Homework

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who

Author's Note: This is a oneshot that takes place after 'The Wedding of River Song'. Also, this is purely Doctor/Rose, and if you ship the Doctor with River, I don't think you'll like it. You have been warned.

Enjoy!

...

Homework

Rose lounged on the couch, lazily flipping through channels. She was so bored. It was a lazy Sunday, and though she knew she could call Mickey or any of her other friends over, she decided against it. She wasn't in the mood for who was dating whom and why those two broke up. Not tonight.

Frustrated by her boredom, Rose stood up and paced, wondering what to do. She had homework, but she was definitely not doing that. Sighing, she decided she'd call her friends. Better be around friends and get bored than do it alone.

She picked up her phone to call Mickey when a knock on her door made her pause. She frowned at her watch. Mum never came back so soon.

Setting the phone down, she went over to the door and unlocked it. A tall, lanky man in a suit coat and a bowtie stood outside. He was quite handsome, with black floppy hair, green eyes and an impressive chin. He smiled brightly down at her.

"Yeah?" asked Rose.

"Rose Tyler?" he asked. He seemed to speak her name as if he had said it a hundred times before.

"Yeah?" said Rose again.

His smile grew wider. He held out his hand. "I'm the Doctor . . . uh, Smith. I'm Dr. John Smith."

Rose shook his hand. "Hello," she said.

"Hello," he said, still shaking her hand. Rose glanced down at their interlocked hands pointedly and Dr. Smith let go.

"May I help you?" asked Rose.

"Oh, uh, no, actually, your mother sent me here."

Rose frowned. "Mum? Why?"

"To help you with your homework."

"My homework?" Rose shook her head. "I've never heard of you before, and mum never told me she was sendin' anyone."

"She just met me," he said. He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to Rose. "See?"

Rose took the paper and read what was written on it. In Jackie's handwriting, it clearly said: Rose, darling, I've sent you a tutor. He's a professor at some posh university. He's staying only for a day, though. Pity. He's quite the looker. Anyway, I sent him to help you study. Love, mum.

Rose tried not to feel embarrassed by the fact that her mum had called this man 'quite the looker'. Hopefully he hadn't read it.

She looked up to see him still smiling. "Uh, come on in."

The Doctor entered her house cautiously, as if he was entering it for the first time. Nostalgia mixed with his façade and the Doctor felt like he had come home. For a long time, he had never known home to be anything but his TARDIS, but now, oh, he missed this. He missed the smell of his leather jacket and the constant blabber of Jackie. He missed the quips he'd throw at Mickey, mostly because he was jealous of him (though he'd never admit it) and also because it was fun seeing that silly little human flounder around for a retort. But most of all, he missed Rose.

He turned to his little pink and yellow human. She was nineteen now. It wouldn't be long until she was off with him, zipping across the universe and healing an ancient, broken Time Lord. Not long until he admitted to himself that he was irrevocably in love with her. Not long until he sends her away. Not long until she looks into the Time Vortex to save him. Not long until he died, but this time, not with remorse or pain. This time, he would die with love. He would die with the image of the woman he loved seared into his hearts and regenerate with her smile in his mind. 300 years later, the Doctor still never felt so strongly for anyone as he did for Rose Tyler.