Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC.
A/N Thanks for the lovely reviews. Sorry for the delay in updating! Here's the next chapter.
Thank you to Vampiyaa for the beta!
Chapter 4
The Doctor watched Rose leave with Romana and it gave him a moment to think about their conversation. He'd clearly underestimated Rose Tyler and her ability to cope with the unexpected curveball in her life. Her anger was understandable and he'd meant it when he had said that he would be willing to give her as much time as she would need.
He glanced around at the wing of the Presidential Palace that was supposed to be Rose's and sighed. He had ordered it to be emptied before Romana could give the tour to Rose but if he had heard the last bit of their conversation accurately, then Rose had no interest in changing the decor of the place in any way. The bitter note in her voice when she had said she'd rather be reminded that she was on Gallifrey was what had made him pause and walk in to speak to her in the first place. And now, he was glad that he had, because the ensuing conversation had lightened his hearts considerably.
With a final glance at the empty chamber, he decided to return to his office on the other side of the palace. He still had to supervise the wedding invitations being sent out to their off-world allies and he didn't trust his staff not to inadvertently offend them by saying the wrong thing in the invitation. It wasn't as if his staff were incompetent, but they had never been off-world and most alien customs and traditions were lost on their hopelessly rational Gallifreyan minds.
However, when he got to his office, he found that there was already someone waiting for him there. The Doctor's good mood evaporated as he walked into his office and scowled at the visitor.
"Is this an original Botticelli?" he asked, looking at the painting displayed on the wall without acknowledging the Doctor's scowl.
"Yes, and hello to you too, Brax," said the Doctor, shutting the door firmly behind himself.
Irving Braxiatel turned around and raised his eyebrows. "I don't remember ever seeing this in the history books," he said.
"It was privately commissioned," said the Doctor shortly. "What are you doing here?"
"You invited me, remember?" he said, before turning back to the painting. "It really is exquisite."
"I invited you to the wedding, which is still days away," said the Doctor. "And you can forget about the painting."
"Hmm, what?" asked Braxiatel absently.
"The painting," said the Doctor, walking into Braxiatel's line of sight and glaring at him. "You are not taking it for your collection."
Braxiatel raised his eyebrows but said nothing as he moved away from the painting and sat down in a chair in front of the Doctor's desk. "I am aware of when the wedding is," he said. "Which is why I came as soon as I could."
"Well, you needn't have," said the Doctor. "Your presence is only required on the day of the ceremony."
"You cannot expect me to not be curious when I hear that you are getting married," said Braxiatel. "To a human, no less."
"If you are trying to talk me out of it…" began the Doctor, but Braxiatel shook his head.
"No, I have experience with trying to talk you out of doing something you want to, and it never works in my favour, so why bother?" He paused and smirked slightly before continuing. "Although, I am curious as to why."
"Why what?" asked the Doctor.
"Why her?" asked Braxiatel. "And why now?"
"The answer to both would be none of your business," said the Doctor, narrowing his eyes at his brother. "Does Romana know you are back?"
Braxiatel looked slightly uncomfortable. "No," he answered.
"She is not going to be happy," said the Doctor.
Braxiatel's eyes snapped to the Doctor's. "I made a decision and if Romana cannot accept it, then that is her problem, not mine," he said.
"That might be, but I do care for Romana and I do not wish to see her hurt," said the Doctor, equally stubborn. "I needn't remind you that Romana has been more of a family to me than you ever were."
Braxiatel smiled sardonically. "And to me, as well," he said. "Besides, let's not forget which one of us was the one who left. While you were off gallivanting across time and space, meddling in things that were none of your business, I was the one who stayed on Gallifrey and looked after it."
"And a fine job you did of it too," said the Doctor sarcastically. "If I hadn't returned to Gallifrey…"
"If you hadn't returned to Gallifrey," interrupted Braxiatel angrily, "then Romana would still be President and we would have been doing just fine. Your decision to come to Gallifrey has set off a chain of events that we cannot predict, not to mention the danger you are putting yourself in."
"Nothing can be worse than the darkest possibility," said the Doctor. "As for the danger that it puts me in, I am prepared to take the risk if it means saving Gallifrey."
"A noble sentiment, no doubt," said Braxiatel, rolling his eyes. "But it isn't just yourself that you are putting in danger. Anyone that supports you is in danger. Borusa is known to be ambitious."
"Borusa may be ambitious but he also wants what is best for Gallifrey," said the Doctor. "He would not do something that would jeopardise that."
"You seem to have forgotten the incident in the Death zone," said Braxiatel.
"I have forgotten nothing," said the Doctor stubbornly. "Borusa learned his lesson when he let his ambition get the better of him. He won't be making the same mistake again."
"So you hope," said Braxiatel archly. The Doctor merely shrugged in response and Braxiatel shook his head. "Either way, you are going to need all the help you can get, which is why I came back immediately."
"You will be staying after the wedding?" asked the Doctor, surprised.
"Yes," said Braxiatel. "If you can bring yourself to return to Gallifrey, then so can I."
The Doctor stared at his brother for a long moment, before nodding. "Then I have no choice but to reinstate you," he said. "On my authority as the Lord President of Gallifrey and all her dominions, I hereby declare you, Irving Braxiatel, reinstated to the position of the Lord Chancellor of Gallifrey."
Rose was having a pleasant dream for a change when she was suddenly awoken by a tiny zooming ball of energy jumping on her.
"ROSIE!" he screamed in her ear and Rose popped one eye open to stare balefully at her little brother who had climbed on top of her and was grinning brightly in her face.
"Tony, I told you not to wake Rose," said Jackie from the doorway, shooting an apologetic look at Rose, who waved it away.
"It's an alien planet, Rosie," said Tony excitedly. "They have two suns and the grass is red!"
"Is it really?" asked Rose, smiling back at him. "Did you meet the alien tickle monster yet?"
"No," he said, eyes going wide.
Rose allowed herself a small smile before starting to tickle Tony, who burst into loud giggles and began to flail around to escape.
"Stop! Stop," yelled Tony and Rose grinned as she sat up with him on her lap.
"It's a nice planet, isn't it?" she asked.
Tony nodded at once. "Can we go to the mountains, Rosie?" he asked. "Please? There's snow on them and everything."
Rose's smile became fixed. "We'll see, okay?" she said. "Now, let me get dressed."
Jackie walked into the room and scooped Tony up. "Breakfast's ready downstairs," she told Rose. "When do you have to go?"
"In an hour," she said, with a quick glance at the time. "I don't know how long this will take, mum. I'll try and be back as soon as I can."
Jackie pursed her lips but nodded. "Be careful, Rose," she said.
"Is Rose going to fight the aliens?" asked Tony curiously.
"No," said Jackie shortly. "Come on, let's give your sister her privacy."
Rose waved at Tony, who looked confused, but let his mother carry him out of Rose's room. Rose sighed and headed over to freshen up and get dressed before heading down to breakfast. Contrary to what she had told her mum, Rose had barely over forty five minutes until Romana would come to get her.
Sure enough, she was already downstairs and waiting for her by the time Rose got there. She could see the hostile looks being directed at Romana, who was sitting calmly at the table, perusing the tablet in her hand.
"I'm ready," she told Romana, guessing that she was not very comfortable where she was, despite all appearances.
"You haven't had breakfast," said Jackie, pausing long enough from glaring at Romana to look at Rose.
"I'll be fine," said Rose. "We should go, Romana."
"Of course," said Romana and stood up, all grace and dignity. "I shall wait for you outside."
"Thanks, Romana," said Rose, as Romana nodded and headed out. "I'll be back soon," said Rose, shooting a quick smile at her mum and dad.
"Good luck," said Pete.
Rose nodded at him and jogged outside to where Romana was waiting for her. "Okay, let's go," she said.
Romana held out her hand silently and Rose took it, bracing for teleportation. It wasn't quite as violent as it had been the first time, but Rose was still slightly disoriented. It took longer than it should have for her to realise that she was back inside her wing of the Presidential Palace, but unlike the evening before, all the furniture had been put back in place.
"I took the liberty of narrowing down the gown you will be wearing today," said Romana, leading her through a pair of double doors into a room that looked like a combined wardrobe and dressing room.
While Rose glanced around in slight awe, Romana held a gown each in her hand. One of them was a gorgeous shade of gold, with delicate swirls and loops in a slightly darker shade of gold covering the bodice and the full skirt. The other one was much plainer in comparison; just a simple white with gold embroidery.
"Which one do you think I should wear?" asked Rose, personally leaning towards the gold one.
"The white one," said Romana, holding up the other dress. "The gold, while quite beautiful, is rather ostentatious."
"And Time Lords loathe ostentatiousness?" asked Rose, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"No, they revel in it, actually," said Romana. She set the two gowns aside and sighed. "Rose, you have to understand that the sentiment among Time Lords is going to be far from welcoming towards you."
"Yeah, I know that," said Rose. "You lot don't like humans. Xenophobia is not just a human construct. Who knew?"
"My point is, you will have to make an effort to endear yourself to them," said Romana, carrying on like she hadn't spoken. "Dressing modestly is just one of the things we could start with."
"Respectfully, Lady Romana, I have to disagree," came a voice from the doorway and Rose whirled around to see a man in sweeping orange and gold robes. He was tall and lanky in appearance but had a distinguished face, long nose, and a rather impressive moustache.
"What are you doing here?"
Rose was shocked to hear the hostility in Romana's voice as she glared at the man.
"My President required me to be back, so I decided to return and resume my former duties," he said, walking into the room. "Is that a concern?"
"Obviously not," said Romana through gritted teeth. "Lady Rose, please meet Lord Chancellor Irving Braxiatel."
"My lady," he said, with a short bow.
"Lord Chancellor," nodded Rose.
"Braxiatel, please," he corrected her. "We will be practically family in a few days."
At Rose's look of confusion, Romana intervened. "The Lord Chancellor is the Doctor's brother," she said and then narrowed her eyes at Braxiatel. "Though I doubt one of his duties includes advising you on your wardrobe."
"Far be it for me to overstep my bounds, Lady Romana," said Braxiatel. "But I doubt that modesty would the right approach in this instance."
"Then what would you suggest?" asked Romana.
"Be bold," he said in his booming voice. "It is your chance to make an impression on the Time Lords, Lady Rose. It should come from a place of strength, not modesty and hesitation."
Rose raised her eyebrows at him. "Most of them have seen me already," she pointed out.
"Yes, and you have made quite an impression," he said. "They don't know what to make of you. I'd say that's an excellent start. I appreciate Lady Romana's efforts to educate you about Gallifrey and our culture, but I think your strength lies in you being yourself."
"Thanks, I think," said Rose. "But I would rather not antagonise people if it can be avoided. I don't want to make things difficult."
"That is a noble sentiment, I'm sure," said Braxiatel. "Naïve, but noble."
"That is enough, Braxiatel," said Romana, glaring at him. "I am her tutor and it is my duty to advise her to the best of my capacity."
"And I am the Lord Chancellor, and as such, it is my duty to ensure the safety of the office of the President and all those associated with it," said Braxiatel, narrowing his eyes at Romana. "I will not have the future First Lady of Gallifrey being told that she ought to uphold modesty when our society scarcely abides by that concept themselves. Lady Rose is to be one of us and I shall not tolerate her being treated as anything lesser."
Rose stared between Romana and Braxiatel, and cleared her throat pointedly.
"The gold one shall do, Rose," said Romana, without breaking her glare towards Braxiatel. "We'll give you some privacy."
With that, Romana turned and left. Braxiatel nodded at Rose and followed Romana out.
"Curiouser and curiouser," muttered Rose to herself.
The dress, despite looking heavy and intimidating, was surprisingly light when she picked it up. With a sigh, Rose got undressed down to her knickers and put the dress on instead. The dress had laces up the back to do it up, rather than a zipper, but Rose only had to pull the two loose ends of the lace for the dress to be done up properly. She turned to look at the mirror and grimaced. She looked like them.
She was still frowning at her reflection when Romana knocked at the door and entered a moment later.
"Good, you're dressed," said Romana, running an appraising eye over her. "You will need to put your hair up."
"Yeah, I figured," said Rose, not having seen a single Time Lady with their hair down. "Where's Braxiatel?" she asked, sitting down in front of the vanity in the corner to brush her hair.
Romana's nostrils flared in annoyance, but her voice was calm when she spoke. "He had other duties to perform," she said in a tight voice.
"So what's the story between you two?" asked Rose. "Do you not like him or something?"
"Or something," said Romana shortly.
Rose bit her lip. "Is he opposing the Doctor?" she asked, wondering if she should be adding Braxiatel to Borusa's side of things.
"No," said Romana at once, as if aware of what Rose was thinking. "It is nothing like that. Braxiatel and the Doctor have a complicated relationship, certainly, but they are brothers in the end. My problems with Braxiatel are my own and have nothing to do with the Doctor."
"Alright," said Rose, deciding to let it drop. "So, tell me about this ceremony thing then."
Romana looked relieved that Rose was not pushing the issue. "You will meet the rest of the council today," she said. "Most of them are neutral or support the Doctor, so that should not be a concern."
"So who should I be concerned about?" asked Rose.
"Borusa, for one," said Romana. "And Vansell and Valyes."
"They hate the Doctor, do they?" asked Rose.
"Vansell does," said Romana with a smirk. "It's a childish rivalry from their youth. Which makes it mostly harmless."
"I think you underestimate how much worse childhood rivalries can be," murmured Rose. "What about Valyes?" she asked in a louder voice.
"Valyes is like Borusa," said Romana. "Traditionalist, to a fault. Most of the Time Lord population is of a similar mindset, to be perfectly honest."
"If Borusa has so much support, then why is he still supporting the Doctor?" asked Rose curiously.
Romana hesitated briefly. "I don't know," she admitted finally. "The Doctor does, though. He hasn't shared his reasons with anyone. Neither has Borusa, for that matter. But despite their differences, they are working together."
Rose chewed on her lip thoughtfully as she finished doing her hair up in a conservative, yet stylish bun with the ease of someone used to doing this on their own. With all the appearances she had to make as the Vitex heiress while balancing Torchwood responsibilities, Rose had learned to become her own stylist who could work on the fly.
"This will do," said Romana approvingly when Rose set the hairbrush aside and examined her reflection.
Romana drew out a flat, square box from her robes and handed it to Rose. Curiously, Rose opened it and was surprised to find a delicate gold circlet resting inside the box.
"Is this for me?" asked Rose.
"Yes," said Romana. "It works as a much more comfortable alternative to the headdress which, even I have to admit, can be cumbersome at times."
Rose had to agree, but she still felt slightly silly as she placed the circlet on her head. "Tell me more about today," she said quickly, looking away from her reflection before she could linger too long on the image of herself decked out in Time Lord finery.
Romana adjusted the circlet on Rose's head slightly before answering. "We will be heading into the Panopticon's antechamber soon. The Doctor will walk out into the Panopticon first and address the assembled Time Lords. He will then announce you as his betrothed. You will then join him and that will be all there is to the actual ceremony."
"That doesn't sound too bad," said Rose.
"You will be expected to mingle with them after the ceremony," said Romana.
"Great," said Rose sarcastically. "Jumping right into the pool of sharks, am I?"
"That is not an entirely inaccurate way of putting it, yes," said Romana dryly. "I expect you will be a novelty of sort to them."
"Even better, I'll be the freak," said Rose.
"More like an exotic specimen, actually," said Romana with a small smile.
Rose would have taken offence to that but Romana's smile indicated that she'd meant it in jest. "Not the first time I'd be called that," said Rose, remembering her first Torchwood assignment involving aliens. "You'll be there, won't you?" asked Rose seriously, hating how hopeful her voice sounded.
Romana's eyes softened imperceptibly. "Yes, of course," she said. "I'll be right there if you need me. I have complete faith that you shall make it through today without any trouble, Rose."
"Thank you, Romana," said Rose, with a heartened smile.
"Come now," said Romana. "It's almost time."
The Doctor was pacing in the antechamber when Braxiatel walked in. "And where have you been?" asked the Doctor archly.
"Chatting with your lovely bride to be, as a matter of fact," said Braxiatel, closing the door behind him.
"Whatever for?" asked the Doctor.
"For one, I wanted to see the woman whom you would marry willingly," he said. "For another, I wanted to make sure that she was ready for these bastards." He nodded towards the doors leading to the Panopticon with a wry smile.
"Well?" asked the Doctor. "What did you think?"
Braxiatel took a deep breath before shrugging. "She seems capable, certainly," he said. "She did not strike me as the quiet and submissive sort either, which will help her quite a bit on Gallifrey." He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "A wolf," he declared finally. "She reminds me of a wolf."
"Interesting," said the Doctor. "I thought that too, when I first met her."
"Does she have a lover?" asked Braxiatel.
"Brax!" said the Doctor, looking outraged.
Braxiatel rolled his eyes. ""I meant, she is a beautiful young woman. I doubt she has a lack of suitors."
The Doctor was quiet for a moment. "I don't know," he admitted.
Braxiatel stared at him. "Surely you asked before proposing marriage," he said.
"I didn't ask," said the Doctor, looking somewhat horrified at himself.
"That is not like you," said Braxiatel, raising his eyebrows.
"I am discovering a lot of things that have been unlike myself these days," said the Doctor.
Braxiatel chose not to comment on that. "Have you given any thought to the actual wedding ceremony?" he asked.
"What's complicated about the wedding ceremony?" asked the Doctor, looking slightly confused.
"Will you be sharing your name?" asked Braxiatel.
The Doctor smiled at his brother. "That is not your concern, Brax," he said. "I…"
The door to the antechamber opened, and Romana walked inside followed by Rose. "Doctor," nodded Romana. "Lord Chancellor."
"Lady Romana," said Braxiatel, undeterred by the frostiness of her voice. "Lady Rose, I see you took my advice."
Rose smiled politely at him. "Thank you for your help, Braxiatel," she said.
"It was my pleasure," said Braxiatel, with a short bow. He glanced at the Doctor, who was looking slightly stunned at Rose's appearance, and hid a smirk. "Lady Romana, we ought to join the others in the Panopticon."
"Of course, Lord Chancellor," said Romana. She touched Rose's shoulder as she passed her. "You'll be alright, Rose," she whispered.
Rose smiled at her and Braxiatel as they left and closed the door behind them, leaving her alone with the Doctor in the antechamber. The Doctor was yet to say something, but once Romana and Braxiatel had left, he smiled tentatively at her.
"Rose," he began, but the door to the antechamber opened again and Romana poked her head in.
"They are ready for you, Doctor," she said.
"Hold on, Romana," he said. "I have to introduce Rose to someone before the announcement."
"Who?" asked Romana in confusion, and the look was mirrored on Rose's face.
"Someone important," said the Doctor vaguely. "We won't be long. Just tell them to hold on."
Romana looked slightly exasperated but nodded as she left. Rose turned to the Doctor. "Who am I meeting?" she asked warily.
"You'll see," he said. "This way, come on." Rose raised her eyebrows at the tiny door at the other end of the antechamber, but followed the Doctor.
He opened the door and Rose was surprised to see that it wasn't another room or a hallway like she had thought, but a cupboard that was empty, except for a blue telephone booth that said police public call box on it.
The Doctor pulled out a key from his robes and unlocked the doors of the police box. The doors creaked open and he looked back at Rose expectantly.
"What's a police public call box?" she asked, stepping towards it cautiously.
"It's just an exterior," he said, sounding far too excited in Rose's opinion. "Come on in."
"In the box?" asked Rose, just to make sure.
"Don't worry," he assured with a smile so bright that Rose felt herself returning it without her permission. "It's bigger on the inside."
His words confused her but at his encouraging nod, Rose walked into the box and gasped in surprise at the cavernous interior of the box that was certainly far bigger on the inside than what it was outside. It looked like a cross between the spaceship that had brought them to Gallifrey in the first place and a gothic sitting room, and there was a low hum in the air, not unlike the thrum of a spaceship's engine.
"Is it a ship?" asked Rose, looking back at the Doctor, who had been watching her with a small smile.
"Yes, this is the best ship in the universe," said the Doctor proudly. "Rose Tyler, welcome to the TARDIS."
"It doesn't look like the other ship that brought us here," said Rose, confused but awed at the ship's interior.
"Ah, they used a time station. Can't stand those things," he said, walking up to the main console in the middle of the room. "All flash and no personality. Unlike old girl over here," he added, stroking his hand over the console affectionately.
"Right," said Rose, wondering if she should excuse herself. "So, who did you want me to meet?" she asked.
"Her," he said, waving a hand around the console.
"You wanted me to meet a ship?" asked Rose.
"I wanted you to meet my ship," he corrected. "It may seem odd to you, but she has been a great friend and companion to me for most of my life. Right now, she's most likely getting acquainted with you."
"How?" asked Rose.
"Telepathically, of course," he said.
"It's in my head?" asked Rose, reeling back slightly.
The Doctor looked surprised at the look of displeasure on her face. "It's not unlike the telepathic field that exists all over Gallifrey," he said.
"Right," said Rose, still looking uncomfortable. At the Doctor's look of concern, she crossed her arms nervously. "I just don't like things that can get in my mind."
He snorted, though not unkindly. "Gallifreyans and Time Lords, by extension, are highly telepathic as a race," he said. "A Time Lord bonds to a TARDIS, not unlike a marriage bond."
"Romana didn't say anything about telepathy in the wedding ceremony," said Rose, alarmed.
"No, no, no," he said immediately. "It's not done anymore. It was an old tradition. Marriage bonds are entirely nonexistent now."
"Okay, good," said Rose, looking relieved. "I mean, I just…"
"Rose, you don't have to explain yourself," said the Doctor kindly. "I would never touch your mind without your permission. It is a heinous act to invade someone's mind and I would never do that to you. You have my word."
Rose nodded, looking slightly heartened. "So," she said, looking around at the interior of the TARDIS. "What does your ship think of me?"
The Doctor quickly started dabbing at an invisible speck of dust on the console and avoided her gaze. "Oh, you know, just the usual," he said casually, but Rose thought that he looked rather embarrassed for some reason. "The important question is," he said, looking up at Rose, "...what do you think of her?"
"She's beautiful," said Rose truthfully. "Are there more rooms apart from this one?"
"Oh, the TARDIS is endless," beamed the Doctor, looking pleased at the compliment. "I'll show you when we have more time. If you want, of course," he added hastily.
"Yeah, okay," said Rose with a tentative smile, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear
"You look beautiful," he blurted out, seemingly randomly and Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Sorry, I meant to be more eloquent about that," he said, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. "I just wanted to say that...well, that you look very beautiful."
Rose felt herself go red but she made herself nod. "Thanks," she said, hoping she sounded composed and not as flustered as she was feeling. "Shouldn't we go back? The ceremony is about to start, isn't it?" she asked, wanting to be around people instead of alone with the Doctor.
His presence seemed to make her stupid, it seemed, because she kept forgetting what this was all about. With other people around them, it would surely not make her feel like a schoolgirl with a crush, which was how she felt when she was alone with him for any period of time. Or when he smiled at her. Or when he told her that she was beautiful, for that matter.
"Yes, of course," said the Doctor, with a gentle smile.
He walked past her to leave the TARDIS and Rose caught a whiff of his scent, the honey and sandalwood scent making her flush yet again.
"Coming?" he asked, standing in the doorway of the TARDIS and looking back at her.
"Yes," said Rose quickly, cursing up a storm inside her head.
Stupid schoolgirl crush.
Thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought.
