine."

Rose swore under her breath as the Doctor turned to the crowd. "Yes, yes, I know what a sweet girl Rose Tyler can be. That's because I arrived with her. I am sorry, dear fellow, but I put forth prior claim according to chapter eight, verse forty-six of your Novocobracium."

That got their attention. The drunken alien let Rose go and waddled over to a table. He chose a native card game as the ritual contest to decide who got to keep Rose. The Doctor proceeded to cheat beautifully and beat him by only a slim margin, for appearances' sake. They exited the pub, leaving a cheering crowd and an only-mildly disappointed paramour in their wake.

Rose snuggled up to the Doctor as they walked back to the TARDIS in the chilly night air and not only did he let her, but he wrapped her in his coat with one arm.

Still her Doctor, but absolutely a new man.

Author's Note: Reviews are nice. Reviews that Brit-pick and help me improve in that area are extra nice.