Disclaimer: Warning, this chapter is filled with complete and shameless fluff. I hope you enjoy it! I own nothing, unfortunately.

Rose had the entire apartment to herself for the morning. Amy had spent the night at Rory's, Clara was watching her children, and Martha had picked up an early shift for the day.

And Rose had a date – no, not a date – in four hours. There was no way she was going to make it until then if she didn't find some way to distract herself. So she decided to do something she'd been dying to do ever since classes started: clean.

She had the music blaring as she dusted every surface and mopped all the tiles. Right now she was vacuuming, bouncing around as she danced to the loud beat.

Sun is shinin' in the sky,

There ain't a cloud in sight,

It's stopped rainin',

Everybody's in the play,

And don't you know,

It's a beautiful new day, hey-ay-ay.

"ROSE!"

She jumped from the sound of her name being screamed, letting go of the vacuum and letting it fall to the ground as she spun around to the doorway. Donna stood partially in, using her foot to hold open the door. Rose bent down to turn off the vacuum and then skipped over to the stereo to turn the music down.

"Good morning, Donna," Rose greeted with a smile.

Donna smiled back, "Morning, Rose. I just came over to ask you to please turn down the music; you've gotten some complaints from your neighbors. Apparently most of them aren't used to being woken up before noon on a Saturday."

"Oh," Rose realized, "My bad." She shuffled across the living room to sit up the vacuum and move it out of the way before she turned back to Donna and gestured for her to come inside. "Come on in. I've just been doing a spot of cleaning. The flat gets so overlooked once the semester starts and everyone's runnin' around with like chickens – what, what are you looking at me like that for?"

Donna, who had been sitting at the dining room table with her hand propping up her head and a smile on her face, dropped her mouth and shook her head. "I'm not looking at you any way."

"Yes you are," Rose said suspiciously as she moved over to sit across from her.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm –"

"He told you, didn't he?" Rose asked.

Donna tried to give her best confused, innocent look. Tried. "Told me – who, uh, what?"

"Go on. What all did he say? Did he tell you about yesterday?"

Her eyes widened. "What happened yesterday?" she asked, leaning in closer with a smile.

Rose ran her hand through her hair. "So, he told you about what happened in your flat then?"

"Don't be too cross with him. I saw how upset you were when you left and I got suspicious. I thought something bad happened – so I confronted him."

"Oh, Donna. Nothing like that happen –"

"I know," she said, raising her hand and smiling. "He told me. But I had to make sure since you weren't saying anything."

Rose dropped her head a little. "I'm sorry. I haven't really told anyone – except Clara. But she knows as much as you do."

Donna crossed her arms, raising her brow. "And what exactly don't I know? Go on, spill the gossip."

Rose chuckled at her friend's excitement. She could feel her cheeks begin to blush as she leaned forward, "Alright. Well, it started with him helping me with physics. You know how much trouble I've been having in that class. And then afterwards, we started talking. He told me that Chris was his cousin. Did you know that?"

With a slow nod, Donna answered. "I did."

"Then… we started kissing."

"Oooo, gettin' all hot and heavy?" Donna asked facetiously, shimmying in her seat. Rose began to giggle and blush, covering her face. "So what does this mean?"

Rose dropped her hand, tilting her head as she shrugged. "I don't know what it means. We're just friends," Donna rose her brow, "honestly. We're even going to the museum today after he's finished with his rehearsal – which, by the way, why aren't you there?"

"He and a few of the other guys are working on their parts," Donna replied quickly. "Don't think you're going to change the conversation. So, you're going to the museum, hmm?"

"It's not a date," Rose said defensively, pointing her finger.

Donna shrugged, "Sounds like a date."

"Well, it's not."

She chuckled, holding up her hands in a surrender. "Fine, fine. I'll tell you what I told him. Just, be careful, sweetheart. You're a bit of a romantic – you get swept off your feet easily. You and I are alike in that way, remember?"

Rose recalled the late nights she and Donna used to have. Sharing stories about the guys in their lives and crying on each others shoulders after particularly bad break ups. Donna had been Rose's biggest support when Rose went head over heels for Jimmy Stone her first year. Rose was on the verge of jeopardizing her entire college experience when Donna finally got through to her. If it hadn't been for the red head, Rose would have been across the world somewhere lugging around equipment for his daft band. Or worse.

Donna stood up and wrapped Rose in a hug. Rose thought Donna's hugs were the best because they always felt so real. She always felt safe when she was engulfed in the older woman's embrace.

"Oh, wait a minute. What happened to Mickey?" Donna asked, sitting back down next to Rose. "Weren't you and that chap having a go back at it?"

Rose sighed, shaking her head. "No, we sort'a… took a break, I guess. That's what I told the other girls last week, anyway." And she had, over dinner one night when there was a lull in the conversation. Each of her friends had different reactions. Martha was upset, wondering what had gone wrong and going on about how nice he seemed to be and how she thought he was a good guy. Amy had been understanding, knowing the way that Rose had been thinking lately because of their talks. They'd been the only ones with long term boyfriends, so it was easier to talk with her about the sort of mindset she would have sometimes. And Clara was quiet, watching Rose carefully as she explained what happened. Later that night, she snuck into Rose's bedroom and asked if the break up was because of John. Rose immediately rejected the idea, trying her best to explain. Whether or not Clara believed her was pushed away by her sweet and supportive smile. "We've been off for a while now; I guess it was bound to happen eventually."

"But you've done this before, you and him. You always end up back together."

There was a sad look on Rose's face as she lifted her eyes up to meet Donna's. "That's just it, isn't it? He's my best mate; has been my whole life. That's why we – that's why I always end up going back to him. He's more than just a one-off boyfriend. And he always will be. We just want different things, that's all. I can't stay behind and pretend like I'm still the same girl I was back home. That's not fair – to either of us."

Donna nodded, sympathetically listening as Rose spoke. She'd heard Rose talk about her relationship with Mickey before, but never like this. Not with this much clarity. She pat her hand, "You're right sweetheart. And that's neither his fault, nor yours. It's okay for you to grow up and move on and want more."

Rose smiled, squeezing her hand as she leaned over and laid her head on Donna's shoulder. "Thank you. You always know what to say."

"I have been on fire lately with my advice," she said with a chuckle. "I'm telling you, I should write a book one day."

Rose couldn't contain her own laughter as she sat upward and finally moved to put the vacuum up. The door began to unlock, and Rose jumped slightly. She wasn't sure why – maybe because she was sort of pouring her heart out to Donna. Or because she almost expected John to step through the doorway.

"Donna!" Amy and Martha greeted. The RA stood up and wrapped the two in a hug. "What are you doing here?" Martha asked.

Donna smiled and looked to Rose. "Rose was causing a floor disturbance," she said with a chuckle. "I had to come and lay down the law."

"I had my music too loud," Rose corrected, laughing at their friend's silliness.

Donna winked at her and then grabbed her keys. "It was good to see you ladies, but I've got to get back to my room. Big exam I've been studying for," she made a face.

"You're gonna be here tomorrow, right?" Amy asked. "For Sunday dinner?"

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it. Especially since you got that Jack bloke to come," she smiled suggestively, then waved as she left the flat.

Within the next hour, the girls talked and helped Rose get all the furniture back in place. Clara came home, then offered to make some lunch.

"None for me," Rose announced from her bedroom, throwing on the top she finally decided on.

At first she'd grabbed a really flirty dress – something she would have totally worn on a first date. But the minute she threw it on, she scoffed at her reflection and reminded herself that it wasn't a date. So she grabbed a pair of loose fitting jeans and an old graphic t-shirt. But that wasn't good enough. She still wanted to make a good impression and the nagging voice in her head insisted that she wore something just a little sexy. Enough to grab his eye, but not completely distract him. So finally, after almost ten minutes of rummaging through her closet, she went with a pair of nice, flattering jeans and a light blue sweater. She made sure her hair and makeup was perfect before she left her room.

When she walked into the kitchen, all eyes were on her. She looked at each of them, raising a brow. "What?"

"Where are you heading off to?" Amy questioned, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Are you going on a date?" Martha asked. "Blimey, you waste no time, do you?"

Rose shook her head, feeling a little bombarded by the scrutiny in her tone. "I'm not going on a date; I'm going to the museum. And for your information, I happen to be doing research on a project for my history class."

Clara tilted her head, giving her a knowing brow raise. "Are you going… alone?"

"Aww, are you?" Amy interrupted before Rose could answer. "Going to a museum in the first place can be a bore but going alone? You should have told us, we would have gone with you! Are there going to be men dressed as Roman soldiers? Give me five minutes, and I can change –"

"No," Rose said louder than Amy, finally answering the question. "I'm not going alone."

Clara smiled mischievously, her suspicion confirmed.

"Who's going with you?" Martha asked. "Someone from your class?"

Rose scrunched up her nose, "Sort of."

The knock on the door caused her to jump – which caused the other three girls to jump as well. They all looked to Rose, and then to the door. No one got up to answer it.

Another knock.

Rose walked over to the door, taking a deep breath. "Okay, there's something I should probably warn you about. Don't freak out," she insisted to her friends when she turned the knob and opened the door.

"Rose!" two strong arms wrapped her up in a hug and lifted her off the ground, then spun her around as he entered her apartment.

"Jack?" Rose asked after she caught her breath. "What are you doing here?"

He set her down and flashed his charismatic smile. "You invited me to dinner this weekend."

Her brow creased as she looked to her friends, who were trying not to laugh. "We invited you over for Sunday."

"I know."

"You also know it's Saturday, right?" she asked with a chuckle when he sat down between Martha and Clara.

He nodded. "I do. But, Martha invited me to come over sometime so that I knew where your place was. A very handsome dude who lives on the fifth floor was kind enough to let me in the building - I don't mean to brag, but I did get his number. Anyway, I'm a little insulted that you haven't invited me over sooner. One should not be deprived the lovely sight of seeing all four of you gorgeous gals in the same room."

The girls all burst out in a fit of giggles, both out of flattery and amusement. Rose and Martha had warned Amy and Clara of his flirtatious and charming ways before they introduced them to Jack a few days prior. That's when they invited him to dinner for that weekend. Amy said she couldn't wait for him to meet Rory – the boy wouldn't know what to do with himself around the American.

During their laughing, they almost didn't hear someone knock on the open door. But when the individual took a tentative step through the entry, all eyes turned toward the door.

Everyone was speechless. Amy and Clara because they had no idea who this man was that was coming into their home. Jack and Martha because for some reason their professor was in a dorm hall. And Rose, because John looked so good she had to remind herself that breathing was essential for her to stay alive. And she had to stay alive if she wanted to look at this man any longer.

John looked different – but the same. Rose had never seen him out of his work clothes, and those suits never really changed all that much other than color and tie. But today, he traded his trousers for a pair of form-fitting jeans, his jacket for a casual pinstripe brown blazer, and his button up and ties for a graphic t-shirt with 'The Beatles' printed on it. His sandy brown trainers still sat on his feet. It was a different look, but he still looked like Professor Smith. But in a very casual setting. And Rose had to admit, he pulled it off well. When she felt her teeth pull against her bottom lip, she took a sharp breath to regain her wits.

"Hello, everyone," John finally said when it was evident that no one was going to say anything.

Jack, of course, was the first one to respond. "Professor Smith? What are you doing here?"

"That's who you're going on your date with?" Martha asked, her voice a bit strained.

"It's not a date," Rose and John said at the same time.

Clara walked over and offered her hand. "It's good to meet you, Professor. We've heard a lot about you. I'm Clara, and this is Amy. We're Rose and Martha's roommates."

"It's brilliant to meet you, Clara," John shook her hand and gave her a wide smile. He lifted his head and nodded to Amy, "And you, Amy."

Jack was still looking between John and Rose, unsure of what was going on. Before he was able to say anything, Rose spoke first. "Professor Smith has offered to take me to the museum so he can show me an exhibit he saw that will help me with a history project for his class. And I think we should probably get going before we waste all our time here, don't you think?"

John pushed his hands farther in the pocket of his jeans, nodding his agreement. "It was nice seeing you all," he smiled at everyone and turned to leave.

Rose followed, grabbing her small purse and sending everyone a last look before walking out the door.

He was standing outside waiting on her as the door began to close behind them.

"Professor Song was right" they heard Amy say to the others inside through what was left of the opening, "he is scrumptious."

Rose giggled after the door finally closed, covering her mouth as John shook his head and laughed.

"I'm so sorry about all of that," Rose began as they started to walk toward the staircase. "I wasn't expecting everyone to be there when you came to pick me up. Especially Jack."

John shrugged, holding the door open for her. "I can honestly say that out of all the instances where I picked you up from your flat, I never imagined that."

"And what exactly did you imagine?" Rose asked before she could filter herself, sticking her tongue out playfully between her teeth. John's face blushed as he opened his mouth to try and salvage the comment, but instead laughed when he saw that she was teasing. Not that she'd mind very much if he'd answered her. She'd certainly had a few fantasies of her own – no. He was her teacher; and this was not a date.

She recognized the bright blue car in the parking lot and couldn't help but think back to that first day of classes – of the way he'd grabbed her hand and the tension felt within the tight space. Surely, as soon as John closed the passenger door behind her and walked around the car to get in himself, the tension was there again. It reminded Rose of the feeling you got when you were riding in an elevator with one other person. An intimate closeness that neither could escape from.

When she looked over at John, she realized that he must be feeling the same. He started up the car and told her that it was going to be an hour drive, then tentatively looked over at her as if asking if that was okay. She gave him a reassured smile, and made a joke about how he better know some good car games.

Rose thought that the drive was going to be filled with awkward tension and unsure silence. But it wasn't at all. Music was their ice breaker, and eventually John was raving about his love for the Beatles and how he would give anything to be able to time travel back and see a concert. They compared their favorite songs and then John dug up an old CD he had and put it in his player as background noise. Because no matter how hard they tried to actually sit and listen to the music, one of them always broke the silence to talk about something new.

And Rose couldn't believe how easy it was to talk with him for a full hour and not have any topic recycled or forced. John made Rose laugh so easily – the corny jokes he tried to tell, the way he got so physically animated when he got excited over something, the speed at which his voice got when he was going on about something, the way he used his hands to demonstrate whatever he was saying, and the way his face lit up when he smiled at her. And god, did Rose love making him laugh. It was music to her ears.

They were currently singing 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' quite loudly and quite badly when John reached over and grabbed Rose's hand, holding it up to car dance along with him.

It was crazy, Rose reasoned. She'd kissed this man, she'd had her body pressed up against his. And yet still, this simple touch between their hands made her heart leap up in her throat and send her nerves blazing. He must have felt it to, because he stopped singing when she did and looked down at their hands before he cleared his throat and released it.

He reached up and scratched the back of his neck before pulling into a parking lot. "Uhm, we're here. We made excellent time. Perfect time. Best time anyone has ever made – probably."

Rose shook her head as she got out of the car and followed him into the lobby of the museum. After they paid, John led them toward the hallway that started the exhibit. Rose's mouth hung open as she took her time looking at everything. She stopped at a small tribute to the Olympics and started to read the card under the artifact.

"It only seems like yesterday," John said enthusiastically as he moved next to her, pulling on his black rimmed glasses that always caused Rose to bite her lip, "a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about, wrestling with each other in the sand, and crowds stood around, - no, wait a minute. That was Club Med," he gave her a nudge and a cheeky grin.

She shook her head, laughing as they moved along. She asked if any of their classmates might come to this museum, and he doubted it. Said that the museum was pretty far away from the university, and the chances of running into anyone from the small university town would be unlikely. Something about them being somewhere where no one knew them resonated with Rose, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe because she could toss away that small nagging gilt of possibly being recognized and getting John in trouble.

As they walked, John would point out something that he found particular interest in and gave her the history. Rose would pull John over towards something she thought was neat and they would read about it together. She was fascinated by everything – the artwork, the statues, the artifacts. It was like watching her history class come to life right in front of her.

They moved to a row of manikins that were draped in actual articles of clothing from the period.

"Y'know, I went to a toga party once," Rose said with a giggle as she examined one of the dresses.

John rose his brow as he peered down at her, "Nice girls don't wear togas."

"You're tellin' me," she said mischievously as she winked up at him. He chuckled, shaking his head as he turned back to the display. "It wasn't like it was exactly a historically accurate Greek party, anyhow. There was quite a lot of alcohol, though. And a bloke who had the sexual reputation that could probably compete with Zeus's – uhm, anyway. It turned out that the sheet I thought was plain white was actually a Winnie the Pooh sheet."

John's head fell backwards as he laughed, "No!"

"Mmhmm, right in the corner: Winnie eating honey and Piglet next to him. The cute guy I'd been talking with that night had been the one to point it out. I almost died of embarrassment."

"Well, I'm glad you made a full recovery," he said with a smile.

Rose chuckled, then turned away from the display. She wanted to move on – mainly because manikins gave her the creeps. She began to walk along a row of statues, sculpted human forms. Some of them were headless, some armless, but all possessed a shining white dignity despite their misfortunes.

Her gaze moved along to the next sculpture in the row – and she gasped. It was an almost perfect stone replica of herself. Her hairline, her eye brows, her nose, her mouth, her chin. The figure was cradling a cornucopia, overflowing with stone fruit and flowers. The other arm was no longer whole, a wrist stump gesturing redundantly in front of her.

"Blimey," she heard John say as he came up behind her. "Reminds me of a girl I once knew. Wonder whatever happened to her." Rose turned to give him an unimpressed look when he smiled at her; a smile that could probably melt even a marble statue. She grinned at him. "What'd I tell ya? Looks just like you, huh?"

Rose nodded, then turned back to the statue. She searched for the information card and started to read it out loud. "Statue of the goddess Fortuna, Roman goddess of good luck portrayed with a horn of plenty. The date says it's nearly 2,000 years old. So wait, does this mean that almost 2,000 years ago there was someone who looked just like me walking around? That's bonkers."

"Well," he began as he looked up at the statue, "the model for this statue isn't entirely one person. They often made the torso separately that way they could mass-produce them, then just stick on the head. So all we know about this model was that she had a similar face to yours. Unless the sculptor was enamored with the model's figure enough to make her the model for the whole thing, who knows what the rest of her looked like."

Rose raised an eyebrow, "And if she had a body like mine, would it be so hard to understand?"

John looked down at her, looking over her body as his eyes darkened. He took a step closer to her and gave her a disarming grin, "I'm sure it isn't."

She felt her cheeks flush as she smiled, biting her tongue. She watched him inhale sharply as she leaned into him. He bent down and cupped her face up toward him, stealing the air right from her lungs. She looped her fingers in his belt loop and pulled his center closer to hers as she deepened the kiss. He let out a throaty groan when her fingers grazed against the skin beneath the hem of his shirt, right above his belt.

An older couple walked by the two, their footsteps clicking on the tile as they passed. John and Rose released each other, pulling their lips apart. The old woman was giggling as she moved her husband along, whispering about not disturbing the couple.

Rose's cheeks were blazing as she covered her mouth to stifle her laughing. He too was blushing, but still looked at her with his hungry eyes. She cleared her throat and turned away from his gaze, a faint smile on her lips. "Well, this settles it. I'm definitely doing my report on her. I mean, how can I not? She has my face!"

"Does this mean you're going to dress up like her for your presentation?" he asked happily, his voice a bit weak.

"You think I should? I'll have to find another sheet to turn into a stola or something."

"Just make sure it's not a sheet for toddlers beforehand," he gave her a wink. She playfully nudged his arm as they continued.

As they finished up the exhibit, they decided that while they were there, they might as well look through the rest of the museum. As they walked, Rose asked him how his new position of the Head of the Journalism Department was going. He talked with enthusiasm as he spoke about how welcoming the staff was. Well, almost everyone. He was discreet enough keep any names out, but he did mention that there were some people who weren't too happy about his promotion. But regardless, he was happy.

John asked Rose about her experiences with Chris. She raved about how much she loved their investigations, and how they always ended up getting in more trouble than they originally meant to. She went on about one of their first cases. It was a life insurance agency named The Gelth who was trying to take advantage of the inheritance left in some of their older clients' wills, especially after said client passed away. They were able to get in touch of a woman named Gwyneth whose mother had been taken advantage of and helped bring to life the scandal. Mr. Sneed was taken to jail, but not before he nearly killed Rose and Chris when he caught wind of their investigation.

John looked longingly at Rose as she played with the hoop of her earring as she finished her story. She looked up and blushed, realizing how long she'd been talking. "I'm sorry; I guess I just miss it more than I thought I did."

He nodded, understanding. "Don't apologize. I enjoy listening to your stories. I'd love to hear more, sometime, possibly. If that's okay with you."

Rose smiled up at him, "It's alright with me."

"Yeah?"

"Yes," she answered quickly, looking him in the eye.

He smiled shyly. "Tell me, Rose. What was it that made you decide to get into journalism? Your stories, your adventures with Chris – your eyes light up brighter than the sun when you recount your times together. What drew you in? Made you take that final plunge into the heart of investigative reporting?" He cleared his throat, "I uh, I only ask as an academic inquiry."

Rose smiled as she peered up at John. She leaned back against the railing and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "When I started at the university, I had no idea what I wanted to do. My first semester was fun and all, but I was growing a bit distraught. I knew I liked history, but I also knew there wasn't a lot of career paths that led me to something other than teaching. No offense. I mean, don't get me wrong I love learning things that genuinely interest me – but I can't sit in a classroom for the rest of my life. And when I walked into my first journalism class, I thought that's what my life was gonna be. And then Chris began to speak." Rose's smile only grew as she recounted that first day of class just a few short years ago. "I hadn't a bloody clue about journalism, just knew it was a bunch of stories and reports and celebrities, pretty much. But the way he talked about it – just blew me away. And then he got to investigative reporting. I remember the exact words that won me over. 'It's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double, and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me?'" Rose chuckled, and if she'd been looking up she would have seen the sad smile that sat on John's lips. "That got a good laugh out of everyone. He reached out to me after I expressed my interest, and the rest is history."

John reached out and wrapped his fingers between hers. When she looked up at him, he smiled. "Thank you for sharing that with me."

She squeezed his hand and nodded. They started to walk through the last part of the museum, still holding hands.

Since they'd spent so much time at the museum and it was getting rather late in the evening, John offered to take her to a small diner he knew of. While they ate, Rose told him about her job and her recent promise of a promotion. He'd made them toast, making her promise that when it happened, they would celebrate just like they had when he'd gotten his. Rose decided to leave out the tidbit that she worked with Reinette, not wanting to spoil their nice conversation.

John talked about his own work and the other classes he was teaching, and the one's he'd taught in the past. He talked about meeting Jack and how after he'd gotten over his attempt to seduce him (to which Rose couldn't stifle her own giggles), the guy was really quite a good friend. That led him to ask Rose about her roommates, how long she'd known them, how they'd met, and how they got along. Of course, she only had wonderful things to say about them. She told him about Amy and Rory, and how they all suspected that he was going to pop the question any day. Well, everyone but Amy, that was. She told him about how great Clara was with children, and how she knew she'd make a brilliant teacher after she graduated. She told him about how swamped Martha had been with her classes this semester, and how she admired her so much.

He told her about how he met Donna and how they became friends. He admit to their rocky beginnings, but said he was a better person because of her. Then he went on about the play they were working on and how it was going. He was so excited for it and she said she couldn't wait to go see it.

They'd walked arm in arm through the plaza, looking at the lights and the decorations that were preparing for Halloween already. They stopped and listened to a band playing in the courtyard – Rose leaned her head against John's shoulder as they listened.

The ride home was smother than before. There was a certain element of calmness and familiarity as they listened to the music and talked when there was something to say. The tension was gone, and when John's hand grazed against Rose's, there was no hesitation. They only released each other's hold when he pulled into the dorm parking lot.

She thanked him while he walked her up to her room, telling him how much fun she'd had and how appreciative she was of him taking her to dinner.

"Let me pay you back," she insisted when they got to her floor. Before he could refuse, she faced him. "We have this sort of family tradition – every Sunday we have a potluck dinner in the flat. We usually cook the main meal and whoever comes over brings sides or dessert or drinks. I'd love it if you'd came." He'd dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans as she talked, his eyes dropping to the floor. She could sense his hesitation. "As a thank you, of course. That's all. We invited Jack and Donna comes almost every week. You can even bring your brother if you'd like. It's just a fun get together where we eat too much and drink too much."

John took a deep breath, and finally looked up at her. "I'm not sure if that's a great idea." Rose's heart sank. She knew it was a long shot, but a part of her was really excited about the possibility of him attending. He watched her face fall and he sighed, "Not that I don't enjoy spending time with you. I do, I mean, today has been amazing. It's just, I don't want your roommates to get the wrong idea – or the right idea, I don't know – and I'd feel like I'm intruding. It's bloody tempting, though."

Rose nodded, then she got an idea. She asked him for his phone. A bit confused, he gave it to her. She dialed in her number and saved it, then handed it back to him. "You think about it, and let me know. My roommates would love the extra company – and how can you miss being there when Donna meets Jack for the first time? She's going to eat him alive, and you just know it." That got John to laugh. Rose bit her lip. "Just, think about it. And thank you, again. I had a lovely time today."

"Me too," he said, giving her a smile that made her swoon. His eyes looked down at her lips, and he sucked in a sharp breath. He cleared his throat before raising his phone, promising he'd let her know.

She reached out and offered her hand. He chuckled and shook it. His hand lingered around hers for a moment, his thumb rubbing against the back of her hand lightly. She gave him one last smile before she turned to unlock her door, disappearing behind it.

Everyone was gone, again. Probably at work or dinner. Something she was actually grateful for. She took a long shower and barricaded herself in her room for the night. She started to drift off to sleep, a smile on her face – when her phone began to buzz.

Rose almost didn't pay it any mind, knowing that if she ignored it she would probably be able to fall asleep any minute. But something nagged at her, and she gave in. She pulled the device out from under her pillow and checked it.

One new message: So… what should I bring to dinner? Anything but pears.

"greeneyesCutie: (ch1) This is wonderful!" "(ch2) Lovely" "(ch3) Wonderful!" "(ch8) I'm so amazed by your story. Would love out of class scene where we see John come to Roses rescue with the "Master"! Everyone knows Reniette's going to be trouble!" I've absolutely loved your reviews! Thank you so much for sharing with me!

"toogallifreyanforyou: (ch2) I SHIP IT! :D" (ch8) THIS IS REALLY GOOD. I'M ADDICTED!" Yay! :) I'm glad you like it!

"onceuponadoctorlock: Ooh an update! I love this story so much. I love the idea of new perspective on past events. I love how you incorporated Donna's use of her nickname for The Doctor. I don't know about you, but I think Donna ships them as much as I do. Amazing chapter, as always. I can't wait to see how Rose's and John's "date" turns out. Now if you exclude me, I'll be anxiously waiting by my computer for the next chapter." Oh god, Donna is a HUGE ten/rose shipper. Has been since her first episode, in my opinion lol. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story!

"Dede42: I loved seeing John's point-of-view for a change and I'm wondering about what Donna meant concerning Chris? Is he really dead or is there something else going on? I noticed you changed your username and so when this new chapter popped up in my email, I was a little confused at first. Update soon! Geronimo!" Chris is definitely dead lol. I'm sorry if I mentioned something that made you think otherwise.

"Akayuki Novak: *laugh* Maybe. I'm loving this whole chapter here. Mostly because it's in Ten's point of view, but also because I'll always love Donna." I'm glad you liked it! There will definitely be more chapters of John's POV; I liked writing it a lot.

"Starcrier: Well done dear!" Thank you! :)

"erhermger: great chapter! i liked the change in p.o.v; very clever, as is the rest of the story(: can't wait for the next update!" Yay! I'm glad the John POV chapter went over well!

"peppermintteainjune: Hallo! This is just one of my new favorite fics :D poor John, he just wants to love rose :) ( I was formely Emma Everdeen)" Hello there! And yes, poor John AND Rose! Lol. Also, I'm so incredibly honored to be a favorite fic!

"The Eclectic Bookworm: Oh wow, I love it when I stumble across an amazing story by accident! I adore all the little references to characters in the show and how well you've thought out every detail. Keep up the great work!" The show details are my favorite part! I'm so glad people like them as much as I do lol.

"dragonflywhisperer568: Wow, I just stayed up until nearly 1am (without noticing) reading the eight chapters that are out! Not many writers can do that to me. I am loving this story! (Which is also quite the shock considering I usually hate the whole teacher/student thing that so many writers try to do, but yours is different for some reason...) Anyways! Keep writing and update soon_ I look forward to reading more!" Yay! I'm so honored that I was able to bypass your trope dislike lol. I hope I continue to live up to the bar I've set for myself! Thank you for your kind words :)

"schneabi17: Great chapter! I was overjoyed when I saw an update for this story in my inbox. Both John and Donna are extremely well written here. I know you're busy, but there are so many people who love this story, so perhaps more updates soon?" I know, so many amazing people have been so wonderful and supportive with this story, I can still hardly believe it! Honestly, I'm trying very hard to update as soon as I can. I'm aiming for an update every month. I love this story so much and I hope to give it what it deserves, and sometimes that takes time. But I do appreciate your kind review and support! I hope you enjoy :)

"InTheTARDISJustAsItShouldBe: I... I have no words. This is beautiful. 3" Making someone speechless is a lovely compliment :) I'm glad you enjoyed it!

"ambertardis22: I really love this! Can't wait to read more!" Thank you! :)

"callmebobbie: Very nice John chapter. And Donna has always been my favourite companion, so, Yay! More Doctor/Donna! It'd been so long since I read this I thought I'd read the whole lot again, and it flows really nicely. Let's see how long Rose and John just 'stay friends' *gratuitous wink*. Heh." I love Donna too! Surprisingly, I love writing her! I try so hard to tap into my underlying sass and boisterous attitude lol. There will definitely be more Donna!