Title: The Doctor Relents
Author: Laura Fones
Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: All ages.
Genre: Ficlet/Romance/Fluff
Summary: Between "The Satan Pit" and "Love and Monsters," the Doctor and Rose had a conversation that changed everything. Unsurprisingly, it was about the town of Ipswich.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: I finished up a major project for work and then wanted to see what I could write in an hour. I hope you all enjoy this and that you had a lovely holiday.
"I want you," the Doctor said, suddenly.
Their conversation heretofore had revolved around the origin of the town Ipswich—Rose had a mate from Suffolk who said it was a port town dating back to the Roman occupation; the Doctor said he'd established it a few decades ago because it was the site of a rather unfortunate tangle with a sect of Cralmydians from the planet Delta-Ragoo and he'd had to pave over the mess.
Rose had said his actions must violate some sort of time code. The Doctor vehemently declared that no one even noticed Ipswich was there. They were reaching an impasse when Rose made a dramatic declarative gesture—meant to convey how the Doctor ran willy-nilly through human timelines with no sense of concern for poor English country folk and Roman port towns—that upset her balance so badly she toppled backward, was caught, and, in the Doctor's arms, remained.
"I want you," he repeated softly, her body sloped diagonally against his.
"I heard you," she said, unbelieving. His body felt familiar against hers—a thousand hugs had acclimatized her to his shape and warmth. But this statement…the sound of "want" on his lips…made her shiver with uncomfortable, hopeful novelty.
"Have I told you about fixed points in time?"
"Constantly," she said, annoyed by the change of subject.
"Ipswich," he said. "Is not a fixed point in time. It's a decision that can be made or unmade by any wandering time traveler…"
"…I'm sure its residents would disagree…"
"But you, Rose Tyler," the way he said her name made her silent. "You are a fixed point." He looked at her, still prone is his arms, and confessed, "I felt it when I first touched your hand. When I first told you to run. You are inevitable, perfect, and eternal. My life, every timeline and every regeneration, converges on meeting you. I want you, Rose Tyler, and the universe agrees."
She gave a breathy laugh, unable to say anything. In the last twenty-four hours, they had been stranded on an impossible planet, separated beyond hope, and tormented by a Judeo-Christian incarnation of the devil. Then, they had saved everyone and begun talking about Ipswich. Strictly speaking, this was an average sort of day…until he had said he wanted her.
She didn't know how to return that kind of compliment—that definite a declaration—so she said, meekly, "Everything was so boring before I met you."
He smiled, not expecting a grand gesture or even a reciprocation of his desire. He smiled because she was Rose, impossibly human and still somehow his. He smiled with the casual certainty that portends a passionate kiss. And he kept smiling until her cell phone rang.
She straightened up and pulled the phone out of her pocket. "It's mum," she told him and trotted off to another corner of the Tardis.
He listened to her listen to her mother.
After a few minutes, she returned to him. "We have to go home," she said, matter-of-factly. "This stupid boy named Elton took advantage my mum."
The Doctor blinked, unbelievingly. She couldn't honestly think that was a higher priority than...could she?
Then she took his hand, and he relented. Time Lords never argue with a Fixed Point.
THE END