Knots In Time
Chapter One: In Which Our Heroes Attempt To Tie The Knot
He was loathe to admit it, but the Doctor felt he might actually be getting nervous now. Thus far he'd managed to cultivate an air of Time Lord stoicism regarding his impending nuptials but as the moment approached, cracks had begun to form in his confidence with alarming frequency. It was one thing to say that this was merely a formality, the public and legal recognition of a fact of the universe: that the Doctor and Rose Tyler were a team, Shiver and Shake etc, and would be together for their respective forevers. It was quite another thing to be actually standing at the front of a crowded room, filled with their family and friends, awaiting the appearance of the woman who crossed universes to find you. The Doctor tried not to wiggle too obviously as he wiped his sweating palms on his tuxedo.
Getting married hadn't been his idea in the first place. The Doctor generally assumed that he and Rose were just fine as they were, thank you, and no ceremony was going to change how much he loved her. He was, after all, generally rubbish at weddings anyway, especially his own. Rose certainly hadn't said anything to him about marriage either; it seemed like such an odd concept given the complexity of their relationship, to do something so normal, so domestic, as marriage. It was Jackie that prompted him in the end.
She'd waited patiently for about a year to allow time for Rose and the Doctor to settle in to life in Pete's World and into each other's lives again. When he thought about it, he had to admit it must've been a remarkable feat of restraint for Jackie to wait as long as she did to start dropping hints. When her subtle hints went largely ignored by the oblivious Doctor, she opted instead for the 'overt as hell' approach.
She'd pulled him aside one evening after he and Rose had joined the Tylers for a quiet Sunday family dinner. Well, quiet for the Tyler household, which at the time contained not only a part-human Time Lord with a gob, but Jackie Tyler and a typical five year old. So really not very quiet at all actually. She pointed out to him that he and Rose had been living together for over two years now and it was about time he 'got his skinny alien arse in gear and made an honest woman of her Rose.' Jackie Tyler being the formidable force she is, the Doctor knew better than to do anything other than nod sheepishly and go home to contemplate the daunting prospect of a proposal.
When he thought about it, marrying Rose made sense. They'd already promised to grow old together, why not make things official? A small voice in the back of his head reminded him that the answer to 'why not?' was, of course, that there was no chance Jackie would be content to let them have a small, private ceremony in a registrar's office. Nor, he imagined, would a simple Gallifreyan marriage rite suffice in her eyes. Still, he was the Oncoming Storm, after all. He could handle one day of posh clothing and photos. Probably.
He'd tried to come up with a suitably romantic gesture to accompany the ring he'd bought but couldn't make up his mind. Humans attached such particular significance to the proposal, which had always baffled him. Spending the rest of your lives together was clearly the more important aspect of marriage, not how you asked a question. In the end, it just sort of slipped out.
They'd both been in the field all day on a case for Torchwood, trying to resolve what amounted to a parking dispute between two alien visitors, neither of whom had clearance to be on the planet at the time, but that was another matter. While he usually spent his days tinkering and cataloguing in the Research and Development wing, the Doctor was occasionally called upon to serve as a translator when the language bank files fell short. Tired and hungry, he and Rose had grabbed Thai take away and headed straight home in comfortable silence.
As they sat cross-legged in front of the telly, shoveling hot noodles into their mouths as fast as they could, their eyes met and they both dissolved in giggly exhaustion. They ended up curled in each other's arms, half on and half off the sofa, when the Doctor looked at her and thought, she's perfect. In the flicking light of the television, her eyes were bright as she grinned at him and he spoke without thinking.
"Marry me."
She laughed in surprise but stopped when he didn't blink or look away. "Wh-what?" was all she managed.
The Doctor rolled over and sat up to look at her properly. "I love you, Rose Tyler. Marry me."
She looked at him with a mixture of disbelief, confusion, and amusement. Before she could say anything though, it occurred to him that he was forgetting something vital and held up a finger while he searched his pockets for the ring. Triumphant, he withdrew the small velvet box from his trousers with a flourish and held it out to her. Bemused, she opened it to reveal a beautiful sapphire ring, the perfect shade of TARDIS blue, and gasped.
Rose pulled him over to her with a tug on his necktie to give him one hell of a snog. It wasn't until an hour later, when they lay tangled in the bed sheets, basking in a delicious afterglow, that it occurred to him that she hadn't actually answered his question. Grinning, he looked over at her and absent-mindedly intertwined his fingers with her left hand, which was now wearing the sapphire ring.
"So, that was a yes?" He asked and she tossed a pillow at him.
The memory had kept him distracted long enough to root him in place until the music started and the crowd turned in their seats in anticipation. The Doctor shuffled his trainer-clad feet nervously and licked his lips. Any moment now.
He was proud of himself for staying put and resisting the urge to run back to grab Rose's hand to flee the premises. This didn't stop him fantasizing about doing so though. In his mind's eye, they give everyone a jaunty wave goodbye before hopping aboard their shiny new TARDIS. It was a shame that they still had at least another five years before their girl would be ready to fly.
The music shifted again and the guests stood as Rose appeared arm in arm with Pete. This was it. The Doctor straightened and felt a silly grin slide on to his face as he made eye contact with his favorite person in the universe. She looked amazing, his pink and yellow human, faintly shimmery gown seeming to float around her as she walked towards him. She turned her head to share an excited smile with her father before returning the Doctor's gaze again shyly. He could feel the all hairs on his body lift slightly as she neared the end of the aisle.
That probably should've been his first clue. The Doctor was too entranced by his bride for it to register that her dress probably shouldn't have been quite that floaty, come to think of it. Nor should the hair on everyone's heads been sticking up like that. It wasn't until the charge in the air was almost palpably thick that he realised something was amiss. But by then it was too late.
There was a sharp "CRACK", brilliant flash, and the scent of ozone in the air. The Doctor stood stupefied, part-Time Lord senses tingling, staring at the empty space where Rose had been standing.
"What?"
He blinked. "What!"
The guests looked as shocked as he was. But they weren't left staring with him for long; they were interrupted by a distinctly curious wheezing sound. The Doctor's eyes raised in disbelief in time to see a very familiar blue police box appear at the back of the room.
"What?"