Rose hadn't thought it was a particularly good idea to go punting.

She'd thought, quite rightly, that Jack would fall into the Cam, giving him an ideal excuse strip down to his boxers, the Doctor would be jealous and complain about the maximum speed of a wooden boat, and that she'd get grumpy at both of them, and end up being thrown in head first.

She hadn't bargained on all of it happening within the first ten minutes.

She surfaced from Cambridge's only river's dark and murky depths swearing like an intergalactic sailor, and swam back over, bobbing in the water.

"You're both," she ducked under again, "complete bastards!". She kicked and screamed as something slimy tugged at her foot.

"That better not be a bloody eel!"

The Doctor and Jack were trying and failing not to laugh, and Rose was furious that neither of them were trying to get her back onto the punt again. Jack dug the pole into the bottom of the river, and leant against it, near apoplectic with laughter.

"It's not funny! I'm bloody freezing!"

"No, no…I'm sorry, Rose. It's not funny at all," said the Doctor, wiping his eyes, and holding out his hands. She seemed very reluctant to take them, despite all the kicking she was having to do to keep her head above water.

"Come on then. What are you waiting for?"

She managed to glare while treading water, and Jack stopped giggling enough to say, "She's wearing a white shirt!"

The Doctor grinned, grabbed for her hands, and before Rose could do anything, pulled her out of the water.

"So she is. A very nice one it is too."

"Doctor!" she squealed, unable to even cross her arms while he was holding her hands, and kicking her legs. He beamed, while Jack, still chuckling, unstuck the pole and pushed them off again.

She sat with her mouth opening and closing, feigning complete outrage at his and Jack's obvious appreciation, stolidly ignoring a little voice at the back of her mind saying 'the Doctor wanted to see you in a wet white shirt'.

To hide her confusion, she hugged her knees to her chest and muttered, "I knew this was a bad idea…"

The Doctor shucked off his jacket and handed it to her, and she took it gratefully, still shivering from the cold. She wondered how Jack was managing to punt in what was essentially the nude, without freezing to death.

She wrapped the jacket more firmly around herself, enjoying the heat from the Doctor. He'd finally stopped laughing, and was staring out into the trees around them, trailing his hand in the water. Rose gulped as she realised he'd taken off his shoes. He had very nice feet. Very big feet.

There was something undeniably sexy about those jumpers. On anyone else they would have looked dated and possibly cheap, but because it was him…

He leant back and closed his eyes and exhaled. She shivered at the sound, and he sleepily opened an eye.

"I'd take your t-shirt off if you're cold, Rose."

"What?" she squeaked.

"It holds water. Take it off."

She checked to see if Jack was watching, but he was concentrating on steering for once, and so she managed to wriggle out of it underneath the coat.

"This is ridiculous…" she murmured. "I look like some kind of space prostitute…" , she said, gesturing to her soaked red jeans.

She turned as Jack laughed. "Oh Rose, have you ever even met a space prostitute?"

"Well no….i'm assuming you have?"

He took on a dreamy look, "Pleasure Planet 295…" he said wistfully, "Blondes or brunettes Doctor? There were some gorgeous redheads as well…"

The Doctor snorted, but kept his eyes closed and his hand in the Cam. "I haven't had a holiday for well over four hundred years Jack, and trust me, if I did, I wouldn't spend it in the Piedder Nebular."

"Sure. Blondes it is then."

Rose grinned, feeling pleased with herself, as the Doctor ignored the comment and moved to make himself more comfortable.

"Bridge Hopping!" Jack suddenly shouted, gesturing to a bridge coming up ahead.

The Doctor looked up, grinning, and Rose looked confused.

"He's going to jump off the punt and onto the bridge, climb over, and hop off it the other side, hopefully landing back on the boat, " he said, helpfully.

Rose laughed, "You'll be lucky!"

The Doctor stood to take control of the pole, and Jack ran to the end, brushing past and eyeing her up in the process. She pretended not to notice, but the Doctor coughed pointedly.

"Are you ready?" he asked, pointing to the upcoming bridge. Rose swallowed, as she saw he was standing on the edge of boat, feet braced and apart, trousers rolled up to his knees and with a wooden pole in his hands. She'd always found his maroon jumper particularly…huggable.

She stopped checking him out as Jack launched himself off the punt and onto the low bridge. He pulled himself up over it, and completely failed to notice a bike coming in the other direction. A young slightly bookish looking man with brown hair collided with him and managed to end up in Jack's arms.

They heard a 'Ooof, sorry about that!' then a pause, and then 'Hello there, I'm Captain Jack Harkness'. Rose swivelled to see him flashing his cheesy grin, and laughed as he leant over the bridge.

"Catch you guys up, ok? See ya later!"

The Doctor and Rose laughed as the punt drifted away.

"He's only wearing shorts!" said Rose, giggling madly.

"I know. God knows what that poor blokes going to make of him, we're in the

1960's " said the Doctor, chuckling.

Rose lay back as the light started to fade. It would be dark soon.

"What time do we have to be back?"

"Nine thirty…" he glanced at his watch, "we've only got an hour. You should punt, you haven't had a go yet."

"Might have been because you and Jack were so damn insistent that I got wet, " she fingered her hair, which was rapidly curling, "look at this. It'll take me hour to comb out. "

"S'pretty though." She turned, unsure if she'd heard it or not, but he refused to meet her eyes. She sighed, stood, and shoved him out of the way. He grinned at her, and sat and leant back, watching her take control of the boat.

"Push off and then use it as a rudder, Rose. Push it in the opposite direction that you want the punt to go. All there is too it really."

She concentrated, and managed to pick it up quite quickly. As she turned a particularly tight corner, however, the jacket slipped off, leaving her in nothing but a red pair of jeans and a black bra, and she yelled, unable to let go of the pole, and so leaving her completely uncovered.

The Doctor automatically grabbed for the jacket, and then looked up, open mouthed as Rose continued to punt.

She suddenly decided not to stop, realising that he'd seen it all anyway, and kept her eyes resolutely on the trees in front of her.

"Rose…"

She didn't look down, but she heard his breathing increase in tempo and pitch.

"Rose…"

This time she did look at him, and she almost dropped the pole as she took in his eyes. Christ, she thought, and before she could help herself, they're bluer than the sky, and she almost dropped the pole in embarrassment at being such a sap.

"Rose!"

"What?" she answered, and was mortified to hear that her voice had turned breathy and dry.

"Park."

She carefully steered them to the bank, and he moored them, quickly tying up.

Then she half stepped, half fell into his arms, and he kissed her.

It was as simple as that. All the waiting, and hoping and hinting over six months drew to a close in seconds. She'd never quite understood how in the moment he was, how spontaneous; there had been no planning, no thought to the event which she would in future realise to be one of the most important in her whole life.

And she loved that.

She'd always thought that his lips looked chapped and sometimes sore, but they were as soft as cream. His skin was smooth as well, and cool although she'd thought as much, because of the temperature of his hands.

"You taste sweet." He murmured.

"Candy floss from earlier," she whispered, and claimed his mouth again.

It was more than a kiss though. She realised that at once. She could sense the power of his personality, his intelligence when his hands touched her firmly, but the gentleness of his tongue reminded her of his vulnerability.

Just as she was deepening the kiss, and his tongue was moving slowly to the back of her mouth, a flashlight shone down on them, and they squinted upwards.

An overweight policeman stood peering down, and they both froze.

"If you'd get dressed Miss, I'm afraid both of you are going to have to come with me."

The Doctor started to shake, and Rose realised he was laughing.

" Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic!"

He tossed her his jacket, and pulled her to her feet, Rose grinning despite her embarrassment; his enthusiasm was infectious.

He bent and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, and the policeman made a slightly incredulous noise.

"Shall we go and get Jack?"

"Sure," she said, grinning.

He grabbed her hand, pulled her from the punt, and they ran together into the night, chased by an irate policeman.