AN: As I worked on this story, I tried to figure out which of my other stories it followed. I ended up creating a new series, "A Slight Deviation in Timelines," which consists of "A Slight Deviation from the Plan," "You Can(t)," and "Voicemail from the Future."
The Doctor pressed a kiss to Rose's temple, then eased himself out of bed. When she huffed softly in protest and rolled towards him in her sleep, his hearts tripped into a gallop. It was a rhythm he'd been familiar with once, before he'd lost her to a parallel universe. It felt strange after two years without her, but he knew he'd get used to it again.
He brushed her hair back from her face, and she sighed and turned into his caress. Sleep, love. Rose wrapped an arm around his pillow and hugged it close, almost like she'd heard his telepathic encouragement. Maybe someday…
The TARDIS hummed in the back of the Doctor's mind when he wavered. The faster he saw to whatever she wanted him to take care of, the faster he could climb back into bed with Rose for a few more hours. He sighed, then put on his dressing gown and jogged to the front of the ship.
"All right, what did you need that you had to pull me out of bed for?" he grumbled when he reached the console room. The navigation panel flashed, and he leaned over to examine it.
He stopped breathing for a moment when he recognised the coordinates. He'd planned to bring Rose here, once… after they visited Jackie.
"Are you sure?" His voice was hoarse. "Rose has only been home for a week. Shouldn't I wait?"
The lights flashed, and the time rotor started moving on its own. As they flew through time and space, the TARDIS reminded him of all the times Rose had told him she loved him in the last week, with her words and her actions.
The Doctor raked a hand through his hair, then nodded once as the ship landed softly on Velliam. She was right, of course, he acknowledged as he walked back to the room he shared with Rose. After he'd lost her, he'd sworn that if he ever got a second chance, he wouldn't waste time. It was time to make good on that promise.
Rose was lying entirely on his side of the bed when he entered the room, and his hearts stuttered again. He stared at her for a moment, still hardly able to believe that she'd found a way back to him.
The TARDIS chimed softly, and he patted the wall in thanks. If she hadn't routed Rose's phone call to his past self, who knew how long it would have taken Rose to work her way back to him? Glimmers of the aborted timeline and an interrupted reunion had flickered on the edge of his time senses all week, but he'd refused to focus long enough to see what would have happened. It didn't matter anymore. Time had deviated from that course, and he couldn't be happier.
He put his hand on Rose's shoulder and shook gently. She grunted, and he chuckled—still just as difficult to wake up as ever. "Come on, love," he encouraged. "There's something I want to show you."
One eye cracked open, and she peered up at him. "Hmmm?"
"We've landed, and I want to show you something," he repeated. "A special, midnight stop."
Rose rolled onto her back and looked up at the Doctor. On most days, she'd tell him to come back when she was awake, but there was a nervous energy radiating from him that suggested she might want to go with him now.
She pushed herself upright and brushed the hair out of her face. "Yeah, all righ'," she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep.
He beamed at her, then bounced back on his toes. "You'll want to dress warmly. It's cold out there," he informed her as he buttoned his oxford.
As soon as she was dressed and bundled up in a warm coat, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the console room. Rose laughed helplessly as she trailed behind him, completely awake now and very curious as to their surprise destination.
A cold wind blew a flurry of snowflakes into the TARDIS when the Doctor opened the door. "Ready, love?" he asked, nodding to the outside world.
Rose squeezed his hand. "I'm always ready to go anywhere with you."
The Doctor's eyes widened, then the corners crinkled up when he smiled. "Well then, Rose Tyler. Allons-y."
They stepped out of the TARDIS together, and Rose sucked in a breath at the magical beauty of the planet. "Where are we?" She stared up at the stars scattered across the deep violet sky. A swath of light stretched across the purple expanse, illuminating the snowy landscape with a lavender glow.
The Doctor started walking, and Rose fell in step beside him. "This is Velliam," he said in a hushed voice. "It isn't the centre of the galaxy, but it's the closest you can get anymore."
Snowflakes fluttered down around them, and Rose tipped her head back to catch one on her tongue. "Is that the Milky Way, then?"
"Yes. Or Mutter's Spiral, as we called it."
It took Rose a moment to catch the significance of his words. The closest you can get anymore. As we called it.
She stopped and looked up at the Doctor. "Are we… is this…"
In the pale light, she could see his Adam's apple bob. "Yes. This is the closest you can get to Gallifrey." He pointed up at a dark spot in the sky above them. "That's where it would have been."
Rose let go of the Doctor's hand and wrapped her arm around his waist instead. He draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, and a moment later, she felt him press cold lips to her temple.
The Doctor sighed. Touching Rose's temples always gave him the haziest sense of what she was feeling, and tonight, he was buoyed by her love and sympathy. He felt the weight of the ring box in his coat pocket, but he didn't reach for it yet.
"Rose." She looked up at him, and dipped his head down to kiss her. For the first time, he didn't feel empty when he thought about his lost planet. How could he, when he held Rose in his arms?
It was easy to get lost in Rose's embrace, but today, he eased out of the kiss before he could forget why he'd brought her here. "I brought you here so I could tell you something, and ask you something."
Rose slid her hands over his chest and looked at him expectantly. A dusting of snowflakes coated her hair, catching the light and making her sparkle. "I'll listen to anything you want to tell me," she promised, "but don't feel like you have to share if it's too painful."
The Doctor had to kiss her again for that, just a quick brush of his lips against hers to express his gratitude. "I love you," he whispered when he pulled back. "But I really do want to share this with you."
Looking down at her, standing in the circle of his arms, it suddenly occurred to him that if he explained telepathy before he proposed, she might feel pressured to say yes to a bond when she wasn't fully comfortable with it. As much as he wanted a bond with Rose, it was more important to him to be married to her, in whatever way she would accept.
He swallowed hard; he'd been counting on having the time it would take to explain bonding to get past the nerves. Even as he thought that, he scoffed at himself—he was going to be a wreck, no matter how much time he had to prepare himself.
A furrow appeared on Rose's brow, and the Doctor realised he'd been silent for over a minute as he'd tried to decide on the appropriate order of events.
"Doctor?"
He reached into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the box. "Well… maybe a question, and then something to tell you," he amended.
Rose put a hand to her mouth when he pulled out his hand and revealed what he held. Her gasp of surprise encouraged him, and he flipped the box open.
"Rose Tyler, you have been the very best part of my life since the moment I took your hand. You've been my partner, standing up for me, and standing up to me. When we were separated, I thought we'd never see each other again—but as always, you were stronger than me."
Tears were streaming down Rose's face, and the Doctor brushed them away with his thumb before finishing his proposal. "I love you so much, Rose. Will you marry me?"
She threw her arms around his neck, laughing through her tears. "Yes! Oh, my God, Doctor! Of course I'll marry you."
The Doctor picked her up and swung her from side to side as he pressed kisses to her face. "I love you," he whispered, over and over.
Finally, Rose slid back to the ground and gave him a smile that shone like the sun. "I love you, too. Now, can I see this ring?"
She held her hand out, and the Doctor pulled the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger. Beneath the light of the Milky Way, the deep blue sapphire twinkled at them. Rose tilted her hand, examining the way the two thin bands of the ring twined around a series of diamonds.
"It's gorgeous," she breathed.
The Doctor took her hand and turned it gently until the light caught the soft pink metal. "The band is rose gold." He traced his finger over it. "Pink and gold for you, and TARDIS blue for me."
Her breath hitched on a sob, and the Doctor cupped her face between his hands. She turned her head and nuzzled into his palm, and he leaned down to kiss her.
As her arms twined around his neck, he was dimly aware that he hadn't mentioned bonding yet. Then Rose caught his lower lip between her teeth and tugged, and he forgot everything but the taste and touch of his fiancée.
