A bit of exploring revealed which door led to the kitchen, and Rose discovered a bedroom with an en suite. She used the loo and went in search of the Doctor. He had retreated to the kitchen and was currently searching for something in the depths of his leather jacket. Eventually he retrieved an apron and donned it, keeping his back firmly to Rose, although she certainly didn't miss the fact that the tips of his ears had turned into a rather lovely shade of pink. Eventually he turned around and Rose discovered the 'Kiss the Doc' embroidery.
"Let me guess. The apron is Jack's fault," she commented drily.
The Doctor grinned. "Remember Ionidas Prime where he got you that 'Kiss the cook' apron?"
"Yeah. He gave you a package but wouldn't tell me what he found for you." She laughed. "Well, at least yours doesn't have any frills. That would kind of ruin the mood," she added, mischief sparkling in her eyes.
He looked at her questioningly and she elaborated, "A man who can actually cook is sexy as hell."
"Is that so?" The suggestive tone in his voice made her knees go weak. Again.
"Oh, definitely."
"Then let's hope that I live up to your expectations." He smirked and opened the fridge. The empty fridge. The very empty fridge that contained nothing but a bowl full of ice cubes.
Seeing his incredulous expression, Rose desperately tried to hold back a giggle, failed miserably and eventually collapsed into laughter. She leant against the counter until she was able to breathe again. The Doctor looked mortally offended. "I'm sorry. It's just... You should have seen your face."
Eventually a grin crept up on his face and he acknowledged the absurdity of the situation. "You know that you're going to pay for that, don't you?"
Rose grinned back. "Nah, I'd say we're even." She pecked him on the lips. "Honestly, I don't care about the supper. We could have gone to the chippy again or you could have bought me that beef milkshake from Satellite Five. I don't care as long as I'm with you. I know this," her gesture indicated that she was talking not only about the pavilion, "is a fantasy that can't last but I'd like to pretend as long as possible."
~o~o~o~
She had figured it out. A concept that should be completely foreign to her and she had figured it out. The Doctor stared at her in awe. Then he kicked the fridge shut with the heel of his boot and took her hand. He led her back to the main room and activated the old-fashioned wind-up gramophone on the small table next to the sofa. The first notes of the Moonlight Serenade filled the room.
"Would the lady like to dance?"
"How did you pull this off?" she asked, her hands moving to his neck.
He held her at the waist, his right caressing her back, and they swayed to the music for some time, her head resting against his shoulder, before he answered. "It's not really a fantasy, more like a dream we're sharing, and it is only possible because you agreed to bond with me. Before Darlig Ulv Stranden all I could do was send a message through the Void, and that only worked because the cracks hadn't closed yet." He paused for a moment. "I think the TARDIS somehow fuels it."
"The TARDIS?"
"Yes. And believe me, I had nothing to do with it. I wouldn't even have asked. I thought she'd downright refuse. It's not easy to get a TARDIS to do something she doesn't want to. You could force her, of course, but she'd fight you every step of the way, and probably beyond. And my frankly magnificent time ship is definitely the most stubborn being in the entire universe, including the combined forces of you, me and your mum." He grinned. "Sometimes I still wonder how I made it off that junkyard, let alone Gallifrey. She really must like me."
"Oh, she does," Rose said. Her reply sounded as if it was coming from a great distance and her eyes seemed to be staring into a reality only she could perceive. Then she smiled at him lovingly. The Doctor winced inwardly. He had the nagging feeling that Bad Wolf wasn't done with them yet, but he ignored it for the moment and smiled back.
"Anyway, since the moment she agreed to me as her pilot we've been sharing a bond. Mind you, not like the bond that's developing between us, but still a direct mental connection." He thought for a moment, then he decided to voice his suspicions. "Although you might even have a more powerful connection with her than I could ever imagine."
"Me? Why me? I'm not even telepathic."
He looked at her, sighing inwardly. She would find out anyway, sooner or later, and sooner was probably for the better. Being jeopardy-friendly and a telepath was not exactly a safe combination if she ever came across a bunch of not-so-well-meaning telepathic aliens unprepared. And it might even spare him the slap he was bound to receive if he didn't tell her, she discovered it on her own, and found out that he knew all along. "You might very well be telepathic now. You looked into her heart, Rose, and I don't think we've discovered every single change caused by that."
"So basically you're saying that because you and I share a connection with each other and with the TARDIS she was able to bridge the Void somehow. But why now?"
"A real bonding is very rare, has been for centuries, millennia even. It's a process that takes some time, although it would develop much faster if we were together. A full bond can only be achieved through close physical contact over a period of time."
She grinned.
He grinned back. "Not necessarily sex, Rose, although I certainly wouldn't mind. And before you ask, metaphysical sex doesn't count."
Rose narrowed her eyes.
Seeing her expression, the Doctor hastily corrected himself. "As corporeal contact, of course. The sex itself was fantastic. Anyway, without being physically close all we can achieve is this. Otherwise we would be able to be in each other's minds, experience what the other one is feeling, share our thoughts."
He should probably have explained this sooner, he realised. Given how she had reacted to the TARDIS translating for her she might not bear this well. "I can still undo it if you want me to," he offered tentatively.
"Don't you dare!"
This time her expression told him that he was about to find out how much metaphysical slaps stung if he stuck to this line of thought. "I was just thinking... I didn't even explain properly before I asked, and that's just not fair to you," he said carefully.
She smiled. "I love you, Doctor. Of course I would have said yes. But don't try to change the topic."
"I'm not. Well, it took some time for the bond to develop enough that this would work, and both of us have to be asleep..." He cut himself off before he could say more.
"Don't tell me. You've tried to avoid sleep until you collapsed."
She'd always been able to see through his armour, right from the beginning. He nodded. "I thought the nightmares about the Time War had been terrible, but now... Whenever I close my eyes all I see is you, falling into the Void, but there is no Pete to catch you..." He trailed off and stared at a point at the wall.
"Doctor, look at me." He returned his gaze to her and she cupped his face with her hands. "I'm here and I'm safe. It's just a dream."
He nodded slowly.
"But I still don't understand how this didn't happen earlier."
"Like I said. For once we managed to be asleep at the same time and..."
"For the first time in almost half a year?" she interrupted him, staring at him suspiciously. "You can't tell me that you managed to avoid sleep for six months."
He stilled completely and noticed only now that the record had run out minutes ago. "Half a year? Six months?" He knew he sounded like a parrot, but he couldn't help himself. It had only been a few weeks since Darlig Ulv Stranden for him.
"Five months, two weeks and six days," she clarified.
He wanted to smack himself. He'd completely forgotten about the time difference. And he still didn't have any idea how that phenomenon could possibly exist. He had to do something to get her back. Soon.
"Doctor? How long has it been for you?"
"Four weeks," he admitted finally. She stared at him with a horrified expression. He understood. He'd let her down, and he didn't have the slightest idea how to do something about it. If he didn't find a way to cross the Void soon she'd... He didn't even want to think about it. He opened his mouth to apologise, but her next words startled him.
"You've tried to avoid sleeping for four weeks? Are you mad?"
"Rose..."
She freed herself from his arms and took a step back. "Don't Rose me! You have to sleep properly, you know that. I don't want to lose you just because you're exhausted and get yourself killed! Not to mention that I like this body." Her eyes blazed with anger and she sounded as if him regenerating would be a personal affront. At her offended tone he chuckled involuntarily and eventually broke into laughter while Rose stared at him as if she suspected he'd lost it.
Finally he recovered enough to say something, still a silly grin on his face. "Here we are, dancing in a pavilion built on the rim of the continental shelf on Brighton that only exists in our minds, I'm waiting for you to yell at me because I left you for more than six months in a parallel universe and haven't figured out yet how to get you back, and then you yell at me because I might regenerate due to lack of sleep? Oh, I love you."
~o~o~o~
The anger vanished as quickly as it had come. He had thought she'd yell at him for not endangering two universes just to get her back? She had known it would be difficult, he had told her as much on Darlig Ulv Stranden, and if what was happening right now was all she could ever get she'd happily accept the unexpected gift and not ask for more. But the whole not sleeping thing... The dreams he'd had about the Time War had been horrible, he'd let slip enough for her to know that, but now she was the cause of even worse nightmares? He wouldn't even have told her if she hadn't figured it out on her own. Oh, Doctor...
"Come here," she said and embraced him. His arms came around her and she found herself in an almost bone-crushing hug. Neither of them moved for a long time. The Doctor seemed to be unable to let her go. Not that she wanted him to. She hadn't even been aware of how much she needed one of his patented 'The Doctor and Rose against the rest of the universe' hugs.
"I miss you so much," Rose admitted finally. He was the only person she would ever tell how much exactly. "Not even the time travel, just you. The running for our lives, the silly grin that doesn't get used enough, the hugs, the hand-holding. Just... you being you." Her voice quavered and she tried to tell herself that she was blinking rapidly only because she had a lash in her eye. Yeah, right. She had quickly learnt to put up a facade for the world, the heiress or the Torchwood employee, and most of the time even the people who knew her best didn't have any idea how she really felt.
"I promise I'll do everything in my power to get you back," he whispered.
She smiled at him, not caring about the tears standing in her eyes. "Only if you also promise not to be reckless and to sleep properly, or I'll regenerate you myself when I see you next time," she teased.
"And I thought you liked this body," he commented drily.
"Well, I do like this body, complete with goofy smile, piercing blue eyes and big ears. Not to forget the very nice bum."
"I'm not sure if I can believe that after that threat." The suggestiveness in his voice sent a shiver down her spine.
"Want me to prove it?" she grinned, her tongue peeking through her teeth. She pulled him down for a languid kiss. Her tongue slid into his mouth, gently caressing his, while her hands worked on his leather jacket. Finally she managed to push it over his shoulders and it landed on the floor with an audible thud.
His arms came around her, his large hands resting on the small of her back, and he began to respond to her kiss passionately. Eventually she pulled back to catch her breath and smiled at him. "Do you know that there is a bedroom with an extremely comfy bed behind one of these doors?"
"Rose Tyler, what exactly is going on in that mind of yours?"
"Well, there's only one way for you to find out."
He grinned expectantly. "Fantastic."
