Thanks for reviewing!


Making It Count

Chapter Seven

The ship was in a silence as the passengers slept, only the roar of the engines echoed through the empty corridors as the sun began to shun the moon back into darkness. Its light began to fill the sky, the black of the night was broken into by the rays of amber and gold that broke through the crisp morning clouds.

On the E deck the Doctor leant his head against the wall, closing his eyes as he remembered his time on this ship. Two floors above him the same Doctor – a younger Doctor, rested his head on the glass window of his room as he watched the day break over the waves. A new day for a new beginning – or so he hoped.

Within their room, Rose was trying to try the fine laces of her corset with her hands twisted around her back. She let out a sigh when the dress wouldn't stay put and let it fall to the floor so that she stood there in just her knickers. She picked up the dress and propped it onto the bed, she looked at its beautiful jewels and sighed – she knew she couldn't wear it during the day. She began to look through the pile until she found a simple yellow dress. She pulled her petticoat over her head, shaking out her curls as they fell over her forehead. She then stepped into the dress and tied in carefully as she slid into it, she popped her arms into the sleeves which ran down to her elbows and fluffed out her petticoat. She then turned to the mirror and grinned at her reflection, she twirled around the room so that the dress swirled at her feet – she let out a giggle

'Rose! You done yet?' the Doctor called through the door. Rose glanced over her shoulder at the shut door

'Almost…hang on' she hollered back as she began to shake out all her curls. She began to pin them up against her head but finally gave up, she picked a few curls and pulled them off her face pinning them to the back of her head, she then looked through her pile and found a simple yellow ribbon to tie them back with. She shook out her dress and inspected herself in the mirror

'Right – I'm done' she called out 'but you can't laugh' she added afterwards in a worried tone. She bit her lip as the door handle turned, the Doctor grinned in anticipation as he swung the door open. The first thing he saw was the mess of abandoned dresses strewn all over the place, then his eye was drawn to Rose. He saw her watching him as he took in her beauty, the lemon yellow set off her curls and her eyes blinked unsurely at him. He grinned at her

'Well?' she finally grumbled, hoping for his approval – she knew she had it when his face burst into a manic grin. He held his hand out to her

'I'd be proud to call you my wife' he whispered softly as he pressed a kiss to her hand. She blushed and smiled back at him not knowing what to say,

'Fancy a walk on the deck my dear?' the Doctor asked in his best voice. Rose laughed at him

'Go on then' she replied in her cockney accent. Hand in hand they walked up the flights of stairs and towards C deck where the third class promenade was situated.

Two decks above them, on deck A, the Doctor walked through the first class promenade. The sun burned his eyes as he walked across the deck and in his minds eye he saw the flames of Gallifrey burning. He leant over the railing and looked out over the deep ocean, to him it was pure beauty.

Rose's face lit up in the fresh morning sun, the golden light bounced off her curls causing her to shine like and angel. Her hand was still wrapped within the Doctors as they walked along the deck. She paused against the railings and looked out over the ocean, it seemed to stretch on for thousands and thousands of miles – the horizon seemed so far away in its glistening beauty.

'It's beautiful isn't it' she murmured softly. The Doctor looked at her and smiled softly

'Definitely' he replied watching her – suddenly her face fell into a frown.

'Doctor' she said quietly, he watched her face and squeezed her hand

'Yeah?'

'How long do they have?' she whispered as she looked at children kicking a ball around the deck, as lovers embraced on benches, as couples old and young walked along the deck smiling in the morning sun. The Doctor moved his hand to her waist and pulled her closer, he bent slightly so that his face was nearer to hers

'Today's Friday – and the ship goes down on Sunday…so they have three days' he told her softly as he felt her tremble. She turned to look at him, her eyes worried

'Isn't there anything we can do?' she asked quietly, but he could see the desperation in her eyes. He shook his head slowly

'We can't change history, all we can do is find out why we're here' he told her sadly. Rose bit her lip and turned back to look out over the ocean – an ocean where she knew thousands would drown in just three days and she shivered. The Doctor watched her and felt his heart tug for her, he knew what she felt, how she wanted to save them, and for that he admired her day after day, for her bravery and for her hope. Despite being stuck her – despite her own risk of death, all she wanted was to save everyone else. And it was for that reason he loved her – and for that reason he would always love her, until…until the end.