Chapter 2 - Starfire

Rose laughed as she closed the TARDIS door behind them.

"I never thought we were going to get out of there," she said. "I thought for sure she was just going to tie you up and keep you."

"I'm sure it was funnier from where you were sitting Rose Tyler! I was terrified!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Rose had to struggle to stop laughing. The queen of the Galactic Federation of Commerce and taken a shine to the Doctor and she had wanted to trade him for her rather impressive collection of life-sized porcelain figurines. "And you could have told her no a bit sooner," the Doctor pointed out. Rose sat down on the beat-up jump-seat. She smiled at him.

"I had to think it over. That was one brilliant collection she had to trade. I was tempted." The Doctor sat down next to her. His shoulder brushed against hers. He leaned down towards her.

"You weren't really going to trade me though were you?" he asked, sounding slightly worried.

"Oh, I dunno," Rose mused. He gave her a playful push. Rose laughed but her laughter suddenly turned into coughing.

Rose held up her hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the coughing. The Doctor's hands came around her shoulders.

"You okay? Rose?" There was worry in his voice. "Rose?" She brushed his hands away, getting it under control.

"I'm fine," she told him, taking a deep breath. "Just a cough." His eyes traced her face worriedly. "I'm fine," she insisted and smiled. "I'm not made of porcelain," she pointed out. The Doctor gave her a glare.

"Cheap shot," he told her and she smiled. She nudged him with her shoulder and eventually got a smile from him.

Rose jumped to her feet.

"So! Where are we going next?" she asked.

"There is just no stopping you is there," the Doctor said. "Not tired? I thought humans needed sleep," he pointed out.

"I can sleep when I'm dead," Rose said and the Doctor, just about to rise, froze for a second. He knew she was just joking but it was still a grim reminder that she would not be with him forever. The Doctor got to his feet.

"Where to then?" he asked her. Rose pondered. "How about this," the Doctor suggested. "...there was this burst of star-fire just off the coast of Meta Sigmafolio. Beautiful, the whole sky lights up."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rose asked.

The Doctor smiled and ran away around the console, pushing buttons as he went. He danced around Rose and she laughed at him, loving every precious moment. When the Doctor wasn't looking she glanced down at her hand, seeing the hint of blood glistening in her palm. She wiped it away quickly on the inside of her pocket. The Doctor came over and took her other hand.

"We're here," he said and pulled her along.

Rose stumbled after him, giggling as she went. The Doctor pulled opened the doors and Rose drew in a hiss of breath in sheer awe. They hadn't landed. They were moving leisurely across the sky, everywhere around them the sky was on fire. It was like watching oil move over water, light catching in all the colours of the rainbow. The heavens were a glittering, shimmering cascade of starlight.

"What is it?" Rose asked, the awe clear in her voice.

"A meteorite struck an ice giant. It sent billions of ice crystals out into space," the Doctor explained. "And this galaxy has one blue dwarf star and one red. See?" The Doctor pointed the stars out in the sky. Rose nodded. "What you see is the ice crystals passing between them and reflecting the light."

"It's so beautiful," Rose breathed.

"Only once through all of time and space does this happen," the Doctor explained. "Right here, in this system. It will never happen again." Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand. Her quiet way of saying, thank you. The Doctor slipped his hand out of hers and snaked his arm around her waist. He pulled her against his side and she went easily, resting her head against his shoulder as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"You promised me forever once," the Doctor said, his voice a little husky, a little hesitant. Rose buried her face against his shoulder, mumbling something in the affirmative. The Doctor took a deep breath. His hearts were beating too rapidly. "Does that still stand?" he finally managed to get out.

Rose was silent. For a long time she said nothing at all as they watched the starfire blaze across the infinite sky. Then she raised her head and looked at him. There were tears in her eyes. Her beautiful hazel eyes and for a moment he was sure both his hearts stopped. Then she reached up her hand and ran it down the side of his face. Her touch was light. So light he could barely feel it.

"You have my forever," she said. "I promise."

She said it just as easily as last time. Like it was nothing more than the simple truth. But her eyes were a different matter. They were serious, intently focused on his. The starfire sparked of her irises, reminding him of when she'd absorbed the energy of the time- vortex and saved his life. He'd been so close to losing her then. And then he had. Lost her to a different universe. To time and space and circumstance. But now here she was. Right in front of him. Rose. His Rose.

The Doctor leaned down towards her and she rose to meet him before he could think to stop. The kiss was soft and hesitant at first, neither quite sure of being accepted. But when they both realised that neither was backing down from this moment all the walls they'd built came crumbling down.

The kiss transformed in an instant from a kindling into a blazing fire. The Doctor moved his hands around Rose's waist. He pulled her against him. He heard her moan softly against his lips and he immediately ceased the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Her hands came around his neck and ran up into his hair. Before he knew it he felt his back hit the TARDIS door. The handle dug into the small of his back and he couldn't even feel it. All he felt was her. Rose. She was everywhere around him, consuming his senses until nothing remained but her.

He took a hold of her and spun her around, trading their places so he had her between him and the opened door. There was desperation to the way he kissed her, fearing it wouldn't last. That he couldn't possibly be allowed to keep something that felt this good.

Every move Rose made seemed to resonate somewhere deep inside him and in that moment he couldn't believe it had taken him this long to kiss her. He knew all the reasons. All the reasons he had told himself why he couldn't have her. All these things that now didn't seem to matter at all. Nothing mattered but this.

The Doctor pulled Rose with him as they stumbled inside, never once letting go of each other. Rose's hip hit the console. The Doctor picked her up and placed her on it and she wrapped her legs around him. Her fingers curled around his tie as she pulled him closer. They were losing themselves in each other. Having being torn apart had reminded them of the limited time they had. Everything could be gone in an instant.

The thought made their movements more desperate, clinging to this one moment with all they got. It was like fire burned in their blood, urging them on. Rose pushed the lapels of his jacket apart and he let it slide off his shoulders and fall to the floor. She ran her hands across his back, clutching the material of his shirt in her fists. The Doctor practically tore off the grey hoody she wore, not able to get rid of it fast enough. He pulled her against him, needing to feel every inch of her.

Fire. Fire raging through them. They were lost. The world could have burned down around them and they never would have noticed. Rose felt something brush carefully against her mind. Something soft and tender. She realised it was him. The Doctor's mind brushed gently against hers and she was too lost to even think to guard against him. Every touch, every caress suddenly became heightened. His tongue tangled with hers and the sensation went through her entire body like an electric charge through her blood.

The Doctor was mumbling something against Rose's lips but she had no idea what it was. Her mind could not seem to process the words. Rose was not a natural telepath like the Doctor. She had never been taught how to reach out with her mind or how to welcome another's. She moved on pure instinct, the need to be closer to him burning through every thought. Her mind seemed to be caught up almost in a dance with his. Swirling, twining, binding. Suddenly the Doctor clasped her wrists, hard.

"Stop," he growled, tearing his lips away from hers. "Stop..."

Rose froze.

The Doctor let her go as though she had burned him. He leaned his hands against the console on either side of her hips. His head fell to her shoulder, his breathing laboured. "I can't." he breathed. Rose felt his mind retreat from hers and her blood froze in her veins. She went cold all over. A mere second ago she'd been burning, feeling as though her very blood was on fire and now her blood ran cold. She pushed at his chest, desperate to get away from him.

"Get off," she managed to get out, humiliation and hurt colouring her voice. One more push and he stepped back enough for her to get down from the console. She moved away from him, feeling tears stinging the backs of her eyes. She had to get out of there. She had to get out now.

The Doctor clasped her wrist, stopping her.

"Rose..." His voice sounded so fractured, so broken. She tore free of him. She saw her hoody lying discarded on the floor. She bent down and swept it up, not turning to look at him. "Rose, please," he pleaded.

"No, I get it," she mumbled, just wanting to get away. "You're right. I get it." She wasn't sure what she was saying even made any sense. She hurried out of the room before he could see the tears streaming down her face.