SUMMARY: This time, the Doctor doesn't ask permission to do what he knows needs doing. He moves slowly, gently but steadily toward greater intimacy with Rose. And it starts when he asks the TARDIS to move her things into his room...because if she'd trusted him, she wouldn't have hidden instead of confronting him. For the first time in his lives, he encourages a human female to cling.
Hold On
He settled with her, with a full, High Tea, in the library, silently requesting his TARDIS to move Rose's things into his own quarters and put her bed back into storage. For the time being, he didn't intend to let Rose out of his sight. When eventually they finished their Tea and cleaned up, he wordlessly put his arm around her waist and lead her to the console room.
"We need some alone time, Rose...but not really Vortex Time. Earth is safest, for the period I intend to use...and if anything were to happen while we're there, well...that's Third's problem. He's hanging about during that Time and Sexy will let her younger self know where we are and when we're from...which me I am, and all that. But I don't recall needing to help me on anything that far back in Earth's history. Unless I forgot, but, hey, whatever, right? We might have one or two mes drop in, though."
She nodded. "So, where...?"
"And when. Well, the when is the 12th Century, the where is an uninhabited island in the Southern Pacific Ocean that won't be discovered by humans for at least five hundred years. Rather large and very beautiful with human and Time Lord compatible fruit hanging from the trees, several springs with sweet, fresh water and other things, edible berries and the like on lower shrubs or vines. A warm, even hot, tropical place with sand and surf, fresh seafood available and no one but us. I want some time alone with you, Rose. You need to understand you are precious to me. I've told you before, but you've never really believed me, have you?" His voice was completely serious, his eyes both serious and saddened, with what he knew now.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that there were limits on what he could do to help her heal by himself...some of the damage had been inflicted, albeit unknowingly and completely unintentionally by his previous personality. And she still trusted Ninth in ways she didn't trust this him. Of course, Ninth had never abandoned her and another companion on an abandoned space ship either, then pulled this latest stunt.
Some of Rose's distrust and nervousness with him was entirely his own fault, but some wasn't. Most wasn't, in fact. Most of it could be laid squarely at Jackie's feet. He finally understood just how much it had taken to get Rose's trust to start with. She had trusted Ninth because he wasn't human, rather than in spite of it. It was humans she didn't trust. That was, basically, why she had never fallen for Jack...he was human and therefore, not to be trusted. The Doctor rather suspected he trusted humans more than Rose did.
Even the TARDIS was being a little gentler with Rose than usual and it was notable because she was usually careful with her anyway.
She may be Bad Wolf and the Avatar of the Time Vortex, but her soul is human and hurting. Sexy murmured in his mind. But it has been hurting in this way from her childhood so she doesn't know it's not supposed to hurt.
It took a great deal of willpower for him to show no reaction to that bit of information in front of his sharp-eyed human girl. Talk to Ninth, explain...he needs to heal her then or else come and heal her now...but either way, the start of it has to come from him. All those 'stupid ape' remarks just convinced her that her mother was correct and that she really is worthless...as did the visit to that damned platform. He can call her precious all he likes but until he convinces her that she is precious... His hands moved with steady confidence as he located the place and time needed, and sent the timeship hurtling toward that untouched tropical island paradise.
On it.
As he landed, he noted in the monitor that the Ninth was already there, leaning against his TARDIS. Tenth sent Rose out first. "There's...someone who needs to talk to you. Alone. He can't stay forever, Rose, but there's things you need to talk to him about and there's things he needs to make you understand." Tenth's voice was quiet, but a little rough. "But he'll be here as long as it takes. I'll be out in a bit. Need to stabilize a few things before I get too close to him."
"Who...?"
"Me. Last me, actually."
Her eyes got huge. "Why...?"
"Because you need us...at least two of us, possibly three. Dunno yet. Come on, then, give me a hug then...and then go out there and give Ninth me another one."
~ TBC ~
