Author's Note: This is a sequel to Coloring Within the Parallel Lines. I recommend you read that one first, but if you want to start here instead, know that the Doctor and Rose have met this world's Jack Harkness.
This story picks up roughly where the last one left off, at the Doctor and Rose's wedding. I plan for much fluff and some adventure, because really, when don't the Doctor and Rose attract trouble?
This is my edited version for this site. I have a more adult version at A Teaspoon and an Open Mind under crazygirlne. As a warning, this first chapter does include their wedding night; however, I removed anything I thought crossed lines into M, keeping some of the scene because it is necessary to understand their mental bond.
Chapter One: Doctor and Rose Tyler
As the Doctor spun her, Rose laughed, her wedding dress flaring around her ankles. He brought her close again, and they swayed gently, no space between the newly married pair's bodies.
"I'll go wherever you will go," he sang along quietly into his bride's ear. The Doctor pulled back just far enough to look Rose in the eye. "Jack picked the song list, right?"
"Yeah," replied Rose with a smile. "Bit of a romantic, Jack is. He begged Mum to let him. Though," she added with a chuckle, "I think she only made him talk her into it so she could drool at him for longer."
She took a look around the small dance floor, seeing Jackie dancing contentedly with Pete while Jack was dancing with one of the servers, who was giggling at something he said. Rose was amazed at how similar this Jack was to the first one she'd met, and she frequently had trouble remembering they didn't share all of the same memories.
Rose looked back at her husband and grinned.
"We're married, Doctor!" she said.
His returning smile was just as big as hers.
"Oh, yes," he said enthusiastically, moving in for a kiss.
"Hey, get a room!" came Jack's voice, amusement evident.
"I intend to," the Doctor said in a low voice before kissing his wife slowly, passionately, with just a hint of the playfulness that Rose associated with the Doctor.
Breathless, she asked, "Can we get that room now?"
Before the Doctor could respond, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"May I cut in?" asked Pete. "I get the feeling you'll be leaving soon, and I don't want to miss out on my dance. Plus, Doctor, I think Jackie'd like a turn with you," he added, nodding toward his wife.
The Doctor took a deep, fortifying breath.
"It's my pleasure," he said, kissing Rose lightly on the hand before walking toward Jackie, body language reflecting that of a man walking toward his execution.
Rose giggled before turning to Pete for their dance. The music had changed to Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely," and Rose glanced at Jack, who stood next to the extravagant sound system. He winked at her in an exaggerated way before leading the pretty server out of the reception hall, presumably to find a room for himself.
Rose laughed again and looked at the man who she considered her father.
"I know I wasn't there when you were born or when you were growing up," said Pete seriously, "but I do think of you as my daughter, and I couldn't be any prouder of the woman you've grown up to be."
She was slightly teary when she replied.
"I'm so glad you didn't die in this world," she said as they continued dancing.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jackie dragging the Doctor around the dance floor, talking constantly. Rose laughed again.
"Mum is, too," she added.
Pete looked at his wife with the expression he reserved for her alone, a mix of adoration and exasperation.
"She's one of a kind, your mother, even if I've been married to two of her," he said.
He looked back to his daughter.
"You make sure that new husband of yours treats you right, or I'm pretty sure Jackie will make sure he disappears." He shuddered slightly. "I'm very sure she's more scary than any alien threat I've had to deal with through Torchwood, when she wants to be."
They finished the rest of the dance in a comfortable silence, Rose lost in thoughts of how lucky she was, surrounded by her small family and now married to the part-human she loved the most.
When the song was over, the same part-human who so often occupied her thoughts came to retrieve her.
"You know," he said thoughtfully, looking only a little disheveled after his dance with Jackie, "despite the excessive number of flowers and the entire rooms booked for just ten people, Jackie really did do a good job of putting this together."
He blinked and looked a little panicked when he realized he'd complemented Jackie without prompting, though they really did get along much better than they once had. Rose smiled at him.
"So," she said, making sure the Doctor was the only one who could hear her, "I think it's time for us to get out of here, yeah?"
When the Doctor took in the look on Rose's face, his own appearance shifted from panicked to hungry and focused.
"I think you might be right. Well, of course you're right. You're brilliant!" he replied with the grin Rose associated with that statement. "Allons-y!"
O~O~O~O~O~O
After saying their goodbyes (it took a while to find Jack, who, when he turned up, was missing both a tie and a shoe), the Doctor and Rose left the reception, the Doctor driving their car back to their relatively new house. The two were staying at their own home tonight before leaving in the morning for their honeymoon, the location of which was still a surprise for Rose.
"Jack sure doesn't waste any time," remarked Rose.
"Of course not," said the Doctor, amused. "He wouldn't be Jack if he did. Speaking of Jack," he continued, "he said I should tell you to look in the glove box."
"Alright," said Rose, hesitantly reaching for the glove box to open it.
When it opened, Rose gasped and then laughed.
"What is it?" asked the Doctor, watching the road.
"Condoms," said Rose. "There must be hundreds of them."
They spent the rest of the drive home chuckling over the variety and discussing their options, with the Doctor tossing in information about the history of condoms and about various alien equivalents.
"Really?" asked Rose as they arrived at their TARDIS-blue house. "Over their heads?"
"Well," said the Doctor, "That's where the applicable organs are located. Of course, since they breathe through orifices on their head just like we do, they celebrate being, erm, quick."
The Doctor got out of the car and opened Rose's door.
"Mrs. Tyler," he said, bowing and gesturing toward the house.
Rose got out of the car.
"I'm not gonna get used to that," she said. "I love that you're Doctor Tyler, that we can introduce ourselves as 'Doctor and Rose Tyler' and still be correct with your alias and all, but 'Mrs. Tyler' is my mum."
As they reached the door, the Doctor scooped her into his arms, carrying her into their home. He shut the door without putting her down and continued further into the house, his destination obvious as he made his way up the stairs.
"Well then," he said in a low voice, "I can always just call you 'mine.'"
Rose buried her face into the Doctor's neck, finding herself suddenly nervous. It wasn't like it was their first time having sex (far from it; really, really far from it), but this would still be a first for them: first time as husband and wife, and first time trying to merge their minds. From the Doctor's explanations, this was likely to change their lovemaking considerably, if it worked.
"Tell me again how it works, Doctor?" she asked as he carried her into their room and placed Rose gently on the bed, the Doctor visibly marveling at the sight of her in her wedding dress, in the bed they shared.
"Well," he said as he positioned himself next to her and she turned to face him, "First, I'm going to help you relax. We might be able to figure out a way to do that."
The Doctor winked at Rose suggestively, briefly reminding her of Jack. She suppressed a giggle.
"Then," he continued, moving his fingers so they lightly skimmed her temple, "I'll move my hands here, and I'll try making contact. If this works, we shouldn't need physical touch after tonight if we want to share thoughts or feelings."
"After I initiate the bond, we should start receiving thoughts, pictures, and feelings from each other. I'll teach you how to create barriers for some privacy after the link is established, but not tonight. Tonight, my dear wife, we aren't going to have any barriers between us at all."
Rose, feeling decidedly less nervous and more desperate from just the tone in his voice, felt this was starting much too slowly.
"Take your clothes off," she said, the hint of a growl in her words as she sat up to do the same with her dress.
Unfortunately, she got a bit tangled during the removal process.
She made a frustrated sound as she realized she was stuck, the dress pinning her arms above her head and completely obscuring her vision. She heard the Doctor chuckle.
"Can't have that, now, can we?" he asked, and she could hear him moving to help. "I'm the one who's newer to being human, you know, so I probably should have taken longer to undress, but here I am, naked before you. Did you know that in some cultures, the male of the species first has to shed. . ."
"Doctor," interrupted Rose, "Is this really the time?"
She tried again to wriggle out of the dress and managed to fall instead, landing on her back on the bed.
"Hmmm," said the Doctor contemplatively, "I suppose not."
"Doctor," she breathed, "Aren't you going to help me get this thing off?"
"Of course, Rose," he replied.
After working hard to relax her, he resumed kissing her passionately. He slowed their kiss after a few minutes, moving a hand to her temple.
"May I?" he asked, his voice rough with emotion and lust.
"Please," said Rose, looking into his eyes.
She felt a gentle pressure in her mind. After a moment, she had the impression of the Doctor's mind leaning into hers, pushing firmly without forcing. Then, he was in.
Rose moaned involuntarily as she registered his need before she focused back on the sensations in her mind. Her first thought was that it wasn't too dissimilar to her previous dreams of the Doctor; she could feel what he was feeling, and, if she focused, she could see what he saw, too.
"Okay, Rose," she heard in her mind, "To talk to me like this, just focus on what feels like me and imagine telling me what you want to hear."
"Doctor," she sent back, "This feels good. We feel so close."
"And it gets even better," he said out loud before kissing her thoroughly again.
In her mind, or in their shared minds, as it felt, a barrier lifted. Suddenly, all she could see was the Doctor. She relived his past, seeing his memories and feeling them, and she knew, somehow, he was seeing her life, too. When the images stopped, she opened the eyes she hadn't noticed closing and looked at her husband.
"Hello," he said with a grin. "That worked well. Probably because of the…"
Rose silenced him with a heated kiss.
They continued in this fashion, coming together in every way possible, sharing their love for each other without reservation.
"Well, that was mind blowing," thought the Doctor so she could hear after a moment, and Rose laughed at the bad pun.
He relaxed beside her and maneuvered them under the covers, pulling Rose close to him as he closed his eyes.
"Good night, my wife," he said, echoing the same into her mind.
Rose sighed contentedly.
"I love you," she told him, closing her own eyes.
"I love you, too, Rose Tyler," he responded as they drifted off, each conscious of the unique and comforting sensation that was the light mental touch of the other's presence.
A/N: I'm aiming for updating once a week this time instead of once a day; I'm not on vacation anymore, so finding that much time to write just won't work. Feedback of any sort is always welcome!