Romanaexamined the bouquet dubiously.
"Whyhave you given me bits of plant?"
TheDoctor shrugged and tried to look casual.
"Don'tyou like them?"
"Arethey dangerous?"
"Ofcourse not!"
Shesniffed the flowers carefully.
"Beta-phenylethyl alcohol?" She looked quite interested by that. Absolutelytypical. First she fixated that the Mona Lisa had no eyebrows and nowshe was going on about the chemical make-up of roses. She had noappreciation of beauty and style and things like that.
"It'straditional," he said, hardly sulking at all. "They're whatyou buy for people you're quite fond of."
"Youdidn't get any for K-9."
"Whatwould a metal dog do with bits of local flora?"
Romanarolled her eyes. "What am I supposed to do with them?"
He hadto admit that he wasn't sure on that bit himself. "You could...well, you could put them in a vase? And... look at them."
"Iquite wanted a hyperspatial spanner."
"We'vealready got one of those."
"No,you have one of those. And you keep losing it. You left in K-9last week, remember?"
"Yes,but it did stop him veering off to the right so much, didn't it? Youshould have left it there."
Shepicked at her bunch of roses. "They'll just attract those littleinsects that buzz and stab you."
"You'resupposed to be grateful," he sniffed.
"Gratefulthat you've made me a target for angry insects?" She flicked herhair back the way she did when she was starting to get irritated."Honestly, Doctor, sometimes I just don't understand you."She looked thoughtful. "Do I have to buy you flowering plants aswell?"
"Womendon't have to. It's one of those gendered gift-giving rituals."
"Why?"
"Idon't know!" He rubbed the side of his nose. "You can ifyou want to. It's just that people might think we were strange."
Romanalooked at the people walking past them, comparing the way they weredressed to the way everyone else in the park was dressed. She lookedat K-9 and at the fact that all the other dogs seemed to be organic."I can't possibly imagine anyone thinking we were strange,"she lied.
"Well,we're not."
"Notstrange at all."
"Everyoneelse now... I'm not sure about everyone else."
"Ihave my doubts about them," she agreed.
"Theyare aliens," he said. "Native to the planet, ofcourse, but aliens by any other standard."
"Idon't have a vase," she said.
"What?"
"Avase." She held up the bouquet. "To put these in. You saidI should put them in a vase and look at them, and I don't have avase."
"Igot you a vase on Indigo Three."
"Yes,you did, but we had to use it to stop that invasion, remember?"
Hedidn't, but wasn't about to admit that. "Yes, so we did."
"Socan I have a vase as well?"
He wasnever going to buy her anything ever, ever again. "I'm surethere's one in the TARDIS."
