My Madame de Pompadour
The doctor felt the floor of the TARDIS slam underneath him as the section of the console he was holding onto gave a final lurch into place that, coupled with the usual groaning sound, signalled the TARDIS's landing. Swinging himself upright the Doctor whacked the side of the monitor, trying to get a clearer reading on the TARDIS's exact position.
"France. Definitely France, Paris in fact" The Doctor muttered with unabashed glee "Haven't been there in a while. Ponds! I'll be back in a mo', just popping out for some milk" Raising his voice so Amy and Rory could hear him the end of his sentence tailed off into nothing as he straightened his bow tie before heading to the door.
Sticking his head through the TARDIS doors the Doctor took a few seconds to take in his surroundings, Parisian architecture, 15th-18th century for definite, he hadn't travelled to anywhere like this since he'd been with Rose. His heart dropped a second at the though of his old companion but one quick exhale was enough for him to pull himself together and take a confident step out of the TADRIS, pulling the doors firmly shut behind him. Strutting down the long ornate corridor the Doctor took his time, taking care to examine the different pieces of artwork and furniture on display, the bounce becoming ever more pronounced between every piece. It wasn't until he reached the end of the corridor and came face to face with a large oil painting, over two metres high and over a metre wide, that his steps fell completely flat footed against the decorative carpet. The portrait was of a once familiar woman dressed in an ornate blue-green, dress embellished with roses, who seemed to be smiling at something off to the side as if she'd just been pleasantly interrupted from the book that was now laying in her lap.
"Reinette" the Doctor murmured, raising his hand to stroke the painting's elaborate frame, pausing over the small plaque in the centre of the frames bottom slat which read: The Marquise de Pompadour, by Francois Boucher, 1756. "We could have been amazing Reinette. Time just wasn't on our side" he sighed. Letting his arm once more drop to his side to his side the Doctor turned to go through the flamboyantly decadent doors to his left. Poking his head and shoulders through the doors the Doctor saw that the room ahead of his was much the same as the last, though instead of the bright and bold blue that had decorated the previous walls these ones were more subdued, in a soft pinking hue, in the far corner. Just past a beautifully carved marble fireplace sat a woman, dressed soft green dress who looked to be reading. Backing out of the room as quietly as he could so as not to disturb the rooms occupant the Doctor attempted to make a silent exit.
"It's all right to come in you know." The woman stated as she raised her head, placing her book down on the golden futon next to her, allowing the Doctor a clear view of her face for the first time. It had been years since the Doctor had seen Madame de Pompadour, decades even. The Doctor's memory had not done her true beauty justice.
"Er- Pardon me... Madame, I didn't mean to disturb you" The Doctor took a hesitant step into the room, opening the double doors as little as possible, making sure to keep his hands on both door handles "I was just er... checking the doors" The Doctor muttered, swinging his arms out to full length before pulling them back in again, repeating the gesture several time.
"As a posed to looking at the fireplaces this time?" Reinette asked, cocking her head slightly to the side as if studying the Doctor in a little more detail, smiling softly at him. "You forget Doctor I have seen inside your mind, I have seen all your past faces, all the places you've seen. Why should I not recognise when you come to me with a new face? After all in your mind I saw impossible things. And may I say in all my years you are the only person I know to dress so strangely" she smiled slightly as the Doctor physically relaxed.
"Reinette" The Doctor sighed "You were never supposed to see me here like this, your timeline is intertwined with the one from my past if anything drastic were to happen while I'm here it could cause half of the galaxy to collapse in on itself" Drawing closer to the Madame de Pompadour the Doctor took both of her hands in his own, kneeling at her feet. "Reinette you can't say you've seen me, not one mention, not one word, not to anyone, our timelines are fixed, what happens is set, I wish for both our sake it weren't but it's the way it has to be"
Sighing in defeat Reinette squeezed the Doctor's hands tightly "I know that Doctor, and I will take this meeting to my grave, but you must know, as happy I am with my life, I live for the days I see you, in the hopes that, I will one day, see the stars with you. I know you cannot tell me my future as much as I do not wish to know it, I just hope it will not be too long before I see you again, the other you, my Doctor"
Smiling sadly up at her the Doctor bent to kiss her hands. "You will always be my Madame de Pompadour, Reinette. I should leave now, you know I have to. Don't worry you'll see me again soon" The Doctor smiled, giving one last squeeze of Reinette's hands before getting to his feet.
"Come Doctor, I shall walk you back to your TARDIS" Reinette stated as she too got to her feet and lead to Doctor back into the blue room where he had parked the TARDIS. They both walking in comfortable silence to the TARDIS doors before the Doctor paused to say his last good bye. As he did so his eyes were once more drawn to the painting at the end of the room which dwarfed the ones on the walls leading up to it on either side by comparison.
"Beautiful isn't it" pondered Reinette, "the corset pinched something rotten but... it was worth it in the end I believe" sighing wistfully she turned once more to face the Doctor as he drew his eyes from the painting one last time. When Reinette next spoke her voice was calm and steady though the Doctor could tell she was putting on a brave face, "I would say until we meet again Doctor but I know that I will not be meeting this version of you again, so instead I say farewell". With both of them smiling sadly, knowing the truth behind her words, the Doctor pushed open the doors of the TARDIS, trying to let as little of the TARDIS's interior be on show as possible.
"Farewell them, my wonderful Madame de Pompadour" and with that the Doctor slipped back through the TARDIS doors and turned to face the console.
"I thought you said you were going for milk" Amy stated as she flopped down next to the Doctor on the steps up to the TARDIS console "So how come there isn't any?" Momentarily distracted from the wires the Doctor was faffing with he turned to face Amy, lifting his bug life safety goggles as he did so
"If you must know I ran into an old friend... got distracted" the Doctor stated defensively
"Ooh female friend was it?" Amy teased and, as always the Doctor rose to the bait "As a matter of fact yes" he replies defensively "but don't go thinking what I know you're thinking!"
"Whatever you say" Amy said as she rose to leave, a disbelieving tone in her voice. "But you're the one who's going to have to tell Rory he's stuck with toast instead of cereal" Amy sung as she made her way back to the living areas of the TARDIS.
A/N: So this is my first Doctor Who fic and one I've had in my head for a while just because I love Reinette's character so much. Reviews are always appreciated please feel free to tell me what you think of it