When You Have Only One Lifetime

Part One

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

Rose found him there again, sitting in the curve of the huge bay window in the living room of her father, Pete's mansion. They had been living in the parallel universe for a week now and Rose had found him there every morning in his pajamas and robe staring pensively out the window. She thought she knew why but thought it best to find out for sure so, she walked over and sat down beside him. He looked at her and his eyes lit up with joy.

"You're up early," she said, "It's barely sunrise." He smiled as he took her hand in his. She was still surprised by how warm his touch was, not as cool as the Doctor's had been. "I know," he replied, his voice soft, almost wistful. "I was watching the sunrise." Then, unexpectedly, he chuckled. "You know, Rose, I could tell you how the colors are caused by the refractions in the atmosphere caused by dust dispersal but," here his voice was wistful again, "I never took the time to just watch it happen till now."

Rose's eyes widened and she smiled, "You mean to tell me you have watched every sunrise since we got here?" He turned to look at her, his eyes filled with wonder, "Yes, I have and you know what, each one is different, no two sunrises are the same. Neither are sunsets. It's fasinicating!"

Rose smiled as she laid her head on his shoulder. Then, she sat up. "Have you thought about your name? I tried pronouncing your Gallifreyan name and, frankly, it hurts too much." He nodded, "I realized that but, I have to admit, it made me feel good to hear you trying, thank you for that." Rose grinned, "Hey, I wanted to try but, it's just impossible and I really don't think 'Doctor' is a good thing, you agree?"

He was silent for a few minutes then, he nodded his head slowly, "I agree, that was another time, another lifetime. Best to make as clean a break as possible although..." His voice trailed off and Rose nodded, she understood. This man had all of his memories, all of his experiences and yet, he was so...different. True, he was, physically, human but, there were certain things about him that were the same. He still had the respiratory by pass system and his stamina was..astounding.

Rose nodded, "I know, some things we cannot ignore but, this is your life now, not his. You make your own choices now, you decide what you want to do." He smiled and pulled her to him, "I know Rose and, it is a bit daunting but, as long as I have you, I'll be all right. "No regrets, my love?" She thought for a moment then shook her head, "No, I made my choice there in Bad Wolf Bay and I chose you. I loved him but I realized what he was trying to tell me back when we met Sarah Jane."

He nodded, remembering, "Sarah Jane was right, the universe has to move forward." He turned to look her full in the face, "I love you, Rose Tyler, I can say it where he couldn't, or wouldn't in some cases. You realize, there are some happenings in my past that I have to tell you about, I owe you that, to help you understand me. There's one in particular but..." His voice trailed off and Rose saw a profound sadness in his eyes. She had seen it before and then, she remembered and touched his hand, "Grace?" She asked.

He flashed a grateful smile at her, "Yes, dear, sweet, loving Grace." Rose nodded, remembering when the Doctor had taken her with him when he made his yearly visit to his last wife's grave and had told her part of what had happened to her. He hadn't told her everything because it obviously hurt too much. He looked at her and flashed a smile, "Later, there will be time later to tell you about her. Right now, I need a name or," Here he pulled a small box from the pocket of his robe and shyly held it out to her, "Or we can't get married."

Rose's eyes widened then she took the box and opened it. Her squeal of delight woke up the rest of the household and she was saying, "Yes, Yes, I'll marry you!" He smiled, took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto the correct finger of her left hand. When the family came downstairs, there found him and Rose locked in an embrace, tears of joy pouring from her eyes and a few falling down his face.

Of course, when Jackie saw the ring, she squealed as well and mother and daughter began planning almost immediately. He watched the two women go off and smiled sheepishly at Pete. "Sorry to wake you."

Peter grinned, "No apologies needed, not when my girl is so happy." He looked at Pete, "I need your help. I've decided on a name and I need to get things moved along." Peter nodded and motioned for him to come into his office. Once inside, they got down to business and soon, he had all he needed.

Pete looked over the documents and smiled, "Good idea, choosing a surname from the British Isles, makes a lot of sense." He laid the birth certificate in front of him and he looked at it. He had spent hours pouring over books of names. It wasn't very often you had the opportunity to choose your own name and he wanted to get it right. The name he had chosen was "Darick Kenelm MacInnes" He smiled seeing it in print for the first time. He had chosen carefully. 'Darick' meant "Strong, oak-hearted" in Irish Gaelic. "Kenelm" had been perfect, it translated into "Brave friend, Protector" which he had every intention of being to Rose. Then, "MacInnes" was his chosen surname. He smiled over it's meaning in Scottish Gaelic, "Son of the Unique choice" That he was. He was one of a kind.

He finally looked up at Pete, "Thank you." He extended his hand. Pete grasped it and smiled, "You're welcome, Darick." Darick smiled, liking the sound of that name. He gathered up all the documents and headed back to his room. Rose had been a little miffed when he insisted on seperate rooms until he explained it to her. "I want to do this right, Rose, for both of us. I still need some time to adjust to all of this." Rose had nodded and said she understood. What she didn't have to say was that she needed the time as well.

Once he was in his room and the door closed, he fairly jumped for joy. 'Finally', he thought, 'Finally, I have my own life.' He flopped down on the bed with a wide grin on his face. He had his own life, his own name and soon, the woman he loved more than life itself. Then, the smile faded, he had a promise to keep to Rose so, he got dressed and came down stairs, asking her if she'd like to go out for breakfast so that they could talk.

End Part One