One Hundred and Eighty Two Days ~ (a TenRose Fanfiction)

Flat 24

-Chapter 6 (sorry for not updating in ages) 

Rose's POV 

***

5 houses down, and I'm begging to get tired, and above all, I'm loosing hope. So far all the houses we've looked at have been way too small, too far from town, too expensive, too run down, or you have to stay in them for longer than 6 months.

"Losing hope?" The Doctor asks, looking over at me and taking his hand in mine. We're currently walking to our final house of the day, and I'm not going to lie by saying my feet are tired. I know, we do an awful lot of running an walking on planets, but without much money for cabs we've walked everywhere by foot and some destinations have been miles apart.

"No. But this is certainly straining." I say.

"Don't worry. Besides, this house may be good." He says and pulls me along as I slack behind a little. Soon enough we reach the house, which is actually a flat. It's about a ten minute walk from the little town centre, so that's a tick in the box already. It's a perfectly standard set of flats from outside, just smaller than London by a vast amount. The estate agent, Molly, meets us outside and greets us politely.

"Your first house together, then?" She asks, leading us up the stairs towards the flat.

"Well, this isn't really permanent. 6 months." I say.

"Ah, I see. Testing the waters, huh?" She asks.

"Not really," the Doctor says "We just needed a little escape." He says. I'm it sure whether that was a really good lie, or a really bad one.

"I was in the same position with my boyfriend not long ago. We wanted to see how easy it was to settle in together." Molly says, pulling the keys out her pocket as we near the door.

"Oh, we're not...together, as such. Just friends" The Doctor says.

"No?" Molly asks, looking down at our clasped hands "Well, you fooled me."

Just at that she opens the little blue door with a gold plated "24" on the front, and holds it open for us to go inside. I follow behind the Doctor. The first thing we're faced with is the living room. It's spacious, and because we would rent the house we would get all the furniture. There's two comfortable looking couches and a birch wood coffee table, a TV in the corner, a small electric fireplace by a bookshelf and flowering plant. Then a little to the left there's a big set of glass French doors, leading out onto a gorgeous balcony overlooking the docks. It's beautiful. By the window there's what looks like a crate of weights and a deflated exercise ball. Nice. Molly tells us more about the house and leads us through a small archway to the kitchen. Again, it's spacious, and painted a light green colour. Same as the TARDIS. The thought of home, the TARDIS, makes my heart ache, but it's nothing like what it must feel for the Doctor. But in the kitchen there's everything we'll need, and also a table in the corner seating three. Odd number but perfectly adequate. Next we are shown the bathroom which has a sink and toilet, as well as both a bath and a shower, which is odd for a flat. Then there's two bedrooms, one overlooking the coast, and one overlooking the town. There's a single bed in one and a double in the other, both the same size and with a wardrobe, bedside table and mirror. Finally, we're shown the little office with a desk, computer, lamp, and this time a bay window with cushions next to a bookshelf. Molly leaves us to take a little further look round by ourselves. She opens up the balcony before wandering off to the kitchen, and we walk out onto the tiled floor and lean against the railing. The boats are coming into shore now, and there's a few leaving the docks and sailing out into the fruit punch colours of the sunset. The Doctor looks over at me and we share a look that tells everything.

"Think we've found it?" He asks. I take another look out at the gentle ocean and listen to the soft sounds of the town and birds nearby, then look back at him and nod.

"It's beautiful." I say. He smiles brightly at my response.

"Of course, we can make some adjustments, and it'll be like home in no time." He says. And at that I notice a slight dimming in his eyes, the sparkle sort of fading away like the sunset. I know well enough that he's missing the TARDIS already, but is too modest to say so. It must be hard, because he's got such a strong mental connection to the TARDIS that to be apart from it must be touch. I place my hand over his on the railing, and that's enough for him to know I'm there for him. He looks back up at me, and for a moment it's like he wants to say something, but it drifts away as quickly as it came and he simply takes my hand and squeezes it. "That's it then, decision made."