Title: Tonight
Rating: K
Pairing: Nine/Rose/Ten/Rose
Spoilers: POTW and TCI
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and do not make any profit from the writing of this story.
The characters belong to RTD and BBC. The song comes from the EFX original cast album.
Rose misses him. He's still there. He's different but if she asks him he'll assure her that he's still the Doctor, her Doctor. She has come to terms with the fact that the Doctor has changed and he's a new man but she misses the old one. She never got to tell him goodbye.
After a day of running on an adventure with the Doctor, who she was still learning to think of as her Doctor, Rose uses sleep to escape. In her sleep she can escape the pain and the sadness that feels so much a part of her heart. She just wishes she could see her Doctor one last time.
Rose is unaware that the Doctor has a plan for her. It may not work. He might even bring himself harm with the attempt but he has to try to do this. It's breaking his hearts to see her in this much pain. He knows that she tries to hide it. The fact that she thinks she has to hide her pain from him makes his hearts hurt even more. He doesn't want to leave her in pain anymore than he already has with his actions. Closing his eyes, he sends the message. He can only hope that it is received and answered.
The music that surrounds her is what wakes Rose. The song isn't one that she recognizes immediately. As she sits up and stretches she begins to make note of the lyrics. They are perfect for her situation. They are haunting, beautiful, and completely heartbreaking.
Don't be sad for me,
Everything is how it had to be,
Don't be angry,
Just be the way you were tonight.
Unaware that she is moving Rose walks out of her room. She follows the music that is leading her through the TARDIS. She is sure that she has never been down these halls before but she isn't afraid. The apprehension she had felt the first time she had entered the TARDIS is long gone. Now the wonderful ship is a friend. She's a friend Rose trusts with her life.
Don't ask why or how,
Don't ask more of me than I am now,
Can't we just be the way we always were tonight?
Rose finds herself in a ballroom. Its walls are covered in ivory silk and beautiful chandeliers bathe the large room in a warm inviting light. At another time Rose might want to explore the room and discover what else was hidden in it's depths but at that moment her full attention was focused on the man standing in the middle of the floor.
Don't be afraid, don't be surprised,
I know with me you never could believe your eyes,
But I've come back; I swear it's true,
I can't escape this need to be with you,
To keep you safe and in my sight,
And I would die again for more than just tonight.
He looks exactly as she remembers him in her heart and soul. He's wearing a blue jumper the color of his eyes; his ever present leather jacket and a smile. It isn't his beaming escaped mental patient grin that he habitually wears. This is a real smile. It's so tender and full of love that it makes her feel as her world has finally become right again.
"Are you a ghost?"
It's probably a stupid question. He constantly reminds her that he's not human. He's also pointed out that Time Lords have a trick to cheat death. If they don't die can they become ghosts? If he's not a ghost what is he doing there in front of her?
Instead of answering her verbally the Doctor walks over to her and pulls her into a hug. Rose leans into him gratefully. Once she feels the double beat of his hearts under her cheek she knows he is real. She also knows she has a choice to make at that moment. She can spend the rest of the time they have left asking him questions or she can take advantage of his nearness. His arms around her are the most wonderful feeling she has ever experienced and she's not going to let it go to waste.
"Dance with me?"
Rose doesn't have to be asked twice. She steps into the proper position for a waltz. They had waltzed together often after they met Jack and she assumes this will be the dancing that the Doctor wants to do now. Rose assumes incorrectly. Instead of holding her in a waltz the Doctor pulls her forward until they are so close they are standing chest to chest and thigh to thigh. He places his hands around her arms and raises them until her hands are locked around his neck. He wraps his own arms around her waist. She raises her head to look into his eyes. He moves one hand to the back of her neck and gently but firmly presses her face into his chest. Once he has her where he likes he rests his own chin on the top of her head. Now that they were close enough he begins to move her across the floor.
Love won't make it right,
Love won't hold me when it's late at night,
I know, you'll go and I'll be left alone tonight,
Don't you know, Don't you cry,
I can't let you go,
Can't you say there's no goodbye for us,
Someday, someway we'll be the way we are tonight.
Rose feels the absurd urge to laugh as they dance across the floor. Neither one of them is dressed for a ballroom. He's in his jacket and jumper. She's wearing pajamas. It should be silly or wrong. Instead it is beautiful and completely right.
Don't be afraid,
Don't be afraid,
I can't escape this need to be with you,
To keep you safe and in my sight,
And I would die again for more than just tonight,
All too soon the music ends and the Doctor gives Rose a sweet, sad smile. She knows without his saying anything that they have to part. However he managed to get here now he couldn't stay. She wants to scream at the unfairness of it but knows if it is hurting her it is hurting him more. At least this time she can tell him goodbye.
"Goodbye, Doctor."
Rose tries not to let her voice break. She doesn't want him to think he's upset her with his incredible gift. She doesn't want his last memory of her to be tears and sadness. She lowers her head but he isn't fooled and raises her chin with his hand.
"Not goodbye Rose. No goodbye for us."
Now she's not even trying to hide her tears. He's right. There is no goodbye for them because they are still together. They aren't as they once were but they still have each other. She wouldn't allow herself to forget that again. She's also going to make sure he knows that they still have each other.
"If I live another nine hundred years Rose, I'll never have another you in my life."
The Doctor raises her hand and brushes a kiss across the back of it. She almost smiles at the courtly gesture. Before she can comment on it however he's drawing her forward with a hand on her cheek. His lips cover hers in a kiss that is pure, passionate, and full of more love than she'd ever imagine could be held even in a man with two hearts. He kisses her again and again. When he finally breaks the kiss his words nullify any pain she might have had at his parting.
"I love you, my Rose."
Don't you know, Don't you cry I can't let you go,
Can't you say there's no goodbye for us,
Someday, someway we'll be the way we are tonight...
"I love you, my Doctor."
She's always known he loves her. She knows that he has always been aware that she loves him. The words aren't a declaration as much as they are a promise. The words like the song are his promise that someday she and he would be the way they always were tonight.