It was late one night when the Doctor and Rose looked for parts. They hadn't meant to come in so late, but their dinner with Martha and her fiancé James ran a bit longer than expected. Not a bad longer, actually a very good longer. Truly they should have gone home after, as the Doctor had become a bit tipsy. It was a good thing Rose drank lightly, otherwise none of them would have made it home.
Now the two of them were in the basement of Torchwood Four, searching for possibly helpful things for the growth of the TARDIS coral. Well, at least Rose was. The Doctor was passed out in the corner, snoring loudly. Bless his heart, his strangely singular heart. He never could hold his liquor.
Earlier he had been rambling on about a cellular replication manipulator or something of the like, and Rose was trying her best to make a match. There were so many pieces of alien junk in here, much of which they hadn't had before the rift opened for the first time. So much junk had just appeared around Cardiff that Torchwood stepped in to make sure it didn't get in the wrong hands. Or just hands that didn't know how to work it and risked the possibility of it blowing up in their face.
Rose turned the corner, starting to make her way down another endless and unsorted aisle. She pushed around a cart, almost like she was grocery shopping. She picked up a piece of a particle accelerator. Maybe it would help, she really didn't know. It was like trying to cook without a recipe or previous knowledge.
A small box caught her eye. On it was bizarre writing, carved into the alien surface. The box looked like a metal and wood combined into one material. In a funny way it seemed a bit menacing. She knew she shouldn't bother with it, but she was far too curious. That had always been her trouble. Too nosy for her own good, her mother always said. Well her mother wasn't here, so Rose didn't care. She crouched down in front of it and ran her fingers over the dusty surface.
The markings glowed lightly, warming at her touch. She thumbed the lock, searching through her hair for a bobby pin with the other hand. She really ought to have her own sonic screwdriver, but then she supposed it wouldn't be as special. Finally, after searching through her bag, she found a hair pin. She pushed it into the lock slowly, head tilted as she listened for the clicks. Funny how there are so many species of aliens and they all tend to use the same sort of locks. How unoriginal, she thought and pulled the lock off. She lifted the lid with both hands and peered inside.
Little golden specks glowed, and energy of some sort probably. But then it began to envelop her. She was wide-eyed as the warmth penetrated her skin, sinking to her core.
"Doctor…" She began, but couldn't finish. It was glorious, and she felt tired at last. And so she sank to the floor, already unconscious of her numb arms catching her and laying her gently down. The box's lid flipped down and closed tight, as it's contents were now all gone.
~1 year later~
The ground was surprisingly warm under Roses feet as she stepped out of the TARDIS into the embrace of the sun. Sand tickled her feet as she danced down to the water, blonde hair being blown around in the salty breeze. She really hadn't had good experiences at beaches, but this would be a first, she decided. The calm clear waters called to her with the gentle slap of waves against the shore. And so she splashed into the endless blue. She dunked her head, letting her hair cover her face as she came up. She flipped back her hair from her eyes.
"Not much of a Bond babe, am I-" but her voice broke off when she saw the Doctor coming toward her. His swim trunks were the color of the TARDIS and showed off his lean muscular legs. His torso was toned ever so slightly, looking very slim and attractive. He had a patch of dark hair across his chest and down his stomach. Rose was speechless, something she had found happened so very often with this Doctor.
The Doctor looked down at himself, confused.
"What? Have I got sunblock not rubbed in?" He tried to look down at his nose, going cross-eyed in the process. Rose smiled, she could never express how much she loved this man. This one. She loved the other, but now she loved this one so much more. He glanced up to see her smiling, then broke out into one of his great big grins. Her mouth opened just slightly as her tongue poked out between her teeth. He sauntered across the red sand to the water. "So, what'dya think? Okay for a beach?"
"'S perfect." She flopped down into the shallow waters.
"Did you know that this planet is half ocean half desert, perfectly divided across the meridian. And the sun hits perfectly from the south pole that the southern half is in perpetual day and the northern half is always dark." He dropped down next to her.
"So, is there anyone around? Or is it just red rocks and red sand?"
"Well, there is a small tribe of purple people who live at the core. And actually this isn't sand, it's a highly compacted form of this water, more similar to snow than-oh. Oh." Rose had put a finger to his lips then lightly kissed him. He moved into it, running a hand through her hair and pulling her back in. She kissed him passionately, as they had many times before. But this was slightly different, this was the kiss of a victor. She had won, they had won. And she was desperate to show him that. It was fiery and confident and sent shivers down his spine. They had the TARDIS, they had the universe to explore, and they had each other.
It had been two years since they had been stranded here. For Rose the second time. Really, it seemed like an eternity already. So much had happened just in two short years, they saved the world, grew the TARDIS, and in the meantime bought a house. Of course now they spent more time on the TARDIS, but it was nice having a place to return to that wasn't occupied by someone else. More notably, a home that wasn't sentient.
They pulled apart slowly, letting the fire linger on their lips. She grinned, running her hand across his jaw as she stood.
"I'm starved." Then she collapsed into the water. The Doctor's eyes went wide as his grin dissolved. He rushed over to her, water flying behind him.
"Rose! Rose, please!" He lifted her from the shallows and ran to the TARDIS, "Stay with me. Please," He begged. He gently set her on the torn leather bench that occupied a small portion of the railing. Golden energy escaped Rose's lips, joining with the light of the column. It went completely unnoticed by the distraught Doctor.
He frantically circled the console, pulling and pressing and switching and turning. For once he didn't know what to do or where to go. But now the TARDIS did.