"So, how did you get a hotel overlooking the Seine on such sort notice?" Rose asked. "Or do I not want to know?"
The Doctor stretched languidly and gave her a lazy grin.
"You don't want to know."
Rose propped herself up on her elbow, and smiled back.
"Called in a few favours, did we?" she asked.
The Doctor shrugged.
"What's the point in having connections if you don't use them? And what better time than on your honeymoon?"
"Your impromptu honeymoon," Rose reminded him.
"Honeymoon all the same," the Doctor replied.
"You have connections already?" Rose asked.
"Sure. More than a few people owe me favours."
"Why's that?"
"Well I seem to have a handy touch fixing computers. And hacking into encrypted files. The things I find…"
"You're blackmailing people?" Rose asked, amused.
"Blackmail's a bit of a strong word…" the Doctor trailed off, looking pleased with himself. "But when I need to get a particularly nice hotel room, let's just say I know who to call."
"Ghostbusters?" Rose asked, giggling.
The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Them too."
"The view from the window is beautiful," Rose said, plucking at a curtain so that she could see out.
"This view is even more beautiful," the Doctor replied. He was looking at her with a smile on his face.
The Doctor leaned over to kiss her.
Rose pulled away and made a face.
"What?" the Doctor asked.
Rose wrinkled her nose.
"Morning breath," she said.
The Doctor pushed her lightly, so that she fell back onto the pillows.
"I kiss my wife on the first morning of our honeymoon, and what does she say? 'Morning breath'." He pouted.
"Anyone ever tell you you're cute when you pout?" Rose asked.
The Doctor got up and headed for the bathroom.
"I've been told once or twice," he threw over his shoulder.
--
Rose looked skeptically at the map.
"Are you sure you know where we're going?"
The Doctor looked pained.
"Rose. I've travelled all of time and space. I've been to places and seen things you can only dream of. I think I can handle the Paris Metro."
Rose scowled.
"That's what you said last time. And we ended up totally lost in the middle of nowhere."
"Yes, well, that wasn't exactly the real Paris, was it? That was New Paris, and the Metro system was totally different."
"Whatever," Rose shot back. "We were still lost."
"Well we're not going to get lost now," the Doctor said firmly.
Rose leaned back in her seat.
"We'll see," she replied.
The Doctor shook his head.
"You have no faith in me, do you?"
"In you, yes. In your navigation skills? Not so much. 12 months instead of 12 hours, remember?"
"That was just a slight miscalculation. You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" he grumbled.
Rose just smiled.
"Are we there yet?" she asked.
"No. We have to take the Metro for a while longer. Then we get out and take a special shuttle that leads us right to it."
"Haven't you seen Versailles before?" Rose asked.
"Yes," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "But never with you."
"True," Rose agreed.
--
Rose looked way, way up. The building was huge! The two wings stretched out like open arms, welcoming the visitors to the Palace du Versailles.
"Wow," she breathed.
The Doctor grinned.
"Wait till you see the inside," he said, taking her hand.
They walked for a few minutes before reaching the entrance. The foyer was done in grand marble, and it buzzed with people and tour guides.
"Bonjour, Madame et Monsieur." A stocky looking man dressed in knee breaches and a striped shirt with an elaborate-looking cravat appeared at the Doctor's elbow. He beamed at them with a toothy smile.
"Hello," the Doctor said, politely.
"Englais?" the man asked. "How do you do? Do you require a tour guide?"
Rose shrugged.
"Why not?"
"My name is Stephan. I am a pageboy here at the Palace du Versailles. I serve His Imperial Majesty Louis the XV." The man gave a little bow.
"We're in for a show it seems," the Doctor commented.
"Please follow me." Stephen led them through room after room, explaining all the history. The Doctor put in his little comments here and there, mostly for Rose's amusement, and Rose admired the paintings and architecture. They were really stunning.
"This is a painting of Cardinal Richelieu," Stephen said, stopping in front of a huge painting with a man in red cardinal's robe on it.
"Ah Richelieu. Not a popular man," the Doctor commented.
"Wasn't he the guy in the Three Musketeers?" Rose asked. The Doctor raised his eyebrow. Rose shrugged. "I had a thing for Keifer Sutherland when I was younger."
"Yeah, same guy. Because of that book, Richelieu will always been seen as a bad guy. In real life, he wasn't so bad. Just a little manipulative. I said to him one time, 'if you're not careful, you'll be remembered as a villain for all of history.' He didn't believe me. So I said to him, 'ever heard of a guy named Alexandre Dumas?'"
Rose snickered.
Stephan gave the Doctor a very strange glance, and then continued with his speech, looking determined to finish it.
--
Stephen ushered them into a long room, which had windows on one side, and mirrors on the other, reflecting the light into dazzling shafts, so that there was not a corner that the light didn't penetrate. The light glinted off of many crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, causing rainbow sparkles to dance off of the walls.
"Oh!" Rose gasped.
Stephen smiled.
"Welcome to the hall of mirrors," he said. "It was built by Louis the XIV, and was the site of many of his opulent Masque balls.
"Bit stuck up," the Doctor whispered to Rose, "Thought he was the sun or something,"
Stephen heard the last remark.
"Oui, Monsieur. Louis the XIV was called the Sun King. In this room the Treaty of Versailles was signed, that officially ended World War One."
"It's amazing." Rose said. She walked to one of the full-length mirrors, and looked at herself in it.
"Penny for your thoughts," the Doctor said, coming up behind her.
"Just thinking about how many other women this mirror has reflected," Rose replied.
The Doctor took her hand, and squeezed it. He pulled her gently away as Stephen began to talk again.
--
Stephan lead them upstairs, to the bedchambers. Rose wasn't really listening to him, until something he was saying caught her attention.
"This was the chamber of the mistress of Louis the XV. Mme du Pompadour was an intelligent and beautiful woman, who was respected by such men as the playwright and noted thinker Voltaire."
Rose felt a chill run through her.
"Reinette?" she asked.
Stephen looked surprised.
"Yes, Madame. Not many people know that Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, the Marquise du Pompadour, was nicknamed 'Reinette', which means 'little queen'." Stephen moved on to the next topic, but Rose hardly heard him.
"You brought me to Reinette's house?" she asked the Doctor.
The Doctor shifted uncomfortably.
"I was hoping she wouldn't come up."
"We're on our honeymoon, and you take me to an ex girlfriend's palace?" Rose asked, fighting to keep her voice low.
"She was hardly an ex girlfriend," the Doctor replied, looking annoyed.
"Well she wasn't just a common acquaintance," Rose said.
Rose felt all the anger and jealously she had felt when the Doctor had left her behind flood into her. It had been hard to forgive him the first time, and now he had the insensitivity to bring her to the palace where Reinette had lived.
"She was just another woman I met on my travels," the Doctor argued.
"Are you saying that you knew Mme du Pompadour?" Stephen asked. "I'm sorry, Monsieur, but that's impossible. She lived over 300 years ago."
The Doctor glared pointedly at Stephan and he fell silent.
"She wasn't just some woman, Doctor. She kissed you, didn't she? Bloody French trollop. And you kissed her back."
"Rose, that's not fair. How often do you get kissed by famously handsome men? I mean, if Casanova kissed you, you would kiss back too, wouldn't you?"
"You're not even denying it," Rose snapped.
"Madame et Monsieur…" Stephen tried helplessly. The Doctor and Rose both ignored him.
"That was ages ago, Rose. Why are you bringing it up now?" the Doctor asked.
Rose felt like crying.
"Because you left me," she said. "You broke that glass, knowing that there was a chance you could never come back. You left me behind for her."
"I wasn't going to stay. I was going to find a way back."
"Don't lie. You knew there was a chance that you wouldn't be able to come back, and you went anyways. You left me behind with Mickey the Useless and a bunch of killer Robots. You went and partied!" Rose cried, her anger and hurt mounting with every word.
"I said I was sorry! And I did come back," the Doctor snapped.
"Yeah. With your tie around your head and a banana daiquiri in your hand. And you remember where I was? Tied to a table with a robot with a knife hovering over me. You had to go after her, didn't you?"
"It's one of those days, isn't it?" Stephan muttered.
"Reinette was an amazing woman," the Doctor said. "She was the consort of kings, the stuff of legend. Of course I was interested in her. But only in an intellectual way."
"I know you regretted not bringing her with you. Do you still regret it? Is that why we're here in her palace?"
"For heaven's sake!" the Doctor said angrily, running his hand through his hair. "Coming here wasn't about Reinette. Until this moment I had forgotten all about her. This was about taking you to see a beautiful, historical landmark."
"You didn't answer the question," Rose said coldly.
"You're being totally unreasonable," the Doctor shot back.
"You left me behind!" Rose said shrilly. "This isn't about flirting. It's not about blonds or kissing or mirrors or horses on spaceships. You left! You left without even thinking about it! You left without saying goodbye yet again! You were perfectly fine with the idea of a life without me!"
The Doctor took her gently by the shoulders.
"Rose. I think the last two years have proved that I can't live without you. I was wrong to leave you behind – again – and I'm sorry. But I promised never to do that again." He picked up her left hand, and kissed her shining gold ring. He looked down at her, his eyes blazing into hers. "Reinette is nothing. You are everything."
"You said she was an amazing woman," Rose sniffed.
"You are a time goddess. She is nothing. And you saw her. If a woman like that is nothing…" he smiled at her.
Rose laughed, and sniffed again.
"Charmer," she said.
The Doctor brushed a stray tear off of her cheek.
"So, have we got that straightened out?" he asked gently.
"You sure you're not going to leave me again?" Rose asked hesitantly.
"Yeah. Those days are over. No French Marquise will ever drive us apart again."
"Trollop," Rose giggled.
The Doctor smiled, and kissed her forehead.
"Don't call names," he said, smiling. He turned back to Stephan. "So. Shall we continue the tour?"
Stephen threw up his hands in despair.
"Why?" he asked hysterically. "You knew Mme du Pompadour personally. Your wife is jealous of her. You had conversations with Cardinal Richelieu and advised Louis the XIV on how to build this place!" he have a frantic laugh.
"I think we'd better take him back to the main desk," said the Doctor kindly. "He seems to be a little overwhelmed."
--
Rose sighed happily as she drove the car into the entrance of the long driveway that led to their house.
"It's good to be home," she said.
The Doctor nodded.
"France was nice, and being on our honeymoon was definitely nice, but I missed this place," he agreed.
The house came in sight. Rose started laughing.
"I love that door," she said.
The Doctor nodded, a smile spreading over his face.
"Me too. So, Mrs. Smith, what say we go inside?"
"Your wish is my command, Mr. Smith," Rose replied.
"I could get used to that," the Doctor replied, winking at her.
"Cheeky," Rose said, getting out of the car. She was almost to the door when the Doctor called out to her.
"Rose, wait!"
She froze, her hand reaching for the door knob.
"Why? What's wrong?"
The Doctor sprinted up to her.
"Nothing," he replied, unlocking the door himself and throwing it wide open. "I just wanted to carry you across the threshold this first time."
He bent down and swooped her into his arms. Laughing, Rose put her arms around his neck, and kissed him thoroughly.
The Doctor grinned, and carried her across into the house.
"Welcome home, Rose," he whispered into her ear.
Author's Note: This was just a random idea. Reinette is a bit of a sensitive issue with Rose I think. It plays into her anxiety about the Doctor leaving her. They were already on the honeymoon in France when this idea came to me. And I thought… why not? Poor Stephan though. I feel a little sorry for him.
All the stuff about Reinette is accurate, as far as I can make out. She was a pretty amazing woman, if you research her. She went from being a merchant's daughter to being the mistress of the King of France. And she was intelligent and witty and beautiful. A deadly combination. No wonder Rose was jealous. Thank God for Wikipedia and Google images. What would we do without them?
For those of you who don't get the Richelieu joke, Alexandre Dumas write "the Three Musketeers". And Yes, Keifer Sutherland is brilliant.