"Aww, c'mon Doctor! I've always wanted to see the Beatles perform, ever since I was a little girl!" Rose pleaded, padding after the Doctor as he jumped in and aroundthe TARDIS tapping various odd buttons and controls, most of which Rose still hadn't figured out the point of.
"Just think of it Doctor! George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and John Lennon all on stage, in real life an' all! Why wouldn't you want to go see that!" Rose continued following the Doctor around the TARDIS.
"No and no again. The Beatles aren't nearly interesting enough to warrant an excursion through space and time just for them." The Doctor replied not looking at Rose.
"Doctor!" Rose exclaimed watching him in utter amazement and not just because it was the first time the Doctor had refused to take her somewhere she really wanted to go. "They're one of the most important bands musically in the entire history of the Earth! How can you say they're not important enough to go see? You always told me you wanted to see history being made! Well, the Beatles ARE history! Anyways," she continued, "the trip won't take long or anything. I'll just pop in, see the performance an'...Well, maybe see John Lennon if I can..." Rose added chewing on her bottom lip, her eyes glazed over as if looking into some not-too-distant happy future. The Doctor turned to look at her and at the sight of the expression on her face turned quickly away again, shaking his head.
"I like t' see real history thanks. Not a bunch o' half grown lads doing the heeby-jeeby on stage." Rose snapped back to the less "rosy" present and grimaced at him. "Heeby-jeeby? Is that even a word?" The Doctor looked over his shoulder and grinned at her. "No idea."
Rose grinned back. "Didn't think so." There was a pause for some moments. The Doctor seemed oblivious to the sudden silence, continuing his work with an unusual amount of single mindedness. Rose stepped closer to the Doctor and shattered the silence.
"Oh please, Doctor?" Rose bit her lower lip, watching him through large puppy eyes. "Why not? What is there to lose?"
The Doctor turned at that to look at her. Rose's gaze held him for a moment, but then he looked away again, back at the TARDIS controls he was fiddling with before replying, "there's a lot to lose...Trust me, there's always something to lose, Rose."
Rose watched him for a moment, her head tilted as if she had spotted something intriguing. Suddenly she crossed the floor to stand next to the Doctor, leaning on the rim of the control panel to watch the Doctor as he fixedly fiddled with a couple of switches on the panel. Smiling she looked up into his face, her voice teasing as she asked, "Are you jealous, Doctor?" The Doctor started, turning to her before quickly looking back up at the TARDIS as he reached for one of the controls.
"What? Me? Nah. Of course not!" He replied cheerfully, all his attention on the TARDIS. Rose hid the disappointment and confusion that hit her without warning, feeling unexpectedly hurt. She smiled brightly to hide it and started to move away. Suddenly though the Doctor dropped his hand and turned back to to her, all humor abruptly gone from his face. "Yes. Yes I am."
Rose stared at him. "Wha'?" The Doctor looked at her. "I am jealous."
Rose met his eyes, her own smile slipping from her face at his words. "You are?" She asked in disbelief, staring at him.
"Yes. I am." His words were quiet. Rose paused as if frozen for a moment, but then slowly a smile warmed her features as it spread across her face.
"I didn't think...I thought you didn't care about me like... that." The Doctor moved away from her, across the floor to check on the screen haphazardly attached to the core of the TARDIS.
"I didn't think you'd want me too." He answered. "We've always been best buds you an' me. Why would I want t' destroy that?" The Doctor reached for a rubber headed hammer and started tapping the sides of the screen. Rose started at the noise and moved towards him, half of a mind to grab the hammer from his hand. Couldn't he keep his attention on the important things for once?
"I've been by me lonesome too much, Rose." The Doctor said between hammer taps. "Didn't want t' risk losing you." Tap, tap. "I've lost so much I didn't think I'd be able t' stand losing you too." The Doctor dropped the hammer and turned back to her. "I'd be jealous if you wanted t' go see a small blob o' fat! I'd be jealous o' whatever you set your fancy on Rose. Well, unless it was me I s'ppose." He added frowning as if not completely sure. Rose took a step towards him.
"And what if I told you it was." She asked softly. He raised his eyebrows in confusion. "I mean," she clarified, "what if I told you, you were the one I'd set my fancy on."He looked surprised as if the thought hadn't occurred to him before.
"Dunno. S'ppose I wouldn't mind so much then." He said after a moment. He grinned then, the familiar half maniacal grin that Rose loved. "Blimey. Never thought you'd say that. I always thought you were more of the type t' fall for some normal human bloke like your Mr. John Lennon." Rose blushed slightly and smiled at the Doctor.
"He was only cuz I couldn't have you. I never thought..." She didn't finish the sentence, but let it hang. The Doctor gave her a half smile and shrugged. "Never been good at saying it myself." She reached out to touch his arm.
"It's always been you. Ever since I first saw you..." He glanced down at her hand were it lay on his arm and grinned at her. "I always knew I was too bloody fantastic to resist!" Rose laughed and slapped his arm.
"Oi! Watch it! Don't you know I'm a Timelord!" The Doctor protested.
"Well, mister Timelord why don't we put this blue box of yours to good use and find us a good place to celebrate?" Rose told him her tone coy. The Doctor moved over to the controls. "I think I know just the place. How about America, land of the free and all that, on, say February 12, 1964? The day the Beatles played for thousands of fans at the Carnegie Hall?" Rose's mouth dropped. "You're kidding!" The Doctor grinned at her. "I fancy myself quite a fan." Rose laughed out loud at that and moved closer to wrap her arms around him. "Thank you."
The blue police box that materialized behind the stage went almost unnoticed, despite the fact that the hall was crawling with uniformed officers and backstage crew. Rose stepped out from the TARDIS glancing around herself in amazement. The Doctor followed her closely, directing her closer to the stage were a group of familiar, mullet headed young men stood singing almost inaudibly against that backdrop of thousands of screaming girls. Rose's mouth dropped in surprise and she stood for a moment staring through the stage curtain at the Beatles.
"Oh, it's wonderful Doctor! Thank you!" She cried giving him a smile over her shoulder before turning her attention back to the Beatles.
One of the backstage crew noticed them and trotted over, mouth open to protest before he had even half reached them. "Hey, you there! You're not supposed to be here! Please leave the stage." The Doctor turned around at the voice and smiling pulled out his psychic paper saying, "Hello! I'm the Doctor, the Beatles personal hairstylist and this is Rose, my assistant. We look after the Beatles marmots."
Rose, who had turned at the crewman's words, nudged the Doctor with an elbow. "Er, Doctor? They're called 'mullets' not marmots." The Doctor, keeping a cheery smile in place nodded slowly. "Yes, of course. We look after their... 'mullets.'" The crew member stared at them in utter stupefaction. After a moment he seemed to recover himself and clearing his throat said seriously, "er, well then Mr. Doctor I suppose you can remain there. I'll just have to clear it with the head of security..." The crew member walked off as if in a daze. As soon as he was gone Rose broke into a fit of laughter. "Marmots?"
The Doctor frowned at her. "Oi! I've only been t' this decade once. I've had more important things on my brilliant mind then marmots." Rose stopped laughing with an effort and smiled at him. "Of course Doctor." The Doctor ignored the sarcasm, dropping the psychic paper back into his jacket pocket. The finals trills of "Please Please Me" echoed in the halls and Rose held her breath as the last of the music died away. The Doctor looked around the hall a last time and then leaning towards Rose asked, "Well, s'ppose we should be off then. The bands about t' get off the stage an' we wouldn't want t' go an' change history."
"The band's coming off this way then?" Rose asked only half hearing the Doctor's words. He nodded unconcernedly. "I reckon so, yes. Should we be off then?" Rose didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on a particular mullet headed young man carrying a guitar who was just crossing the backstage.
"John?" She whispered. John Lennon along with the other three Beatles were slowly working their way across the backstage presumably out to the back to make a fast get away. Rose stared after them as trotted past her, congratulating each other on the success of the show. "John Lennon." Rose breathed. The Doctor eyed the object of her fascination.
All at once there was a commotion at the stage door as what seemed like hundreds of anxious, screaming fans broke through the security doors and started racing towards the Beatles. Girls were gasping for air, trampling each other and avoiding the security guards that rushed to contain them as they headed straight for their idols. Seeing the mass of girls raging towards them the Beatles took suddenly to flight, shoving open the emergency exit to flee from their over zealous fans. Rose watched the commotion, staring as the last of the Beatles, Ringo in this case, rushed through the open door. The Doctor, reaching out to take one of her hands felt his hearts shudder with a sudden cold fear when he looked into her face at that moment. Something about the way her eyes followed the Beatles through the still swinging doors scared him as little had scared him before.
"Rose?" His voice held an unspoken question. Rose turned to him, her familiar eyes searching his face. There was a clamoring from the fans behind them as Ringo disappeared through the emergency exit. As the door was about to swing shut behind him Rose, with a half wild, desperate look in the Beatles direction, suddenly took flight after the retreating band crying, "Wait! I'm comin' with you! Wait for me!" Her hand slipped from the Doctor's grip as she rushed to the emergency exit. Pausing at the threshold of the door Rose glanced back at where the Doctor stood, silently watching her. With only a brief torn look in the Doctor's direction she disappeared after the band through the doorway. The Doctor was left standing on the stage, looking after his vanished companion, one hand half raised as if he had tried to reach for her only to have her slip through his fingers. After a time he slowly moved away from the stage, ignoring the hordes of screaming girls still being herded together by the frantic security detail. There was only one human girl he cared for.
The Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS, moving over to the controls. Hurriedly he started it up and stood back as the TARDIS slowly shrugged off 1964. He stared up at the ceiling of the TARDIS, unmoving, his hearts beating painfully. He didn't care where he ended up. After a time he turned away from the controls and looked half aimlessly around the TARDIS. Spotting something lying in a forgotten hiding space the Doctor pulled a magazine from it's dusty grave. Wiping clean the cover he stared at the picture on the front for a moment. Four young men stood leaning over a railing smiling into the camera and, in the background, a blond headed girl looked over their shoulders, her familiar grin causing the Doctor to drop the magazine back into it's forgotten home. The title on the front cover, "The Beatles New Fan: Lover or Friend?" hung before his eyes. He knew how the story of the Beatles should go. He knew the way it ended and how it began. She had already changed it. Whether he liked it or not Rose had changed history. But most of all she had changed him and now there was no going back to the way his life had been before she had changed it. Not for someone with two hearts.