Metamorphosis
It started the way all his dreams begin, a low haze in the distance, quiet murmurings with inaudible language. He was standing on the beach, the beach of his nightmares and deepest desires. The beach that had haunted him since the day she was torn from his universe. He could smell the salt in the air and felt the breeze ruffle his hair. She was standing on the beach right beside him, as beautiful as the day he had first seen her. And for the first time since the day he had lost her, she truly smiled.
He grabbed Rose's hand and they began walking along the shore. Rose looked up at him, smiled, then said, "Are you ready to go home?" He nodded, turned briefly to look at the water, then they turned together towards the town. The town was quite small, more of a village or a small collection of huts. The houses were constructed with hard grey clay and twig-thatched roofs.
Rose turned to him, "Welcome to the Village of Bad Wolf." She smiled, then added shyly, "Now that you are here, I truly feel as though I belong in this city even though we share a name."
He laughed but melancholy pervaded his thoughts. "Bad Wolf" brought memories of his other self, a different lifetime, when her love had saved him. He leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead so she wouldn't see the glimmer of sadness in his eyes. "I am so happy to be here with you. I have missed you for so long."
Rose embraced him, snuggling into his heat. "You don't know how much I have missed you. I learned to cope and Mum and Pete kept me entertained but it is nothing compared to following you around the universe…and occasionally saving your ass. It is such a lovely ass." She lightly tapped his backside then looked up and pointed across the street. "See that hut over there? The one with the blue door? That is my house, I mean our house." She looked extremely flustered and mumbled, "I mean assuming you are staying with me."
"Of course I will live in OUR hut, although that seems a little larger than the average hut. I always thought of the TARDIS as our home but perhaps it is time to start a new life together."
"Come with me and I will show you around." Rose grabbed his hand, and laughingly, pulled him quickly across the gravel road to the TARDIS-blue door. Rose gently pushed against the propped open door and entered a large, colorfully furnished room. "I share this house with Mum, Tony, and Pete. It is much larger than the other huts because Pete needs to live in comfort and has the money to fulfill his wants. He still has is big house in London but ever since he hooked up with Mum we have all lived together here on the bay. You know, so you could find us easier is you ever found a way to come back." She paused, then continued loudly, "Mum, I hope you are here, since the door is hanging open. We could get worse than strays if the door's open with no one home."
Jackie shuffled through a doorway to their left and proceeded towards where they were standing. "Rose, shush," she whispered. "I've just put Tony down for a nap. I've had enough of his fussing for the moment so be careful not to wake him."
"Sorry, Mum, but you know how I get about that door. Is Dad around?"
"No, sweetheart. He thinks we need a party to celebrate so he's gone to the city for supplies."
"God, all he ever thinks about is parties. That money and fame just goes to his head."
"I do like the money though, it's a nice change. I've got to ring a friend then I'm going to watch some tele." Jackie stopped to look at him. "Do you have any other clothes? You should have Rose ring Pete and ask him to bring back some clothes from the city center." She turned and headed to the glass door in the rear of the room and silently disappeared.
Rose looked up at him, "Are you hungry? I really want some biscuits." She crossed the room to the kitchen doorway and he quickly followed.
"Do you want milk?" He nodded, pulled out a chair, and sat down at the table. Rose brought him a saucer of tea, placed a package of chocolate biscuits between them, and sat down.
"So what now? You won't need to get a job because Pete has enough money to run a small country. I'm sure Torchwood would love to see you and they have so much tech you can play with. You can do whatever you want."
"I'm sure I will find plenty to keep myself busy but I just want to be near you for a while. I have to convince myself this is real."
"I know exactly how you feel." She smiled at the table. "Honestly, I'm still trying to process what happened earlier…did you truly mean what you said?"
He smiled slyly, "Ohhh, and what is it that I said?"
"You know exactly what you said when you whispered in my ear."
He leaned over the table, placed his warm, chocolately lips over Rose's lips and quietly repeated his earlier murmuring. As he leaned back, Rose gently swiped her tongue across her upper lip, tasting the chocolate still clinging there. She smiled, "I do love you too. I hope you remember that. This whole situation is just a little strange for me."
"Rose, you have no idea how strange this is for me too. All these foreign yet personal memories. Do you know how beautiful you have always been to me? I know I didn't tell you that often when we were together before. You made me so happy and I was emotionally destroyed when I lost you. It would have been impossible to leave you here for a second time."
"I'm glad I get you for the rest of my life." She looked down at his plate, "Are you finished with tea? I want to show you the rest of our home."
They both stood up, deposited their dishes near the sink, and returned to the open room where they had entered the house. Rose turned to look at him. "Don't forget the baby is asleep. Mum would be upset if we wake him."
"Don't worry, I can be very quiet if I choose to be. But be warned, I usually don't choose to." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she giggled quietly as she grabbed his hand and lead him down the hallway. As they reached the nursery, they stopped to peak at the sleeping child. He smiled then whispered, "He is so adorable. I want to have a chat with him later."
"You can understand baby babble?"
"Sure, it's just like any other language."
"That is really awesome. I have always loved children."
"Maybe someday you can have children of your own. I also love children." He smiled.
Rose continued down the hallway passes two closed doors. "Bathroom and Mum's room. My room is at the end of the hall across from the guest room." She opened the door on the left and he followed her inside.
"Welcome to my bedroom." She blushed. "Have I ever said that before? You can stay here or you ca have the guest room."
He stepped completely into her room and closed the door. "I am comfortable with anything that you are willing to try. I want you to be happy because that will make me the happiest. My vote is for sharing though because if I wake up without you, I might think this has all been a dream."
"I would prefer if you stay with me. I have the same fear."
Rose reached out to him and he gathered her close to his body. He lowered his head to hers, fusing their lips slowly but firmly. Rose threaded her hands through his hair and one continued down his neck to his chest. She rested her hand on his sternum and angled her head to deepen the kiss. After a few moments, she pulled back from their kiss and looked into his eyes.
"I can feel your heart beat. It is so strong and soothing."
"Doctor, Doctor, are you ok?" Donna's voice broke through his thoughts and he opened his eyes. "I'm sorry to bother you but I walked in and you just looked so sad." She paused and searched his face. "You were thinking about Rose, weren't you? You had no choice…" She continued talking but he was focused on the images still filling his head, her body intertwined with his in the bedroom so far away. Even as he felt her skin sliding against his, he knew the sensation was being felt by someone else. He wished the live feed would stop but he couldn't figure out how to disconnect from his alternate reality. As much as leaving Rose with his Meta had pained him, he knew he could never hurt more than this moment. He knew exactly how his life would have been, if Rose has not been ripped from him once again. Knowing that she was happy with his human self was almost more than his could bare. The images and sound played on, never ending in his head.