Rose woke up that morning feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and...

...was that a bowtie on her floor?!

She blinked in horror as her vision cleared.

No.

Thank Rassilon. It was just a slipper. It looked like her conversation with Amy the night before would come back to haunt her today (and for a much longer time). She rolled out of bed and landed with a thud on the floor. She grabbed her sonic off the nightstand (just like someone would instinctively put on his or her glasses), pulled herself to her feet, and trudged to her closet.

She bit her lip. Okay, she obviously didn't want to wear a dress. Skinny jeans were too restrictive. Sweatpants were a big no. She finally decided on a pair of shorts and a pullover. She stuck her sonic in her pocket (thank Gallifrey for bigger-on-the-inside technology) then headed out the door.

A banquet was already set out for the group. The TARDIS trio was obviously used to waking up late; the only ones sitting in the dining room were Amelie and Takeshi. As usual, they'd both taken large portions of everything and were heartily chowing down.

Rose grabbed some tea and a plate of eggs, and with a quick grin at her friends, she headed into the control room.

"Morning, sweetheart," she said as she hovered her hand over a sphere on the control board. "Now, let's see where we are... hm. Not as far from home as I'd imagined. Europa. Who are the inhabitants, Red?"

Red hummed a little in Rose's mind, and she grinned. "So basically merpeople?"

The hum this time was more painful and reprimanding. "Urgh," Rose grimaced. "Sorry. Didn't mean any offense to them."

This time, the hum was gentler, and Rose bobbed her head as she had a conversation with Red to find the information she needed. "Okay. Generally friendly. Europans, hm? Well, they're good-looking aliens. Check out those fins! Maybe Amelie, Takeshi, and I could go pay a visit, yeah?"

She tapped her foot and sipped her tea. The view outside was nice. "Hey, Red?"

Warbling came in response.

"Could you do a quick survey of the terrain?" Rose waited patiently. "Nice. I mean, I knew about the ice and the water, but I just needed to know it was safe."

Rose could almost feel Red's figurative eyes rolling. Before she could retort to her ship, though, a yelp from the doorway made her turn around and cock an eyebrow at Amy's husband.

"Sorry! It's just that I was, erm, looking for the Doctor. He's usually in the control room, but he wasn't today, so I came in here and, uh, well, I mean, he's obviously not here... right?"

"Um... no. No, sorry," Rose said, trying not to laugh at the man's awkwardness. What did the Doctor say his name was? Rory? Well, it was easy for Rose to see who was in charge in Amy and Rory's relationship. She wondered how Rory handled Amy's boldness; Rose could hardly handle her companions'.

"Yeah. Okay. Amy's going to kill me," Rory said as he threw his hands up in exasperation then turned to leave.

"Amy?" Rose lifted her feet off the control board and withdrew from her reclining position, resting her elbows on her knees. "Why Amy?"

"Amy sent me to talk to the Doctor."

"About what?"

Rory's gaze flitted away and he rested his hand on the door's frame. "Is this cherry?"

"Rory."

"It's really nice."

"Rory!"

"Okay! She sent me to talk about... things."

Rose lifted eyebrows.

"You know, the whole... shebang? The delicate facts of life? The birds and the—"

Rose groaned and dug her palms into her eyes. "No!"

"Sorry! It's just that she was talking to me last night about that and sometimes she doesn't know a thing about personal space—"

Rose cut him off with a hand, the other one rubbing her temples. She groaned again. "Believe me, I've definitely thought about it."

Rory turned to her, completely attentive now (and a little disbelieving). "Wait, are you serious?"

"Of course, and I know he has, too. Please, just don't talk to him about it. It's not going to happen anytime soon, and this is the first time I've seen the Doctor in forever. I don't want things to be awkward between us. Please, Rory?"

"...Okay, I guess, but Amy—"

"Please, Rory?"

Rory sighed. "Alright. But if she comes after me, I'm blaming you!"

"Right," Rose said over her shoulder, amused. She'd turned around and was tapping on some buttons on the control panel. "Wait, how'd you get in here? Do you have a key?"

"No, Amelie let me in," Rory said choppily, almost like he wasn't even sure how he got in.

"Amelie?" Rose raised an eyebrow. "You just knocked, and she just let you in?"

"Well, um, she gave me a really evil glare, and threatened to smack me with a piece of bacon, but yeah, she let me in."

"Ah," Rose said. "Alright. I'd think she'd be brainwashed or something if she just let you in."

"Your companions," Rory said quickly. "They're not very trusting of others?"

"Nope," Rose said, popping the 'p' sound.

"Right, right. Well, I mean, I see why they're with you, then. Amy's not that trusting, either, so she's kinda like your friends."

"She trusted the Doctor right off, yeah?"

"Yes, maybe, but she was sorta... I don't know... young? What I'm trying to say is that I understand why Amy likes you and the Doctor together so much. Because not only are you the first girl he's really shown interest in since we've known him, but 'cause she trusts you, too. Like the Doctor. Your friends tased her, and she normally wouldn't be that forgiving. She trusts you because she trusts him. She's kinda protective of the Doctor."

Rose smirked. "Obviously. Who isn't protective of the Doctor? That man's a trouble-magnet."

"I can agree with that," Rory said, laughing a little. "You should see the way he gets us around. Once he promised Amy and me Rio, and we ended up in Wales. Then I got shot. Wait, bad subject, sorry."

Rose bit her lip in an attempt to keep from giggling. "You got shot? Nice to see the Doctor managed to stitch you up before any real damage could be done."

"No, I was killed."

Rose stared.

"But I was brought back to life as a Roman. Then I waited 2,000 years. I was in a museum, you know. The, uh, the Last Centurion?"

Rose's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh! You're the Last Centurion! That's the coolest. I watched a video on you."

"Yeah. Wait, how? The Doctor rebooted the universe."

"I know, Red filled me in on that. But up until oh, forty, fifty years ago, I was living in a parallel universe. I just managed to steal some Torchwood gear to hop back to this one."

"Okay..." Rory said, not really looking like he was following.

"Oi, stupid-face!" Amy's Scottish lilt breezed in from outside. "What's taking you so long?"

"Sorry! I'm in here!" Rory said. "I really need to go. She catches me not talking to Doctor..." he trailed off. "Alright then, it was nice meeting you—"

"Rory Pond!"

"Coming!"

With that, Rory ran out the door.

"So," Amelie said, taking Rory's place. Rose turned. "You realize the only reason I let in Mr. Pond is because I knew he'd be talking to you about," here, she mimicked his voice to a tee. "You know, the whole... shebang? The delicate facts of life? The birds and the bees?"

Rose shot a glare at her Amelie, and soon enough, Takeshi was standing in the doorway.

These two were joined at the hip. Rose had a bet with Red on how long it would be before they would start dating and become the most dysfunctional couple in the universe. She looked at them; Amelie was reclining casually against the door, Takeshi's hands were stuffed in his pockets.

"I know," Rose said, snapping from her reverie. "Seems like everyone's been talking to me about that lately."

Amelie scowled. "It's kinda weird, though. He looks like..."

"A professor?" Takeshi offered. "A ringmaster for a circus?"

"Nah. Just a plain old weirdo," Amelie finished.

Rose laughed lightly. "That's because he is a weirdo."

"Rose!" In the distance, the trio in the control room heard Red's door being slammed open. "Rose!" A few seconds later, the Doctor burst in, wearing a goofy grin as he grasped the door frame (nearly pushing Amelie and Takeshi out of the way). Rose stood in greeting.

"I've found out the planet! It's—"

"Europa?"

"Yes! And guess what?"

"What?"

"Look, the inhabitants, the Europans, are having an issue with their water."

"But... they live in water."

"My point exactly! Something's poisoning the water. So, what do you say? It can be our first adventure together again," the Doctor said, hope lighting his eyes. Rose sighed dramatically.

"Alright, alright."

"It'll be underwater," the Doctor called, running out the door. "So bring your things! Amy! Rory!"

Takeshi turned to Rose. "Er, Rose, in case you hadn't noticed, this place is covered in ice."

"So?"

"I know that Red can help us with our breathing and things, but ice? Can we stand this temperature?"

"Probably," Rose said. "She'll protect us. And if, for some reason, she can't, then we've always got the TARDIS."

"Are you sure?"

"It's an adventure with the Doctor. I'm absolutely positive."

I've updated. Finally. For those of you following TMWAB and TMOCR, I should have those updated. I'll tell you, though, Madman is closer than Catarina Roux, so expect that one to be updated first. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and sorry things are moving so slowly. Once again, a promise to get things rolling more quickly.

Review, please!