February 14th. What is special about that day? Something happens today. Is a wormhole set to appear? No. Dalek invasion? No. What is it? The Doctor is a man of many dates; thousands of them bounce around in his head every day. But there's always that one date that he can't place.
He goes back to tying his trainers. He laces them and stands up, admiring his reflection in the mirror to his right. He rather likes this reincarnation. Very, what was the word that people used? Foxy. That was it Tall and lengthy, deep brown eyes, cocky smile, and that hair. He tries to smooth it down, but it just spikes back up again.
He pulls on his coat and heads out the door nearly crashing into the man standing outside of the room.
"Hello," the man says slowly, his blue eyes glinting in the low light of the TARDIS.
The Doctor tries to push past him. "I'm not in the mood, Jack."
Jack smiles. "That's a shame, Doc. Cause I am. And you know what today is?" He winks.
The Doctor sighs. Why is Jack even here? He should have just left the Captain stranded on that asteroid. But Rose wouldn't hear of it.
"What," The Doctor says, more of a statement that a question.
Jack laughs. "Oh come on. February 14th." He raises his eyebrows.
"What about it?"
"Valentine's Day, Doctor. Or do you not celebrate human holidays?"
Valentine's Day. Of course. The 14th of February. The day of love. How could he forget about that?
"Right," he says leaning against the wall. "Valentine's Day. St. Valentine's Day. Nice holiday."
"Sure is," Jack says. He leans in a bit. "You know what humans do on Valentine's Day, don't you?"
"Yes," The Doctor retorts watching Jack suspiciously.
"Well?" Jack asks getting even closer. The Doctor can see Jack's eyes looking him up and down. He knows exactly what Jack is thinking. It's all too clear. He's not even surprised when Jack puts his arms on either side of the Doctor, pressing his palms into the wall and trapping The Doctor.
"What do you say, Doctor?" Jack says. "Want to see how humans celebrate today?" He grins and starts to lean in closer.
"No thanks, Jack," The Doctor says quickly, ducking under Jacks right arm and scurrying into the hallway. Jack's face falls. The Doctor bids him a quick goodbye and rushes down the hallway, breaking into a run.
Just his luck. Getting stuck with Captain Jack Harkness on Valentine's Day. It's almost too perfect for Jack. The Doctor knows he's only avoided the first round of Jack's flirting for the day. He's going to have to find a way to stay away from the con man.
The Doctor reaches the main control room of the TARDIS. He starts to open the door but he shuts it quickly upon seeing the blonde sitting dejectedly in the jump seat near the TARDIS console. Rose. What is he supposed to do about Rose? Does she know what today is? Does she care? What is he supposed to do for her today? Is he supposed to do something?
Rose is just sitting there. He wonders if Jack's hit on Rose yet, or if Jack is more interested in hitting on him. It all depends on how Jack's feeling that day.
The Doctor watches Rose through the dirty window of the door. She's swinging her legs back and forth, obviously waiting for something. Or someone.
He realizes that Rose might be up to the same thing Jack is. What is he supposed to do if Rose wants to celebrate Valentine's Day with him? He's no good at this sort of thing. But he is over 900 years old for god's sake. He should know what to do with this kind of thing. But maybe Rose doesn't know what today is, maybe she forgot. It gets quite hard to keep track of your dates when you're time traveling.
The Doctor hopes that he won't have to deal with any of that romance stuff. He likes Rose, a lot. But he's not ready to go any further than a hug. He's not comfortable with anything more. He doesn't think he can make Rose happy like that.
Who is he kidding? He'd love to be with Rose, but he knows that he can't. Time Lords aren't supposed to be with humans. They're forever, eternal, and humans are finite, a speck in the vast span of time. Rose's life is like a blip in the fabric of eternity. The Doctor will survive after she's gone, even if he dies, he'll just regenerate. But once Rose is gone, she's gone. He tries not to think about that. In his mind, it's Rose and him forever. But it's never that way. They always leave, or worse.
He's not going to think about those kinds of things. He's going to get through today. He's going to avoid Jack. And maybe he could even do something for Rose, to let her know that he cares.
He should do something for her. Maybe he can give her some flowers. He could take her to the Balayane Peninsula. The most beautiful flowers grow there. He could pick her some and then take her for a walk through the forests there.
He's getting sentimental. That's bad. He's a Time Lord. Alone is what he has to be, what he will be. He can't have Rose forever. He should just forget about this silly romantic stuff. He takes a few deep breaths and then enters the control room.
"Good morning, Rose," he says cheerily, flashing her a big smile.
Rose smiles in return and says, "Hullo, Doctor."
"And how are you today?" The Doctor says, sitting next to Rose in the jump seat.
"I'm fine," Rose replies. She looks sideways at the Doctor. Her hair falls in front of her face casting delicate shadows on her features, her hazel eyes and full lips.
The Doctor's hearts beat a little faster he's not usually this close to Rose. She smells sweet, like vanilla.
The Doctor exhales slowly leaning back on the chair and drumming his long fingers on his knee. What is he supposed to say? Should he offer to take Rose somewhere? He could. It wouldn't hurt.
"Rose," he turns back to her. She looks up at him expectantly. "Would you, uh, would you-"
He's cut off by Jack who bounds into the control room and says loudly, "What's on the agenda today?" He sits down next to Rose, making the jump seat rock back and forth a bit.
Jack crosses his arms and muses, "We could go to France. That's a good place for today, very romantic. Wouldn't you say so, Doctor?" Jack leans forward and cocks an eyebrow.
"No, Jack," the Doctor says, a hint of anger in his voice, "You'll have a better chance asking the wall out."
Jack crosses his arms. "Already tried that," he says playfully.
The Doctor rolls his eyes. He gets up and leans on the console of the TARDIS. Running his tongue over his teeth, he watches Rose and Jack. He could suggest that they all go to the Balayane Peninsula. It'd be easy for him to lose Jack and get some alone time with Rose.
"What are we doing today, Doctor?" Rose asks standing up and leaning next to The Doctor on the console.
"Well," the Doctor says, trying to make it seem like Balayane is just another stop, "We could go to the Balayane Peninsula. It's very beautiful this time of year. Be a nice break from gallivanting around time and space. Nice little stroll through the forests there." He smiles down at Rose, "Sound good?"
Rose grins. "Sounds great."
The Doctor gives her a quick wink, noting that her cheeks gain a pink tinge, and then he spins around and yanks at the controls of the TARDIS. Rose turns too, so that their backs are to Jack.
"So Balayane, huh?" Jack says from behind the Doctor. "And I get this view all the way there? This is great."
The Doctor gives Jack a look. Jack winks seductively at him.
"You could make yourself useful, Jack," the Doctor says, spinning one of the controls, "Why don't you go get together a picnic or something, instead of staring at our backsides."
"Fine," Jack says moodily. He sulks out of the control room.
The Doctor shakes his head and sighs. He turns to Rose. "Please don't tell me that he's been flirting with you too today."
"Yeah," Rose replies, laughing a bit, "Why? You jealous? Does the Doctor want Captain Jack all to himself?" She says 'Captain Jack' like it's the greatest thing in the world.
The Doctor laughs and says, "Nah. You can have him if you want."
"No thank you. I'm good." Rose laughs. The Doctor smiles to himself as he grinds the TARDIS controls.
Rose watches him and asks, "So are we really going here for a picnic? Nothing else?"
The Doctor nods. Rose gives him an unconvinced look.
"We are!" the Doctor says truthfully. He makes two crosses on his chest, "Cross my hearts."
They arrive at Balayane and Jack stumbles back into the control room as they land. He's carrying a large, old fashioned basket, which he sets down near the door of the TARDIS.
He wipes his brow and says, "Got your picnic, Doctor. You better like sandwiches."
"I love em," the Doctor replies listening to the grinding sound of the TARDIS. He loves that sound. He runs a finger over the time rotor case marveling at how truly beautiful his TARDIS is.
"You want a moment alone with the TARDIS, Doctor?" Jack asks cheekily as he pulls on his coat.
The Doctor smiles a bit. He walks over and stands next to Jack inspecting the contents of the picnic basket, looking for anything other than food. Everything seems to be in order. He straightens up and turns to Rose who has come to stand next to him.
"Ready?" he asks taking her hand. She nods giving him a quick smile. He pulls open the door.
Light instantly floods the TARDIS. Squinting, the Doctor leads Rose out into the light. Rose gasps as her eyes focus. The landscapes of Balayane are in full bloom. It's spring, or at least it would be if there were seasons on this planet.
The fields of Balayane stretch out before them. Thousands of different flowers and grasses sway in the light breeze. To their right is a forest with trees of all sorts of colors, sizes, and shapes. The sky is a mixture of blues, purples, whites, and grays. Each color blending into the next so smoothly that it all appears to be one color, made up of thousands of other ones.
"It's beautiful," Rose whispers looking up into in the sky.
"I know," the Doctor says softly. He grips Rose's hand more tightly and breaks into a run laughing wildly. He leads Rose to a particular spot in the field that they are standing in. It's a patch of green grass, very much similar to earth's, but very different from the turquoise grass to their left.
"You see that?" the Doctor says pointing to the brightest spot in the colorful sky, "That's the sun. Not the real sun of course. Balayane's sun. It's made up of thousands of different light sources all bunched into one semi solid mass. And this," he picks up a bit of dirt and shows it to Rose, "This is what supports the planet. It's kind of like blood, keeps the planet alive as it's moved by the wind and the plants. It's everywhere, always underfoot. It moves underground and has everything that anything on this planet needs. A whole ecosystem kept alive by this."
The Doctor smiles and lets the dirt fall through his fingers. He's having a field day. Balayane is one of his favorite planets. It's so beautiful and peaceful. Perfect for a day off from saving the universe.
Jack catches up with them. He sets the picnic basket down and takes off his coat.
"Thanks for waiting," he says sarcastically, throwing his coat on the ground. He unbuttons his collared shirt and pulls it off so that he's in his t-shirt. He readjusts his suspenders, giving them a quick snap. Then he proceeds to pull out a blanket from the basket.
"You gonna help me with this?" he asks the Doctor offering him half of the blanket.
"Oh, right," the Doctor says, reluctantly letting go of Rose's hand. He and Jack set up the blanket and then the three of them proceed to get out the food.
They recline on the blanket, relaxing in the warmth of the sun-that's-not-really-a-sun-but-a-collection-of-different-light-sources. The Doctor takes off his coat and throws it next to Jack's. Rose seems to be the only one who dressed appropriately, dressed in a pink blouse and jeans. They eat at least three sandwiches each, then they lay back and sip soda while enjoying the outdoors.
"I'm surprised at how much stuff that basket could hold," Jack muses, his hands behind his head as he lies on the blanket. He looks over at the Doctor who's lying next to him and asks, "Is everything bigger on the inside with you?" He smiles.
"You're not going to find out if it is, Jack," the Doctor says, immediately catching onto what Jack meant. Rose giggles to the Doctor's right. Jack snorts and closes his eyes.
They're silent for a while, just enjoying the day. The Doctor's glad that this worked out like it did. He's greatly enjoying himself, just being here with his companions. Even if Jack has to make some sort of crude joke every other second.
Rose sighs next to him and the Doctor looks over at her. Her eyes are closed and there's the slightest smile on her lips. She must be enjoying herself too. She looks so beautiful, her cheeks are rosy and her long eyelashes cast small shadows over her face. The Doctor finds her hand and gives it a little squeeze.
Rose looks over at him. Her eyes are so pretty. He wants to have some time alone with her, without Jack.
He gets up and stretches his thin frame. Offering a hand to Rose he says, "Miss Tyler, would you accompany me for a walk?"
"Of course," Rose says smiling. She takes his hand and they start off.
"Do I get a private walk too?" Jack asks from the blanket, propping himself up on his elbows.
"Oh go kiss a Dalek," the Doctor hisses, genuinely annoyed with Jack now. He leads Rose away toward the forest.
"I expect that walk when you get back, Doctor," Jack yells after them. They ignore him.
"Can you believe him," the Doctor says as they near the forest.
"I'm sure he has kissed a Dalek before," Rose says laughing.
"Wouldn't put it past him."
The forest is even more beautiful than the fields. All sorts of foliage grow in between the interesting trees. Blue leaves shaped like tubes make whistling noises as they walk past them. To their right is a large, yellow tree with a perfectly square trunk. Another tree is a perfectly round ball with large veined leaves sprouting from the top of it.
They walk on a path that seems to have been put there simply for them. It winds through the trees and plants, little patches of light shining in from the gaps in the tree tops illuminate the path.
"This place really is lovely," Rose says swinging their hands back and forth as the walk.
The Doctor murmurs a quick "Mmhmm," his mind working furiously trying to take in all of what's going on. Not much is actually happening. He's just going for a walk with Rose, but it's much more than that. This is Valentine's Day, and he's here because he wanted to take Rose somewhere special. He wanted to pick her flowers from Balayane because he felt that they were worthy of her. But he can't just hand her some flowers now, it'd be too awkward. And what is he supposed to say? What is he supposed to do?
Rose stops to examine a triangular leaf that's the color of a sunset. She turns it over in her free hand, still clutching the Doctor's hand in her other. The Doctor bites his lip as he watches Rose. He should say something. He should do something.
It's bloody Valentine's Day and this is the girl he's traveled with for over a year, the girl who's stood by his side, even saved his life a few times. He truly cares for her and he wants to make her happy. He took her with him to combat the loneliness that he feels on a regular basis, so that he could have companionship. He didn't want it to become anything more, but it did. He can see now that he's developed feelings for Rose despite himself. He could tell her. He should tell her. But part of him feels as though she already knows.
He runs his hand through his hair nervously and then takes a chance saying, "Rose, er, today. You know what day it is, right?"
Rose straightens up looking at him with those beautiful eyes. "Yeah, I do," she says softly.
"Well," the Doctor tries to find the right words, "I, erm, I wanted to do something for you, so that's why I brought you here. I figured that it would be nice to have a picnic and spend some time together. And Balayane is, well, it's generally considered to be one of the most beautiful planets and I thought that maybe…"
Rose is laughing.
"What?" the Doctor asks confused.
"You," Rose says smiling.
"What?" the Doctor asks again, not sure what Rose is getting at.
"You're just so sweet."
"I am?" the Doctor blinks a few times. Rose nods. Then she gives him a hug.
"I'm glad I get to spend today with you, Doctor," Rose says softly, her chin resting on the Doctor's shoulder. The Doctor returns her embrace, sweeping her off her feet and spinning her around.
"I wouldn't want it any other way," he says to Rose. He sets her down and pulls away so that he can look at her properly. She's all smiles and so is he. He leans down so that he can whisper in her ear.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Rose Tyler," he whispers, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
Rose surprises him by grabbing him by his suit lapels and pulling him in for a passionate kiss on the lips. He returns the kiss and takes her in his arms pulling her close and working his fingers into her soft hair.
He's not sure how long they kiss, but as soon as they part he's gasping for air and Rose's cheeks are flushed.
Rose says breathlessly, "Happy Valentine's Day, Doctor."
"Yeah," The Doctor gasps. He looks down at Rose and smiles sheepishly.
Rose takes his hand. "Come on." She leads him out of the forest.
They're quiet as they head back to where Jack is. Jack is still on the blanket. It's obvious that he's fallen asleep as he snores loudly.
"We might have a few hours to ourselves without Mr. Harkness," the Doctor says taking Rose's other hand. "We have a whole planet to ourselves. No one lives on Balayane, it can't support life. The soil is technically the only living thing, even though it's not really living. Well, in a way it is, but that's not important. What is important is that we can do anything we want for about three more hours before the planet goes into a state of hibernation for the night, because it does that. I don't know why it does; I think it may be a way for the soil to rest, take a break from keeping the planet alive. Although it's still keeping it alive during hibernation, but it doesn't have to work so hard."
"Why don't we just go for another walk," Rose says as the Doctor pauses to take a breath.
He looks down at her. "Oh, I was rambling, wasn't I? Right. Sorry. Another walk. Sounds good." He smiles and they start in the direction of a snowy looking field.
"You've got to stop me when I ramble," the Doctor says.
"I like it," Rose replies, "But you should wear your glasses when you do it. They make you look smarter."
"Do they?" the Doctor reaches in his pocket and pulls them out. He puts them on in a flourish. "So I can ramble now, yes?"
"If you want," Rose looks at him and then she gives him another kiss, soft and sweet, that makes his hearts flutter and his glasses go a bit askew.
Rose pushes the Doctor's glasses back up his long nose. He smiles and brushes the hair out of her eyes. Then they join hands again and walk through the snowy field. The Doctor explaining that it's not really snow, but pollen, Rose listening quietly, leaning her head on his shoulder as they walk through the field of white.