Rose felt like a new woman as she swayed condifently into the waiting TARDIS after a relaxing day of mother daughter bonding, indulgent pampering and sly shared giggles and knowing winks exchanged between her and Jackie over a particularly dashing male masseuse.

She'd found herself and her naturally exuberent and spirited equilibrium returned
after having lost her face and as she stopped in front of her bedroom mirror (adorned wit pink heart fairy lights) she realised that for the first time she really liked what she saw. Not just the intrigcate features of an animated and definitely present face but the sparkle, self belief and adventure behind her eyes.

She strode purposefully up the ramp and peered over the console.

"What ya doing?" She sing songed. "And am I far enough away from the potential blast radius?"

The Doctor half sprawled half buried let out a muffled, "Oi!"

That'll be the combination of sonic plus oral fixation then.

Pulling himself up and relinquishing the tool in favour of his second favourite pastime - talking he started in his mock indigent, 'I'm a superior Time Lord tone.'

"I'll have you know that I am a highly skilled engineer in fact the people of Palfus along the Chrisintyne Blorex sector once decor..."

Finally looking at her he stuttered to a stop mouth agape. "What have you done?"

His obvious astonishment caused a tangled heap of wires and circuits to fall forgotten to the deck.

She grinned cheekily the tip of a pink Tongue escaping.

"Do you like?" She twirled in front of him like a princess.

"Hmm…yeah...But...how...? Oh that is sooo unfair! You Judas. Et tu rose et tu?"

"Oh stop being such a drama queen it's only hair dye."

"But it's ginger!"

"Is it? I hadn't noticed." Rose sounded truly gob smacked and tugged strands of hair in front of scrutinising eyes. He glared manfully over his perched greasy specs.

"Oh yeaahhh! Would you look at that, I'm a redhead, a Ginger nut, I've been tangoed!"

Her gaze laughed mischievously but she managed to suppress her giggles until the Doctor pouted and actually stamped his foot like a petulant child.

"You know mums a hairdresser she could do you if you..."

"No, never, not going to happen, not even to be ginger, it's not worth it."

He ruffled madly at his hair in a protective and possessive gesture.

"S'could give you a cut and blow while she's at it!"

Now he truly looked scandalised.

"I don't even what to think of your mother at it!" His voice definitely rising into uncomfortable and telling octaves.

"Hmmm...Wonder if she washed Howard's pyjamas before Christmas Eve?"

The look of shear disgust and horror made the giggles erupt into raucous laughter with occasional gasping and pointing at the put out Time Lord.

"It's rude to point!" He grumbled.

"Yeah well I'm ginger so s'allowed yeah?"

He grabbed her pointer finger deftly and gave it a generous lick. Sudden silence descended upon his stunned companion apart from the whoosh of blood rushing to her head tingeing her cheeks pink in its wake.

"You don't taste like a ginger!" He released her digit and popped the "p" with satisfaction of, "Nope, still all pink and yellow."

"You can taste differences in hair colour?"

"Of course, can't you? It's a scientific fact! Weelll not so much a fact, more of a grey area or blonde area should I say 'cause you Rose Tyler are a fraud."

He leaned in smugly tapping her on the nose like an ignorant child or playful kitten.

"But I'm not a natural blonde either!"

"Doesn't matter what your DNA writes, you definitely taste blonde."

"Do I?"

With her new found self confidence and her female prerogative to now be ginger and rude she sucked on her still moist finger feeling a slight thrill at where it had just been.

"Hmmm...Not sure I get blonde just sort of brown wit a dash of pinstripe."

It was her turn to look smug as the Doctor stared at her mouth imagining their intermingled tastes on her tongue.

They were always doing this, the banter, the casual flirting, plastering on their poker faces and waiting for one of them to call 'bluff'.

The Doctor swallowed quite visibly and turned slightly away looking abashed and contemplative in one furrowed brow and quirked eyebrow.

Gotcha! Rose thought and smiled inside or was it sighed?

"You're right!" He turned to face her abruptly. "The secret in scientific research is repetition of the experiment to determine if it yields the same result."

And with that he kissed her. The Doctor kissed Rose Tyler and it was slightly awkward and his lips were so soft and his tongue wet as he snaked it out to rim her lower lip as if seeking permission which she instinctually granted but as she parted her lips he was gone. He retreated putting just an arms length distance between them but it felt like a canyon.

They both stood staring like it was some kind of contest until he coughed and swayed slightly running his converse over the grate and following its arc with his eyes.

"Hmmm...The finger was contaminated had to find a fresh tissue sample." He blundered.

Not knowing what had got into her and not stopping to analyse or care she crossed the chasm.

"So repetitions the key and you'd need to take the samples from the same area to avoid other variables like biological and environmental factors. Of course you're also supposed to have a control group, might I suggest somewhere a little...lower?"

"I'll take that under advisement doctor?"

The smirk turned into a rumbling groan as Rose crashed her lips to his with a lot more force and a lot more repressed passion. This time when she licked sensuously along his plump swollen lips he didn't pull away. Instead one hand braced against the small of her back crushing their pliant forms together as the other matted itself into her ginger locks holding her to him.

The kiss developed of its own accord like the natural evolution of girl to woman. The first touch of his cool tongue spread incongruous shivers of warmth through her wiling body, a small whimper escaping unknown from her lips. This seem to escalate the slow exploration as a chilled wetness plunged deeply stroking along it's accomplice with ardent passion. He skimmed her teeth and hollows of her fleshy cheek as she swiped against the roof of his mouth elucidating a moan. It sounded to her like the music of sex.

The need for oxygen warred with simple need and fear of what she would see in ancient eyes when they parted. Maybe she should just let this be a kiss of death breathing him in, no need for air in his suffocating rhythm and embrace.

"Rose breath!"

He pulled back and she did, flushed and dazed.

"S'it warm in here?" She fanned herself to cover the expected alien Time Lord versus human lecture, adorable bumbling and hurtful rejection.

"Well I was in the middle of fixing the thermic regulator guess it must be more out than I realised 'cause I'm definitely feeling the heat!"

He quirked his reddened lips into a half smile; Rose smiling shyly back releasing a breath she shouldn't have been holding so hot on the heels of partial air deprivation and turned even pinker.

So, she thought I've atomised the emperor of the Daleks, resorted to gymnastics, had a trampoline psychograph and run from werewolves but all it took was a bottle of cheap hair dye!

Suddenly the Doctor made a very unmanly sound interrupting her frantic chugging train of thought.

"Rose who wears pear flavoured lip-gloss?"