A/N: If you recognize it, I don't own it. Just an idea I had after I realized that only Rose ever denied being a couple.

Not a Couple

"We're not a couple," she insisted. She was always insisting. They were mistaken for a couple fairly frequently in their travels. Rose may not have understood why, but the Doctor did. After all the places they visited weren't the kinds of places casual friends could get to. With conventional travel, places like Women Wept were years or even decades away from the nearest habitable planets with humanoid life. Space travel was a long-term commitment. They could well have been newlyweds setting off for somewhere a lifetime away.

"We're not a couple," she insisted. But didn't she realize how they looked together? The visible age gap between them wasn't a cause for alarm on most planets, as it was on twenty-first century Earth. It was even considered normal, and in no way an obstacle to a romance. It wasn't unusual. And the way they acted together wasn't exactly platonic. They held hands whenever they were within arm's reach of each other. They flirted shamelessly. She teased him about past conquests, his intellect, and his ego. He teased her about her naiveté, her intellect, and her sheltered life on Earth. She got upset when he left her alone; he got protective when she wandered away.

"We're not a couple," she insisted. Didn't she notice? She was the only one to deny it. The Doctor, when asked, would agree that she wasn't his wife, or his girlfriend, or his concubine, or his prostitute. He was swift and fervent in his assurances that their relationship wasn't sexual. But to deny any sort of connection between them? He never did. She was the only one who did that. She insisted, more agitated every time someone made the mistake, and he let her go on insisting. After all, it wasn't as if he had any right to claim otherwise.

"We'll just pop by the hatchery and Margaret the Slitheen will get a second chance!" The Doctor grinned his sunniest as he hoisted the egg aloft, trying to dispel the tension in the console room.

"Second chance," Rose repeated absently, her eyes drifting away from the egg to stare into the whirling time rotor. "That would be nice."

The Doctor set the egg carefully on a stand. He glanced at Jack and raised an eyebrow. When he spoke, he had to force his voice to sound light and carefree. It didn't work well. "Jack?"

Captain Jack picked up the warning instantly. "Well," he announced, stretching, "I'm going to hit the hay. It's been a long day and I, for one, am exhausted. Don't you lovebirds stay up too late." He tossed the Doctor a wink and sauntered off. The Time Lord scowled blackly after him. Rose, on the other hand, ignored him in favor of sinking onto the jump seat with a heavy sigh. She propped her elbows on her thighs and buried her face in her hands.

"Budge up, you."

Rose shifted over without raising her head, making room for the Doctor to drop down next to her. He looked her over silently. Emotions weren't his strong point; he wasn't entirely sure how to proceed. Still, he doubted he would do much to make things worse. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and crossed his legs so that one ankle rested on his other knee.

There was silence except for the gentle hum of the TARDIS. Then,

"Mickey's going out with Trisha DeLaney."

"Oh." Her abruptness startled him no less than her choice of topic; she normally avoided domestics when he was around. "That's... So you an' him... "

"No. I thought we were. But no." Rose leaned into his side and reached up with one hand to twine her fingers with his. She stared at her knees. "He thinks you and me are a couple."

The important thing here, the Doctor considered, was not to act hastily. The important thing was to speak casually and calmly and by no means let on as to what he was really thinking. Saying, for example, that he would hardly make allowances for her like he did if there wasn't something between them, or that he was probably in love with her and really wasn't sure what to do about it himself since she was just a human, after all, even if a rather extraordinary one... Yes, he could see how that would be a bad idea.

He said, "And?"

"And what?" Rose turned to stare at him. "Doesn't it bother you? People are always thinking we're together. And we're not. Doesn't it get to irritate you after a while?"

The Doctor paused, reconsidering his options. He looked down at his human companion. He felt her resting comfortably against his side, his arm over her shoulders and his hand in hers. He thought about all the places they had visited, all the adventures they'd had together. He thought about the allowances he made for her. He thought about how upset she got when he left her alone and how angry and frightened he was when she wandered away. He thought about her hand in his and then he thought about what it might be like not to have that hand.

"We're not a couple," she insisted.

The Doctor replied, "But we could be."

Her bright, startled smile was answer enough for him.