She took his arm, leading him away from everything he knew and at that point, he realized that he no longer cared about propriety. The Time Lords thought so many things were right and though he had always been the wild rebel, shedding some of the rules were not as simple as merely removing a coat. They were ingrained deep within the core of him whether he wanted them there or not. Though he fought them, they stubbornly remained. At times they seemed as difficult to separate from himself as his own DNA. Then again, when the rules had been created, no one had ever imagined that there would only be one Time Lord left in existence.

What was that? What was she saying?

She turned and looked at him with a half smile, indulging his horrendous lack of etiquette.

"I apologize Madame De Pompadour. Could you repeat the question?"

"I had merely inquired about your qualifications to be a Doctor?"

Again it rattled him to hear the name "Doctor" cross her lips. The moment it was uttered, illusions were shattered and his responsibilities burdened him once again, nearly driving him to his knees with their weight. Galaxies, worlds, time, space…and…Rose. A delicious warmth washed through him at the thought of Rose followed quickly by the realization that she and Mickey were alone on the ship. He should really…

Reinette stood in front of him, a patient smile playing around her lips. He blinked with the realization that she was still awaiting his answer. Yet again, he'd been rude.

"Ah, well, I am versed in so many areas of expertise that it would be hard to choose just one don't you think?" He forced an air of lightness into his voice and hoped she wouldn't hear the underlying tones of stress and anxiety. He had so many things to do…to remember.

She lifted an eyebrow and cocked an interested smile in his direction.

"Oh? Do tell. I'm much interested in these areas of expertise." As he watched her, he realized that his mouth was hanging open. Rude indeed! What had this woman done to him? He closed his mouth with an audible snap and opened it again to speak, but nothing was happening. He was horrified to discover that he had nothing to say. For some reason, his brain had short circuited and would only allow him to think about the twinkle in Reinette's gray eyes as she bit her lip and smiled at him. She crooked her head to the side and he noticed a fluttering pulse whispering just under the surface of her creamy skin. He wondered what she would taste like.

"Well, ah…let's just say that I am well educated and leave it at that." He danced around the words, amazed at the rapid threading of his own hearts beating.

"You are an enigma to me, My Angel."

Angel? Oh now he liked that better. The way the word dropped from her lips as she spoke it and he almost felt weightless. The light in her eyes as she looked at him lifted his burdens.

"Oh now really. How can I be an enigma?" He shot her a dazzling grin and wondered what her answer would be. His hearts skipped a beat as she lowered her eyes seductively and pursed her lips.

"You walk through the years of my life as if they were only a moment of your own. You rescue me from danger without a thought for your own safety. And yet I see you stumble over the simplest questions." She darted him her teasing smile yet again. "And you stammer when I mention dancing."

"Oh well dancing is something entirely different than saving the universe then isn't it?" He smiled, wide and flirtatious, his eyes bright. He could so easily lose himself in the lightness of this flirting. It had been so long since…

"Yes, I would imagine it is. Although I cannot say that I have ever saved the universe. But I have danced." Her eyes lit upon him with a probing intensity. He understood. He understood it all. For a brief moment, suspended in time, there was no universe. No Gallifrey. No TARDIS. No torment, destruction or death held him down. There was only her. She squeezed his hand. "So dance with me my Angel."

"I told you before. I don't dance."

"But I think we both know differently don't we?" She stepped closer until she stood mere inches from his face. "Don't forget where I've been."

He swallowed hard, straining to get closer and take a step back all at once. "Need to get a lock on that door don't I?" He licked his lips and saw her eyes dart toward his tongue. That flicker of a glance nearly drove him insane. And then she smiled again, seductive and warm, and he knew that he was lost.

"What you need is to not make a lady ask twice."

"There I go being rude again…" His voice was a husky whisper with only the hint of a smile on his lips.

"There you go making me lead again." She grasped his hands, wrapped one around her waist and held the other tight. "Shall we?"

"Oh, if we must I suppose." Though his words were light, his brown eyes remained intense as he stared at her. He lifted her hand and as she spun under his arm, he forgot everything he'd ever known.

"Reinette…" he breathed her name, his mind unable to comprehend anything but the sound of it on his lips.

"I am here." He felt her voice rumble against his chest as she spoke and it gave him a thrill. "What do you need Man of my Dreams?" Her fingers strayed to his buttons, examining their simplicity.

"Only to say your name."

"Then it is yours."

"My Reinette."

"My Angel." As the words left her lips, she lifted her head to look at him. Her fingers ran over his chest and she marveled at the plastic buttons. "Such a wonderful material. Is it easy to make? Dressing would be so much easier if…"

"And undressing I'd imagine." He teased her with his smile and his touch as he ran his hand up her back, feeling the intricate hooks and stays that held her clothing together.

"Why, so impertinent!" She couldn't stop her smile or the rapid pace of her heartbeat. "I should blush!"

"Oh I wish you would! Your face flushes this deep pink and your ears…" he smiled and pulled her close again. "Look! There they go!"

"I declare you are the most incorrigible…"

"And you like it."

"What shall I do with you My Angel?" She looked up at him, her fingers toying once again with the plastic buttons.

"Keep me?" The words were lighthearted, meant to make her smile. Instead, he watched her face fall for a moment and she looked at her hands quickly, shoving against his chest to rise.

"Reinette…I'm sorry..I…"

"No. You must not say such things and we both know it. This is not your world. This is not your life. I am under no illusions that you could be mine. Even for this short time…" her long soft fingers swept her hair aside and she straightened her dress. He watched her struggle to control her emotions with the comfort of etiquette and decorum and his hearts squeezed with the pain of it.

"Reinette…" he lifted himself from the lounge quickly and pulled her into his arms.

"For this moment, for this time…I am here. I am yours."

She looked at him then, challenging him with her grey eyes. "I know there is someone else. There is no need to soothe my heart with a lie. I understand more than you know."

"Reinette…" His voice rumbled low between them. "I don't..."

Reinette reached up and put a finger over his lips. "Oh angel, my angel. How such a man who holds stars in the palms of his hands can not understand the ways of a man and a woman. I understand more about you and your Rose than you do." He began to stumble over words again and Reinette felt everything around them shatter. She could almost hear pieces of glass tinkle as they hit the floor. She reached up and stroked his face. "I am full aware that you are not mine, My Angel. But we have been given this moment. This brief breath in the lifetime of history. And I intend to not let it pass me by. I make no claims on you. Just your now. This moment. Let me love you with all that I am able for the short time that I can."

She leaned forward and pulled his head down to hers with infinite slow gentleness, daring him to stop and yet praying he wouldn't. When his lips met her in the slightest of brushes, she felt the world spin. The stars shone. Time passed. For the briefest of breaths, she was him and he was her and there was nothing else. It was swift, slow, and exhilarating all at once. When his hands wrapped around her waist, and pulled her close, she fought with herself. She would lose herself in this Time Lord. And yet, there was nowhere amongst the stars that she would rather be.

"My angel…" her words were soft, barely a breath, and she watched with delight as it ruffled his hair on the cushion next to her. They lounged together on the chaise, away from prying eyes and wagging tongues.

"My queen." His eyes didn't open as he said it, but she watched the slow smile spread across his face.

"You tease me."

"I would never."

"And yet you still have not danced with me." Her voice was low, husky and devastating. He tried to take a deep breath and instead felt himself stretched taut, pressed to the limits of his control.

He slipped into another light tease, only the hint of a tremor in his voice. "But just a few moments ago you were doing the fox trot and we sock hopped and…"

Once again she placed her finger over his lips and let it linger and trace a slow pattern. The Doctor smiled under her ministrations and placed a gentle kiss on her fingertip.

"Reinette, my even being here right now isn't right. More could…"

"So worried about everything except yourself." She leaned up and pressed a warm soft kiss against his lips. His arms tightened around her even as his lips opened to her warm probing tongue. He lost himself then in her warm fragrance and touch. He felt everything and nothing. Her hands whispered up the side of his face, her breath against his cheek, her lips open and yielding to him.

"Reinette…"

"Hush."

"You're the only person in all of space and time that has repeatedly left me speechless."

"And yet still you speak." She teased with a smile. Her fingers caressed both sides of his face as she lost herself in the warm depths of his gaze. One hand wandered into his long ruffled hair and he nearly purred as she stroked through it. "For tonight there are no words. No lies. No truths. Just us. Now. Here." He smiled at her for a brief heartbeat, a question in his eyes and when she smiled back, he drew her close and ran the tip of his nose down the side of her neck, drinking in the fragrance of her. She whispered against his ear, "That's it my love. Let the world save itself. Tonight you rest with me."