A/N: This is my first attempt at a DW fic, so be gentle. I'm also American, not British, so if some things don't ring quite true that's why. If anybody out there is from the UK and would like to help me make it more British, pm me!
There isn't a specific point in the show where this fic takes place, just vague series 2 for Ten and Rose and vague series 7.2 for Eleven and Clara. It also assumes that at some point Rose and Ten became actual lovers.
Also, I couldn't have written this fic without my dear friend Marissa. It's ten times better in both plot and execution than it would have been because of her.
Chapter 1 – Ten and Rose
"Rose!"
"What?" Rose asks, sighing heavily, though not without smiling, as the Doctor bursts through their bedroom door in all his wild haired, brown pinstriped glory. She knows that tone, that manic giddiness that usually ends up with them locked in some dungeon.
"Look!" The Doctor thrusts something at her; a heavy piece of cardstock with stylized print. Rose glances away from the mirror she's using to apply her mascara and takes the paper from him.
"Earth Protection Summit?" Rose asks. She's never heard of it. Of course the date is in her personal future, 2013, so she isn't surprised. A lot can happen in six years.
"Yes!" The Doctor's wide grin lights up his entire face, and Rose's heart melts a little more. She loves that smile.
"But what is it?" Rose asks. "Obviously something about protecting the Earth, but why do they want you there?" Words from long ago ring in her head; It is defended.
"Well, you know I worked for UNIT that one time. And Dr. John Smith of The University of Gallifrey is still highly regarded as an alien expert." The Doctor takes her hand and fairly drags her to the console room, bouncing with barely restrained energy.
"And where is The University of Gallifrey?" Rose asks, smiling and poking her tongue out between her teeth. It's distracting for him, she knows, but it's such a reflex she can't help it.
"Somewhere in Ireland, I should think." The Doctor starts walking around the console, throwing levers and switches, pushing buttons, and hitting things with his mallet. Rose sighs and sinks into the jump seat.
"So we're going then? I thought you were taking me to Barcelona?" Finally, she adds silently. She's been hearing about those bloody noseless dogs for so long, and she wants to see them.
The Doctor comes to stand in front of her, taking her hands in his and brushing his thumbs across her knuckles, an apology in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Rose, but we have to go. I have responsibilities, duties to this world, and this is part of it. I can't always be here to save the planet, and going to this summit may make all you humans a little more capable of defending yourselves. I promise, when this is over I'll take you to Barcelona, and then we'll find a pleasure planet…somewhere on the edge of the universe where all we have to worry about is us," the Doctor says, lifting her hands so he can brush a kiss to each of her fingers.
"Isn't that why we spent the last week floating around in the Vortex?" she teases. Images of the two of them hiding away in bed for an entire week, almost an eternity for a man as restless as the Doctor, flits through her head and she feels the stirrings of desire low in her belly.
Before her hormones can really take hold, Rose jumps to her feet and moves towards the console. "Well then, Doctor, allons-y!"
The TARDIS lands them far more gently than usual, and a glance at the monitor shows they're parked in an alley, set just back from a busy London street. Rose makes to bounce down the ramp like usual, but the Doctor stops her.
"Hold on, I've got to get a bio-damper."
"A wha'?" Rose asks, resuming her place in the jump seat. The Doctor pulls something that looks like a ring out of his pockets and aims his sonic at it.
"Bio-damper. It will mask my biological signature and make me appear human to any sensors that they might be using at the Summit. Something as serious as this, with the political leaders that are going to be around, they'll most likely be on the look-out for any kind of alien infiltration. This will make sure I don't set it off." He slides the ring onto the third finger of his left hand, and Rose tries not to think how good he looks wearing a ring there. He probably doesn't even get the significance; she doubts Time Lords wore wedding rings.
"What about me?" Rose asks, half hoping she'll get to wear a matching one, just so she can pretend for a minute. The Doctor shakes his head.
"You're human, you don't need one." He reaches out for her hand and as seamlessly as though she's been doing it her entire life, she slides her fingers through his. "Now then, Rose Tyler, allons-y!"
They spill out of the TARDIS and into the alley. Rose peeks around the corner, spying the London Eye and other landmarks in the distance. It looks exactly like the London she knows, but something about it feels different, foreign. There's some sense of foreboding, deep in her soul, that says this isn't her London. Almost the way it had when they crashed the TARDIS in Pete's World, except this time there are no zepplins in the sky to give away that they're in a parallel universe.
"We didn't fall through the Void again, did we?" she asks. The Doctor frowns at her.
"Why would you say that?" Then he stops next to a lamp post and licks it experimentally. Rose shudders. She kisses that mouth. How many germs did he just expose her to by licking a disgusting London streetlamp? "Nope. We're in the right universe. Right year, right month, even the right day. We're right where we're supposed to be, down to the millisecond."
Rose snorts. "Now I know something must be wrong."
"Oi!" Rose giggles and leans into the Doctor, the wrongness of London forgotten.
The TARDIS parked them several blocks from The O2 arena, where the Summit is taking place. It isn't yet open in Rose's London, but it's under construction. To see it finished and open for use is overwhelming.
"Wow," Rose says as they approach the massive venue. Police and what look like private security roam the streets with more and more frequency the closer she and the Doctor stroll to the arena. She clutches the Doctor's hand tighter. If the Summit is using The O2 as their venue, it's clearly a large and very public operation. She wonders what could have happened between her own time and the time they're in to warrant such an event.
"Doctor…what happened to make this such a huge event? Do you know?" He frowns and shakes his head.
"The timelines are muddled, which means whatever it is…we're a part of it. Could be just us attending the Summit is what makes us part of it, but it could also be something bigger that hasn't happened for us yet." Rose frowns, but isn't surprised by his answer. Of course if there were an alien event big enough to spawn the Summit, she and the Doctor would be involved. It's their specialty.
They stroll closer to the arena. Most people making their way inside are dressed in suits, carrying briefcases or little rolling suitcases. The Doctor will fit in fine in his pinstripe suit; he always does, and even if someone noticed his outfit is slightly out of place, they'll probably just label him an eccentric professor. Rose, on the other hand, in her jeans and jumper, looks distinctly like she doesn't belong.
"If you're professor John Smith, who am I supposed to be?" Rose asks. The Doctor looks down at her briefly before turning his eyes back to the throngs of people around them.
"You're Rose Tyler, my plus one." She hums, neither pleased nor displeased with his answer. People will probably assume she's an assistant of some kind, maybe a graduate student if he introduces himself as a professor. She resolves not to worry about her clothes; she'd met Queen Victoria in denim and trainers for God's sake.
The closer they move to the O2, the more butterflies explode in Rose's stomach. Her muscles tense and she worries that the bio-damper won't work. It wouldn't be the end of the world, probably. They'd made it out of tougher scrapes than any trouble they could find here, but she can't stop herself from worrying. They're finally, properly together, and she doesn't want to lose him so soon after they got their act together.
There's a long queue of people waiting to get into the Summit, and the Doctor was right, the guards are scanning everyone. Each person passes through one of those arches that look like the metal detectors they use in airports in Rose's time. Her fingers tighten on the Doctor's.
"You're sure the bio-thingie will work?" The Doctor smiles, the skin around his eye crinkling, and he presses a kiss to her head.
"Yep." They take their places in line, the Doctor first just in case, and Rose lets out a slow breath.
"Okay."
Despite taking the time to scan each and every person, quite thoroughly it seems to Rose, the queue moves quickly and the Doctor is next before Rose is ready.
A guard in all black combat gear, with an array of weapons and restraints at his belt, waves the Doctor under the scanner. The Doctor gives Rose a quick wink and steps through.
Nothing.
No alarms, no lights, no commandos dragging the Doctor away. The guard waves him away and he turns to Rose, a triumphant, cheeky grin on his face. Rose smiles, tries not to laugh, and breezes through when the guard waves at her next.
Sirens blare.
"What?" the Doctor cries, as Rose looks around for the source of the noise, the alien who set off the sensors. Because it can't be her. She's human. It can't be her. "What?"
"Doctor…" Rose doesn't know if she's warning him to stay calm or begging him to fix this, possibly both.
"You'll have to come with us, Miss," one of the guards says, stepping forward and reaching for Rose's arm. She jerks away without thinking, her heart galloping into a rhythm way too fast to be healthy.
"But…"
"Now just one minute…" the Doctor starts. The guard holds up his hand as another flanks Rose's other side.
"It's just a precaution, Doctor Smith. Lots of aliens lurking about, trying to catch a ride into this place. We just want to make sure she's not got a parasite or virus, and fix it right up if she has." The guard's tone is soothing, calm, and his grip on Rose's arm is guiding, not forceful. She breathes a sigh of relief. They just want to help.
The Doctor stares at the guard with narrowed eyes, and Rose can see the Oncoming Storm brewing. It wouldn't do for him to show his hand now. Rose is human, not an alien, and any test they run will confirm that. She's probably just got some alien residue on her from their last adventure. Or maybe all the lovemaking she and the Doctor have done over the last week has left some traces of Time Lord on her. Either way, she's human and it will all be fine.
"Doctor," she says, making sure his eyes are locked on hers before she continues. "I'll be fine. Go on, I'll find you when they're finished. It'll just be a mo'."
The Doctor looks like he wants to say something, but instead he gives a short nod.
"I'll see you soon, Rose Tyler."