a/n: Inspired by the movie The Wedding Planner. This is AU so if that's not your cup of tea, you may not want to read this.
Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Doctor Who or the Wedding Planner
The garden was in full bloom, the delicate scent of honeysuckle wafting on the gentle breeze as people attired in formal wear danced and laughed. Waiters dressed in starched white and black weaved in and out of the crowd delivering gourmet delicacies and top shelf cocktails to guests. An elegantly dressed bride wearing a couture gown designed by the hottest London designer was smiling up at her debonair tuxedoed groom as they greeted friends, family and well wishers. The wedding and reception would be mentioned in the society papers as the event of the season. The ten tiered wedding cake dripping with Swarovski crystals and violet and silver swirls with orchids elegantly draped down the tiers would be raved about by all the guests. All and all, Rose Tyler was pleased.
This wedding was her ticket to success. She had worked so hard to make sure every detail was perfect, every glitch solved before anyone knew, every petal of every flower in place and the bride and groom kept in perfect harmony. Rose had managed the caterers, floral designer, cake artist and staging people like a general leading an army. She even coached the groomsman through his speech with a special earpiece so she could feed him his lines. Nothing was left to chance. Her employer, Sarah Jane Smith owner of A Smith Affair would be pleased and hopefully offer her a chance at a partnership. Rose knew Sarah Jane wanted to spend more time with her adopted son and Rose was ready to step up. She just had to show Sarah Jane she could do it.
As Rose glided along the periphery of the party, continuing to direct staff here and there, she noticed a couple that seemed out of place. Her eyes met those of an older woman who smiled and inclined her head and Rose smoothed her pale pink, silk tea length gown and walked over to them.
The woman with short brown hair dressed in a tasteful, smart gray suit had intelligent grey eyes and smiled graciously. "Ms. Tyler, I must confess to being quite impressed."
"You were feeding the groomsman his speech," an elderly, gray haired man dressed in an equally sharp navy suit mentioned as he reached for a flute of champagne. A younger blonde haired woman, dressed in a modern, dressy mint green Vivienne Westwood gown slapped his hand.
"Father, really! This is someone's wedding and we're not even guests!" she said and looked at Rose apologetically. "Sorry, Joan Redfern and these are my parents, Harriet and James Redfern. We didn't mean to crash the party but your assistant said it would be fine for us to stop by and see your work. I have to say, I love so many of the elements you have incorporated here. Not to mention, how flawlessly the event progressed.
"You give my little girl whatever she wants, no expense spared," James commented while he sipped the champagne. "Cristal?" he asked.
"No, Tattinger. Exquisite isn't it?" Rose responded smiling.
He smiled broadly at her as his wife shook her head. "I'll be faxing you a list of the songs I'll be performing at the reception. And none of those mini egg roll things either. We're expecting loads of important people. We've got an impression to make," Mr. Redfern continued.
"Daddy, we haven't even hired her yet and as previously discussed in detail, you won't be singing at the wedding," Joan chastised her father.
Rose's assistant, Donna rushed over to her. "This is my assistant Donna Noble. Donna, these are the Redferns." Rose introduced.
"Oh we chatted earlier." Donna said, smiling at them and then turned to Rose. "Rose, I need some input on the Bransons."
Rose raised her eyebrows. "Discretion, Donna," Rose whispered and then looked apologetically at the Redferns who were looking impressed. Rose turned back to Donna who had a slight smirk on her face. "Donna, check my email. I'm sure you'll find an attachment with the details."
"Oh yes, sorry," Donna said, with at twinkle in her eyes as she rushed away.
"I'm sorry, where were we?" Rose asked, knowing that name dropping may not be the best way to procure business but in this case it was working.
"The Bransons?" Mr. Redfern asked with raised eyebrows.
"Ms. Tyler, let's get down to brass tacks shall way?" Harriet Redfern said firmly, ignoring her husband's subtle comment. "We're interested in your services for our daughter's wedding. We want to hear what your vision is for our daughter's event." Mrs. Redfern asked, putting Rose on the spot.
Rose didn't back down. She loved a challenge. After observing Joan and her parents and what they focused on in this wedding, she quickly formulated a plan. "Well, not having met the groom and just based on my initial impression, I would say…an outdoor event. The Botanical Gardens, in the sculptural garden in particular…with an orchestra, a mix of jazz and classical music, an evening wedding with soft lighting, white, silk tents thin enough to see the stars, candlelight, Wedgewood….exotic trees imported from Bali. I'm thinking Gatsby but not a period wedding, just the spirit of that time."
When Rose looked at them, she knew by the expressions on their faces she'd nailed it. They were completely enchanted and hired her on the spot. She and Donna celebrated that night at her favorite diner over chips.
"Did you see the look on his face when I mentioned Branson?" Donna exclaimed as she sipped her coffee. "I thought his eyes'd pop out!"
"I know!" Rose declared. "You were brilliant! I mean, dead clever to come up with that on the fly!"
Donna sat back and fluffed her hair. "Some of us just have it!"
Rose grinned back at her. "Really Donna, I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Oh, fail miserably and fall on your arse while some bridezilla had you for supper," Donna teased.
Rose bit on her chip and laughed. "That's not far from the truth. Seriously Donna, when I talk to Sarah Jane, I'll be tellin' her how brilliant you are. If she makes me partner, I want you with me. You'll stay with me won't you?" Rose asked seriously.
"If she makes you partner?" Donna retorted.
Rose sipped her soda. "Right, when I make partner. I want you with me. With a raise of course."
"I knew I liked you Rose Tyler!" Donna said and clinked her coffee with Rose's soda. "So wedding girl, what's next? We gonna be plannin' anything for you soon?" Donna asked.
"Donna, you know I'm too busy. Not that mum's givin' up mind you. Honestly, she keeps on me 'bout Mickey and grand babies."
"Well, you're not gettin' any younger," Donna reminded her. "Mickey's nice but you need to be swept off your feet, not spendin' every night at the pub watchin' a match."
"Like that's gonna happen. It's not like either of us have romance knocking down our door," Rose said whistfully.
"Oi! I've got tons of romance in my life! After I dumped that loser Lance, I raised my standards. No more corporate smooth talkers with some black widow types on the side," Donna said emphatically, thinking about her ex-fiancé who was cheating on her with a certain Lady Racnoss who had a reputation for losing husbands under mysterious circumstances.
Rose looked at Donna sympathetically. Donna was special and deserved only the best. Not some louse like Lance. "So whose this bloke whose made such an impression?"
"Lee," Donna said with a dreamy look on her face.
"What? The caterer?" Rose asked, thinking about the tall, shy, dark haired stuttering man who made exquisite meals that were as beautiful to look at as they were to eat.
"Oi! Personal chef and he's sweet and romantic. He made strudel for me and brings me lunch," Donna informed her and smiled. "And oh can he cook!"
Rose burst into giggles. "Donna!"
After dinner, Rose walked back to her apartment thinking about Donna and Lee along with this new opportunity with Sarah Jane. Maybe she didn't have her own romantic chef but she had her job and she was good at it. Mickey…well, he was Mickey, sweet, safe but that's where it ended. She loved him but wasn't in love with him. She sighed. He deserved better than her and anyway, she was focused on her job now, not marriage and certainly not marriage to him.
As she crossed the park, she heard a noise. She pulled her coat around her and walked faster, happy to have changed from her designer shoes into trainers as she increased her pace. There was shuffling in some bushes and she reached into her pocket to try and find her pepper spray. Suddenly, a tall figure in a long tan coat jumped out at her grabbed her hand and said "Run!"
Before she knew what was happening, she was running beside the tall, lean good looking man with gorgeous hair, his coat flaring about him. She could hear someone chasing them but didn't look behind her, just kept running. Eventually, they made their way across the park and down a street before she screeched to a halt, twisting her ankle on a curb and yanking him back. He came to a halt still holding her hand and looked at her with chocolate brown eyes reflecting the street light.
"Scuse me, why exactly are we runnin?" Rose demanded as she limped and then looked pointedly at their joined hands before pulling her had away.
"You're hurt!" he exclaimed and dropped down to his knees running his long finger over calf and ankle, gently prodding beneath her socks. Rose shivered a bit as she gazed down at the tender expression on his face. The conversation she had with Donna about being swept off her feet was ringing in her ears as the handsome stranger looked up at her from his position on the ground, his hands still on her ankle. Rose's breath caught. "Oh, but he's gorgeous," she couldn't help thinking.
"Just a twist. You should be fine. I'm the Doctor by the way," he announced as he popped up.
"The Doctor?" Rose asked. "Just the Doctor?"
"Yep!" he said popping his p's," hands shoved in his coat pockets.
"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" Rose asked.
"I dunno sort of," he replied with a shrug.
Rose burst into a laugh and he smiled at her.
"Rose Tyler," she finally responded back. She knew she shouldn't be handing her name out to stranger like this but something about him just made her trust him.
"Nice to meet you, Rose Tyler," he said, shaking her hand as her name rolled off his tongue.
"So Doctor, wanna tell me why you just pulled me out of that park and we ran for our lives?"
"Well," he said and grinned at her. "There may have been a few unsavory types in the park tonight who might have had their evil plans thwarted and maybe were looking to get a little pay back at whoever was in their way," he said and rocked back on his heels, hands in his pockets.
"You just happened to be there lookin' out for innocent people strollin' through the park and decided to be a super hero?" Rose asked a little suspiciously although she wasn't as irritated as she was pretending. He was a bit fit and had a rather nice smile and didn't look like a mugger.
"Oh no, no, no. No super hero here. Wellll, maybe a little if star gazing is a super power. That's what I was doing, star gazing in the park."
"So, while lookin' at the stars you saw a group of thugs harassing people and stepped in?" Rose asked, looking at this thin, geeky type man dressed in a brown pin striped suit who didn't look all that tough.
He grinned. "Oh I may have warned a few potential victims off and caused a distraction…sort of," he said while tugging on his ear.
Rose grinned. "Rescuing damsels in the distress while star gazing in the park were you?"
He smiled at her brightly. "Oh yes! Perfect night to observe the perseid meteor shower and I never turn my back on a damsel in distress."
"I see. Well, guess I should thank you for saving me from bein' robbed and all," she acknowledged, noting that he had a nice smile and how romantic this all was, a handsome stranger whisking in to save her from a horrible fate. Donna would be impressed.
"Oh, you're welcome. No problem really. Um, we should probably not stand around waiting for them, you know?"
Rose nodded and without another word he reached for her hand and they were walking together down the road talking quietly. He had amazing stories and Rose was enchanted. Surprisingly, Rose just felt like she clicked with him and he kept her smiling and laughing the whole way, their hands firmly grasped between them. It was as if holding his hand came naturally to her and felt right. Finally, they neared her area of town. "Look Doctor whoever you are thanks but I was on my way home," she explained and started tugging at her hand.
"Oh, all right. You win, I'll walk you home then. Can't have a jeopardy friendly woman like you walking about all by yourself. Speaking of which, why were you walking by yourself so late at night?" he asked.
"Just a long day at work," Rose replied. "And you, star gazing alone in a park known for trouble? You do that often. I mean, is that what you are…an astronomer?"
"Oh I'm a bit of everything! Astronomy, physicist, mathematician, biologist, teacher…You name it and I'm an expert of it."
Rose looked at him and again couldn't help but smile. He was so charming and she just felt drawn to him. "Right, so academic then. Well, Doctor this is my stop at this building here," Rose said indicating a tall building next to them. "Thanks again for the rescue."
"Oh, no problem! Any time. I mean if you need someone to walk you home again and I happen to be you know star gazing in the park, I'd be happy to, you know…" he said nervously.
"Thanks! I'd like that. Um, see ya around then," she said as she backed into her building.
"Oh, I certainly hope so!" he said, smiling and nodding his head as he turned to walk down the street. Rose closed the door and started walking up the steps to her apartment.
"Who was that?" Mickey called down from several floors up as Rose walked up to her flat.
"Oh, just the Doctor," she said as she contemplated their walk home. She reached into her coat pocket and felt a card. She pulled it out and it was a very simple white card with the name "Doctor John Smith, PH.D. with a mobile number and no other information. She wondered how he snuck that in there and smiled.
She passed Mickey who was frowning at her. "Yeah, well I didn't like the look of 'im," he said, trying to sound tough.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Good night, Mickey," she said as she closed the door to her flat with a click. No doubt she would be hearing from her mum in the morning after Mickey reported how late she had arrived home and that a strange man had dropped her off. Even knowing the inquisition she would receive from her mum didn't bother her. Something had changed. Maybe it was the Redfern wedding and the opportunity it provided to impress Sarah Jane or maybe it was a handsome stranger who had appeared from no where like some gallant knight to walk her home but Rose felt happy. She went to sleep that night feeling on top of the world.