About halfway through this Nine's personality ended up morphing into Ten. (It's fun to have to go back and rewrite half an entire chapter! No, really! I recommend it! Totally not dripping with sarcasm right now.) But I think I cleaned it up alright.

At any rate, thank you so much favorite-ers, followers, and reviewers! I hope this story continues to please! Also, if anyone has any ideas feel free to leave them in a review or a message. It's surprisingly difficult to come up with domestic challenges for these two.

The Doctor wasn't sure he'd seen so many humans packed into one place—at least when there wasn't some form of celebration involved. The supermarket was busier than a Barcelonian trade centre, and it was noisy. Even as he tried to ignore the maddening elevator music playing over the speakers, beeps from the checkout lanes and chattering from other patrons were swarming like wasps in his ears.

Rose leaned against the trolley as they walked, reading the list her mother had scribbled for them and muttering to herself. The Doctor trudged alongside her. His shoulders were tense and his eyes were bored. He considered mentally listing all 4,972 elements on the Tchezkiah table to pass the time, but that wasn't nearly an enough challenge for his under-stimulated brain. It was too tight to think in this horrible place anyway. The aisles were narrow and confining and he half expected them to begin closing in on him at any moment. People pushed past them, bumping and brushing by with muttered excuses and apologies as they attempted to retrieve their items and continue on their way.

The Doctor barely evaded a rambunctious child darting through a gap in the sea of customers. Rose grabbed the Doctor by the arm and helped steady him as the small boy rushed by, and the Doctor saw her bite her lips to keep her amused smirk at bay.

"Fantastic," he growled and straightened himself. The Doctor watched the small ape hold a bag of sweets up to his mum pleadingly, only to have his hopes dashed with a negative shake of the woman's head. The child put the candies on the shelf and followed his mother dejectedly, though he perked up when she plopped a colorful looking box with a crazed rabbit illustrated on the face into the

cart. The Doctor shook his head.

Humans were such fickle creatures.

"Won't be too long," Rose promised him, grabbing a bag of crisps that most definitely was not on the list. The Doctor only hummed his response, his eyes locked on the golden-haired human.

She was the most fickle of all, he knew. He thought of Mickey—only briefly, as it was never a pleasant subject—and how Rose had gone through hell to save him only to drop him for some man she didn't even know with a goodbye kiss and no second glance. Even if that man was a superior being with a TARDIS, the Doctor could only imagine the blow the boy must have taken to his ego.

Afterwards, there had been Adam the genius, Rob from Saturn, and Kowwrcx'laptcm from New Detroit (which the Doctor admitted was just like Rose's present-day Detroit but with less aliens). He didn't remember the names of most of the others. Each boy—because they weren't men, the Doctor affirmed—was like a slap to his face. For a while, the Doctor wondered if he were only leading her around the universe so she could get dates.

"Oh, never mind the billions and trillions of planets out there," He had snapped after the sixth—or was it seventh?—invader. "When there are so many pretty boys, why should we waste time looking at sun glaciers?"

"I don't see what the big deal is!" Rose had spit right back, though her eyes had lit up at the mention of "sun glaciers". Her ferocity was always something the Doctor admired about her. Even with his hearts heavy as lead in his chest, he took time to analyze the different shades of red her cheeks turned as they argued and mentally measured the lines and creases that appears on her face when she scowled.

"I almost feel bad for the next one," He'd told her, keeping his voice nonchalant in the way he knew would just add fuel to her fire. "That last bloke looked close to tears, after all."

"Why do you even care? You're the one I come home to, aren't you?"

For some reason, the Doctor had taken more than what he was sure was the intended context. Her words made him—him!—speechless, or more accurately, just the one. He was the one she came home to.

Home.

Rose had watched him for a good hard moment after speaking, waiting for him to do or say something, but he had no idea what. Eventually she had simply stormed off to her room and left him there to ponder.

After the argument had come Satellite 5, the Daleks, and the Bad Wolf. It had all happened in a blur but he could remember flashes if he concentrated. A sinking feeling of acceptance as he watched his TARDIS disappear…the horror that gripped his hearts as it rematerialized…the longing at the thought of seeing her one last time. He remembered the glow of the time vortex surrounding his Rose (because at that moment, on the brink of death, he decided that she was—and always had been—his Rose). He remembered a kiss, a sweet catharsis that he had denied himself for far too long. He remembered his body breaking down, each painful eruption as his cells imploded on themselves and he prepared to become a new man.

There had been singing, as well. A song he knew from a time too old to ever be forgotten. The pain stopped, the change stopped. One final burst of the Bad Wolf's power gifting him with life and returning his Rose to her previous, and wonderfully human, state.

There had been no more pretty boys after that. Instead, the two of them made every effort to make up for lost time, as though they didn't have all the time in the world at their fingertips.

"Rose Tyler to the Doctor! Do you read me, Doctor?" Rose called with a cheeky smile. The Doctor blinked several times before focusing on her.

"What was that?"

"You were staring," she accused, but the smile never left her lips. The Doctor huffed and rolled his shoulders indignantly, as though it made him stand straighter and taller.

"I was not. I was thinking." It was a solid defense, he thought, but the knowing spark in Rose's hazel eyes called him out. "Not about you! The world doesn't revolve around you."

"No. If I'm remembering right, you told me it revolves around you." Rose grinned and bumped her hip playfully against the Doctor's.

"You actually eat this?" The Doctor asked, snatching a package of cereal from the trolley and masterfully changing the subject. "Most of these ingredients could kill a full-grown Krocofranticalian!"

Rose arched a brow at him, his maneuver not as smooth as he would have liked, but she took the bait at the mention of an alien. Sometimes she made it much too easy.

"Well, it's a good thing we're not Crocofanny…Croco…"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and helped her sound the word out.

"Krah-koh-fran-tee-cay-liahn."

"Krocofranticalian," Rose repeated proudly. She grinned up at the Doctor and lightly bumped her hip against his when she saw him smile. "So where're they from? Some moon out in the middle of the Aries system?"

"Last I saw one was in India, actually," The Doctor replied casually before he grinned down at her. "But you were close, Atrium Theta cluster, well done!"

"I learned from the best."

They weren't moving anymore, the Doctor noticed. He and Rose stood in a line of humans at the checkout and a wave of relief washed through him at the thought of leaving the smaller-on-the-inside supermarket.

Rose's hand slipped into his, intertwining their fingers as though it were the most natural thing in the world, and she eyed the candy rack greedily. The Doctor didn't bother to hide his amused smirk as Rose grabbed a few candy bars and tossed them in with the rest of their shopping.

"Mum's paying." She justified.

"Well in that case, better take the entire shelf's worth!"

Rose laughed lightly and the two of them began emptying their trolley onto the conveyor belt. Rose handed him a carton of eggs and gasped.

"I forgot something, I'll be right back." Rose pulled away from the Doctor and hurried off into the throng of other shoppers.

"Forgot something? But…!" The Doctor called after her, but she had already disappeared down an aisle. He hoped she would return quickly as he didn't fancy the idea of having to deal with the cashier. Making "small talk" and dealing with filthy ape money was not on his "Things to do before I die—again" list.

An older woman sidled up behind him, pushing her cart with shaking hands and wobbling legs. Her thin white hair was curled in tight ringlets at the top of her head. Her clothes looked as though they belonged draped over a window to keep the sun out. She gave him a hard stare behind her coke-bottle glasses, or maybe she was just squinting like that because he couldn't see well in her old age. Humans were so fragile.

The Doctor gave her an awkward smile, unable to think of anything else to do when an elderly ape was staring at him. Unfortunately, the woman took his attempted propriety as an invitation.

"You look just like my Gregory." She mused in a gravelly voice that only age could bring. The Doctor's eyes darted from side to side before resting on the woman again.

"Thank you?"

"He's such a nice lad, always there when I need help around the house. He's very handy with a screwdriver."

"So am I." The Doctor replied smugly, but he still searched for Rose with anxious eyes. The cashier began to scan Rose's shopping and the Doctor tensed. What exactly was he meant to do now?

"He's getting married this winter. Such a sweet, pretty, little thing."

The Doctor gave the woman a tense smile, hummed in mock interest and turned. He pushed the trolley forward and decided to watch the cashier ring him up. It was a young man, a teenager. His shaggy auburn hair was in his eyes and the Doctor briefly wondered if the boy could even see under that mop.

At least he wasn't trying to talk to him. The woman, on the other hand, continued to ramble on. The Doctor watched the conveyor belt inch forward and fingered the sonic screwdriver in his coat pocket.

Just need it to move a bit faster.

"I'm back!" Rose announced and placed one final item on the belt. "I forgot the most important thing."

"Don't ever leave me along like that again," The Doctor sighed but flashed Rose a relieved grin, removing his hand from his pocket. He glanced at Rose's cargo and his eyes lit up instantly. "Oh! Bananas!"

Rose giggled and linked her arm in his, questioning his fascination with the fruit. The Doctor seemed shocked that she would ask and promptly began to lecture her on all the wonders and benefits of potassium as their purchases were bagged and relinquished for the couple to carry on the walk home.

Rose reluctantly pulled her arm from the Doctor's and they each took two filled bags in their arms. The Doctor's attitude had brightened considerably since this morning; the tender moment they'd shared had been quickly dampened by the awakening of Rose's mother. It was good to see him smiling again.

They walked down the sidewalk, their conversation jumping from recollections of past adventures to where they would be headed next, and back again. It wasn't until they walked by the stationary police box that their voices died down and a cloud of melancholy smothered them in an unwanted embrace.

"Too bad we couldn't have landed in Cardiff. The rift energy there would've had us on our way." The Doctor tried the door but it wouldn't budge. "Oh well!" He tried to keep his tone light, but Rose saw the Doctor's lips tighten into a thin line.

She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, watching the TARDIS as though it might give a whir and open its doors for them. She had no such luck.

"Come on, let's head up."

The Doctor reluctantly followed Rose back up to the flat, sparing one lingering look for his beloved time machine.

Rose stared up at her ceiling and sighed. She didn't know how long she had been lying in bed, but sleep refused to come to her. Her stomach was twisted in knots and she rubbed the heel of her hands against her eyes. The day had been pleasant enough when it was just her and the Doctor, but as soon as they had returned to the flat with the shopping all Hell had broken loose.

Jackie had a remark for anything and everything the Doctor said. It had been fairly obvious that he chose to keep conversation to a minimum in the woman's presence. But if he wasn't speaking Jackie claimed he wasn't thankful for her hospitality, and if he was speaking he was putting on airs or talking down to her.

Rose loved her mum, but even she had to admit that Jackie was just trying to push the Doctor's buttons. Rose knew Jackie was uncomfortable with the thought of her daughter alone with a man that looked old enough to be her father. She knew Jackie was reacting in the only way she knew how. But she didn't understand—she couldn't understand—and so she was frightened.

Rose thought the Doctor must understand as well, as he had managed to bite his tongue against most of Jackie's scathing comments. She was proud of him, but she regretted that he had to be stuck in such an uncomfortable position.

With a shake of her head, Rose pushed herself out of bed. She clicked the light on and blinked at the sudden assault on her corneas. She opened her door as quietly as she could with the squeaky hinges and gently padded out to the living room.

The Doctor had forsaken the sofa. Instead, he lay on the floor with a pillow under his head and the blanket from last night across his waist. He glanced her way when she entered and gave her a soft wave of his fingers before closing his eyes.

Rose frowned and knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, you," she whispered. The Doctor opened his eyes and cocked an eyebrow.

"Where to?"

"The last thing we need is a Time Lord with an aching back. If the Slitheen try to invade again, the Earth would be doomed."

The Doctor exhaled a short laugh.

"I don't suppose they could hold off until I left the chiropractor?"

"No such luck, I'm afraid."

The Doctor groaned lightly and got to his feet, pulling the blanket and the pillow with him.

"Alright, Rose Tyler. Lead the way."

Rose took the pillow and blanket from him and set them on the sofa before she took his hand and led him back to her bedroom. Their relationship had long since rose a level above friendship. Hand holding, embraces, and all-too-brief kisses were regular occurrences in their lives, but they still retained separate bedrooms on the TARDIS and that didn't seem to be changing anytime soon. But the Doctor took her invitation in stride, as she knew he would, and followed her obediently.

"Very…pink." The Doctor noted with a smirk.

"Don't make me banish you back to the living room." Rose warned and climbed back into her bed. The Doctor took a step forward, but hesitated. It wasn't until Rose stared at him expectantly and smiled softly that he stripped off his jacket and joined her on the plush mattress.

The Doctor sighed in relief as Rose switched off her lamp. His muscles relaxed and he knew the ache would be gone come morning. Rose deliberated for a moment before resting her arm across the man's stomach.

She felt like a naughty teenager, sneaking her boyfriend in through the window after her mother was asleep. And while she really did have nothing but a good night's rest—for the both of them—on her mind, the idea of having the Doctor sleeping in the same bed with her sent a thrill through her veins.

The Doctor's thoughts were perhaps somewhere on the same wavelength. His arm snaked between her waist and the bed and pulled her closer, enough so he could dip his nose to her soft hair. His other arm rested over hers along his stomach and he was asleep in an instant.

Rose smiled gently and closed her eyes. As much as she longed to be back on the TARDIS, she admitted to herself that she was slightly glad the old girl had broken down. She never would have gotten the nerve to do this if it hadn't. For the first time, Rose wished that the sun would never rise. On the other hand, the sun couldn't rise soon enough. This pit-stop was all sorts of inconvenient.

But at least there weren't any aliens trying to kill them, this time.