AN: Love on a Desert Island was the title of the very first romance story I wrote when I was 12. This story bears little resemblance to that one, but since it was my teacher's comments that inspired me to write romance, it felt like a fitting homage.
Rose tilted her face back, letting the alien tropical sun warm her skin. Sea spray splashed arms left bare by her aquamarine sundress, and she laughed and shook off the droplets of water.
"Are you trying to get me soaked?" she chided the Doctor, who sat at the wheel of their hired motorboat.
"Just trying to give you the full island experience," he teased, turning into a swell so they would ride over the next wave instead of getting splashed. "What do you think so far?"
Rose looked around at the sparkling waters. When he'd told her over breakfast that he had a surprise planned, she hadn't imagined anything like this.
"Well, it's certainly different from where we were yesterday. From Scotland to an alien paradise…"
"The benefit of a ship that can go anywhere."
"That reminds me—why didn't we just take the TARDIS to this island you want to show me?"
He heaved a dramatic sigh, then grinned at her when she giggled. "Full island experience," he reminded her.
"Oh, of course."
Rose reached into the dimensionally transcendent beach bag sitting between them and pulled out a bottle of water. She scanned the horizon as she drank, pausing when she spotted dark clouds on their left.
"Doctor? What's that?"
His whole body stiffened when he spotted the fast moving clouds she indicated, and he swore in Gallifreyan. "We should have been able to make it to Solinsul before the squall hit," he muttered.
He shifted gears, and the boat sped up, but the storm still gained. The previously calm ocean turned choppy, and instead of just getting slightly damp from sea spray, Rose's whole top was soaked from waves sloshing over the edge of the boat.
Finally, the Doctor growled out another curse and changed their course. "There's an uninhabited island closer by," he told her. "I don't think we could make it to Solinsul safely, but we should be able to find shelter on the desert island until someone comes looking for us."
"What can I do?" Rose asked.
He barely spared a glance at her, but she understood. "Just hold on, and make sure your life jacket is buckled tight."
Rose tugged at the straps on the floatation device, then reached out and tightened his own. A curt nod was the only thanks she got, and she settled back into her own seat and grabbed onto the boat as the sea became rougher.
Five tense minutes passed before she spotted something that might be a speck of land. The speck resolved into a palm tree lined beach, but when she looked behind them, the storm clouds were closer, too. She could see the air moving around the dark, forbidding shapes, and then the first fat raindrop hit her cheek.
A muscle in the Doctor's jaw twitched as he ground his teeth together. Another raindrop hit, then another, and then the deluge let loose. They were almost to the island, but could they make it before their boat sank beneath the waves?
The trees grew bigger and finally they were right there. Rose braced herself to jump when the Doctor shouted the order, but then a loud, grating noise came from beneath the boat.
"End of the line," the Doctor said. "We'll have to wade to shore." He grabbed the bag and helped her over the side of the boat, then climbed out after her.
Soaked from the rain, jumping into the warm, tropical water was actually a relief. Rose clutched tight to the Doctor's hand and pushed her way through the crashing waves up to the beach. The Doctor didn't let go and didn't stop when they left the water, instead pulling her with him as he ran for the trees.
"We'll at least have a little shelter from the rain," he shouted over the thunderous storm.
Rose was shivering by the time they reached the trees. "Come here." The Doctor got them both out of their life vests, then shrugged his arms out of his coat and pulled Rose close. He grabbed the coat and wrapped it around them both, offering what warmth he could. She cuddled back against him, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Better?"
He felt her shiver when his breath hit her skin, and he wondered what she would do if he turned her head just slightly and kissed her. She tilted her head back, causing his nose to brush against her temple, and the temptation was almost too great to resist.
But the tropical rain was a constant reminder of where they were, and where they were reminded him of why he'd brought her there. He pulled back with an effort, though he couldn't resist dropping a soft kiss on top of her head.
Her sigh when she relaxed into him sounded disappointed. Oh, just wait till tonight, Rose Tyler, the Doctor promised her silently.
The sound of the rain hitting the palm fronds above them gradually softened into a soft patter. The tropical squall was moving on as quickly as it had come up. He could already see the sun on the horizon.
Rose stirred against him, and he let her go. She crept out of the tree cover cautiously, then tipped her head back and let the soft raindrops hit her.
"Tastes almost like cherry," she said a moment later.
"Mmm," he agreed. "The water here has a slight flavour, thanks to the atmospheric makeup. Storms stir it up, so it's more noticeable in rainwater." In fact, he should have expected a squall today, since the electrical charge in storm clouds created the right conditions for the special sunset he'd brought her there in the first place.
The beach was almost in full sun again, and he was just about to recommend they move that direction so they could dry off when Rose made a noise that was half laughter, half a gasp of surprise.
"What is it?" he asked her.
She stretched her arms out to her sides and turned slowly. "It's only raining on half of me," she told him, wiggling the fingers of her right hand, where raindrops were still pattering softly.
The Doctor watched the sun slowly pass over her, entranced once again by the wonder on her face. How could one human show so much zest for life?
"That happens with storms like this that pass so quickly. Here one minute, gone the next—and in that moment when they pass over you, sometimes you can experience both at once."
She grinned. "There's something new every day with you, Doctor."
He nodded. "And for your next something new, we ought to employ a few survival skills. While I'd like to believe rescuers will find us before night, we should be prepared to camp out here."
Rose's eyes widened when the Doctor not only shrugged his coat off, but then proceeded to remove his suit jacket and tie. By the time he unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled his shirt sleeves up, she knew her mouth was hanging open. Get a grip, she chided herself as she rummaged through their thankfully waterproof beach bag for her shorts. You've seen him in pyjamas at home.
Yes, but they weren't at home right now, and that was what made it so unusual. Still, she managed not to stare at his bare forearms long enough to change out of her dress and pull her shorts on over her bikini. And unless she was mistaken, the Doctor's ears were a little red—so at least she wasn't the only one distracted by the sudden reveal of skin previously covered.
"Well, let's get started," Rose told him. "If we're going to be here overnight, I'd like some kind of shelter."
"Right you are, Rose Tyler! Now, I think we'll find what we need over here…"
Using the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor cut leafy branches from the trees further inland. Rose dragged them out to the beach, and within an hour, they were putting together a rudimentary tiki hut. Tall branches supported a roof of palm fronds and the fuller branches became the walls. The Doctor even used a special setting on the sonic to make sure there weren't any bugs in the leaves that might drop onto them while they were sleeping.
The sun was high in the sky when they were finished. "Anything else?" Rose asked. "Or can we lay out in the sun for a while?" She smiled, letting her tongue peek out between her teeth. "I'd like to enjoy some of my day at the beach."
The Doctor blinked, then looked back at her. "What? Oh, quite right Rose!"
Rose shook her head when he took something from the bag and disappeared into their tiki hut. The back of his neck was completely red. She knew he'd been staring at her mouth just then—and that was the second time today she'd thought maybe he'd kiss her, only to have him pull back.
She pulled the beach blanket out of the bag and shook it out, then took her shorts off and laid down, soaking in the sun. Behind her sunglasses, her eyes drifted shut, but she still felt the shift in the air when the Doctor sat down beside her.
"You're sure I don't need to worry about getting sunburnt?" she asked without opening her eyes.
"Yep!" he chirped.
She turned her head to look at him, wanting to see him stretched out, prepared to sit on the beach completely dressed.
Except he wasn't. He'd changed into dark blue swim trunks, and he was bare chested. Rose blinked, but the image didn't change. And this was more of his skin than she'd ever seen before, at home or not.
Her fingers twitched, aching to touch him, and she glanced around for something to distract her. He'd had two chances to kiss her today and he'd resisted both times, so she wouldn't embarrass herself by throwing herself at someone who didn't want her.
Finally, she settled on the book he was reading. It was a paperback romance, hot of the presses—she could still smell the cheap ink and paper the publishers used for trashy romance novels.
She couldn't help noticing the woman on the cover was blonde, though her bikini was red while Rose's was white. She was caught in a passionate embrace by the stereotypical tall, dark, and handsome hero, and emblazoned over them, the tagline read, "Love on a desert island."
Her laughter pulled the Doctor's eyes from his book. "What?"
"Love on a desert island? This is your holiday reading, Doctor?"
He sniffed and pushed his sunglasses back up on his nose. "Well, what else am I supposed to read when I'm on a desert island?"
"I just never imagined you read trashy romance novels, Doctor."
He raised an eyebrow. "Where do you think all the books you've been reading came from? The TARDIS didn't just generate three full shelves of Mills & Boon when you came on board."
Rose wondered why she was even surprised. None of the blokes she knew had ever appreciated romance novels, but when had the Doctor ever been like any other bloke she knew? She plucked the novel from his hands and jumped to her feet.
"What are you…"
"Race you to the water!" she shouted and took off before he even stood up.