It had been two weeks since Rose had seen the Doctor on Demon's Run. She lived at Torchwood with Jack, and helped out where she could. She found she quite liked everyone there, even that ponce Owen. Rose had explained about Melody being River, well explained it as best she could. Jack understood about the intricate details of the flow of time, better than Rose, and he didn't push her too much for information.
Though a week into her stay, Jack had taken her to a bar on one of Jupiter's moons about a thousand years into the future. Europa or Callisto, Rose didn't really remember much from that night. Moonies made one hell of a drink and Rose had drank her body weight. It was the first time she had gotten truly pissed since she was younger, and the hang over the next day reminded her why she stopped drinking in the first place. It had been cathartic though, at least the bits she remembered. She told Jack all about what happened with her half-human Doctor then everything that had happened since she was pulled back into this dimension. She also had fuzzy memories of trying to prove she was just as good a gymnast now than when she was younger. She didn't want to think about that too hard considering she woke up with a huge bruise on her back.
Rose had drawn the short straw, literally, and had to go out and get dinner for everyone. She had just finished working out with Jack beforehand and hadn't bothered to change out of her work out sweats and tank top, though she had thrown on a zip up because Cardiff was frigid. She should have grabbed a coat too, now that she had cooled down from the rigorous work out she was a bit chilled.
Working out with Jack Harkness was fun, when you weren't laying flat on your back in pain. He jumped around the work out room, one moment doing weights the next they were fighting and after that lunges. Rose was utterly sore the first time they did it but she was getting use to it now, her body quickly adapting. Doing such a work out made her feel less guilty about all the pasta she was about to consume, it would equal the size of a large dog if she could help it.
"Oof! Oh I'm so sorry!" Rose apologized. She had just been making sure the order was correct, peering into the bag instead of watching where she walked when she slammed right into a body.
"That's alri- Rose?" Rose looked up into a set of brown eyes and she felt her mouth go dry. She attempted to speak, once, twice, and then a third time but nothing came out. "Rose Tyler what are you doing in Cardiff? I specifically dropped you off at your mums and popped off to refill the TARDIS. But what is- your hair is different! Oh no, this is not good, not good at all, you appear to be several years older. 25- no, 26. What are you doing in Cardiff?"
"You dropped me off at my mums so I wouldn't see Jack!" Rose accused, finally finding her voice and feeling indignant at the answer. "Well your master plan didn't work, I'm actually goin' to have dinner with Jack right now." Rose held up her multiple bags before walking off. The Doctor was at her side in an instant.
"You're having dinner with Jack Harkness?" The Doctor asked, his trench coat billowing behind him.
"Yep," Rose purposely popped the 'p'. "Livin' with him too." She knew exactly how that sounded. Rose knew she shouldn't be talking to this Doctor, she could end up ruining a lot and she didn't want to muck about in her own past. Once was enough for her, thank you. But she couldn't seem to stop herself from teasing him. With his wide expressive eyes and all that hair that stuck straight up, she had missed him. She thought it would kill her to see this version again but it was like putting ointment on a burn. It had stung at first but what was left was a relaxing feeling, like she could finally breath right again.
"You're living with Jack Harkness?!" The Doctor sputtered and Rose couldn't hide her grin in time, he saw it before she could turn her face. He walked faster then spun around so he was walking backwards, facing her, a large grin splitting his face. "You're messing with me."
"No, you swanned off and left me, again." Rose couldn't be all that mad, though she did try. She never had it in her to stay angry at anyone very long, least of all the Doctor. "Jack's lettin' me crash at his until himself deems it appropriate to show up."
"Oh, you sound just like your mother."
"Watch it you!" Rose kicked him, getting a good one to his thigh. He hobbled for a second then dropped back to her side, not really hurt at all judging by the grin on his face.
"I didn't really leave you, did I?" The Doctor asked, his hands buried deep within those endless suit jacket pockets. Rose stopped and faced him, they were just in front of Torchwood now. The Doctor's manic grin that he wore since he realized who she was, was gone now.
"I understood, not happy about it but you had to take care of something- something important." Rose shrugged but she couldn't quite meet his eyes. The bags of Italian food were lifted out of her hands and put onto a bench next to them. Then Rose was pulled into a tight, all-consuming hug. Rose had nearly forgotten how this Doctor hugged, she didn't think there was a difference but there was. The Doctor with floppy hair and green eyes hugged her with near desperation but this Doctor, his hug was long and warm with a little lift at the end that had her laughing.
The Doctor set her on her feet and grinned down at her. Rose hadn't even realized how badly she had needed that but the Doctor had, five seconds with her and he had seen that. Rose hadn't realized how readable she had been but it was the Doctor and she was Rose Tyler so it didn't seem to matter.
"I've gone and regenerated again, haven't I?" The Doctor asked and Rose's eyes widened. The Doctor's own brown eyes went slightly wider before he tossed himself back dramatically, tossing his arms out in a theatrical way Rose had missed. "I was just guessing but I can't believe it! I'm going through them like jelly babies! How do I go? Is it bad? Are you there at least?" The Doctor is pulling a hand through his hair, making it stick up like a hedgehog. Rose tried hard not to grin, she really, truly did. It's a very serious situation, the Doctor knowing he will regenerate soon, but she misses this. She misses him and she can't help the laugh that bubbles out.
"How'd you know?" Rose asks instead of even attempting to try and play it off or answer any of his questions.
"It's written all over your face, Rose Tyler." He steps forward and points at her face. Rose knocks his hand away and he twists it so his hand is cupping hers. "Your frontalis and orbicularis oculi muscles pull together, you're studying my face." The Doctor uses his free hand to point out the muscles and Rose knocks that hand away too but he grabs on. They grin at each other, hands swinging between them. They start laughing at the same time.
"Oi, how come you never told me you met a future version of me?" The Doctor lets go of one of her hands to rub the back of his neck.
"Time Lords developed a way to lock away certain memories, that way if we meet another version of ourselves we can put the memory behind a locked door with a trigger that will release that memory when we reach a certain point in our lives that the memory won't cause trouble to our own personal timeline." The Doctor explained in a rapid way but Rose is quite proud of herself for keeping up. "But I can't believe I just left you here, bit rude isn't it?"
"Doctor, if you're here, then where am I?" Rose asked, eye brows raised and a grin touching her lips. The Doctor sputtered for a moment when he realized his error.
"Well, that's quite different now isn't it? I didn't even touch the time rotor! I just dropped you off for a spot of tea with your mum and I'll be back later tonight to pick you up and off we pop!" The Doctor exclaimed happily. Rose couldn't help but laugh.
"Doctor, it's 2011."
"No!" The Doctor said in disbelief but he pulled out his sonic, his smaller blue sonic and Rose couldn't help but grin at the sight of it. "How'd that even happen? I didn't touch the time rotor, should be 2006, not 2011." He ran a hand through his hair, before pulling on the lobe of his ear. The Doctor's brown eyes glance at her, twirling the sonic screw driver in his fingers and Rose put a hand on his, pointing it away from her.
"Don't even think about it." Rose warned but she's grinning, tongue in teeth.
"I don't know what you think I was doing but I certainly would never try and get a look into my own future, Rose Tyler, that would be highly dangerous and irresponsible and frankly I'm a little insulted that you would ever assume I'd do such a thing." The Doctor rolled her name on his tongue, familiar and yet old at the same time. And Rose finds herself laughing, feelings of despair dissipating until she felt lighter.
Rose hugged the Doctor again, he lifted her off her feet, both of them laughing as he placed her back on the ground.
"You should get back to me," Rose forced the words out. The Doctor looked surprised, if only for half a second. Like he hadn't even thought of leaving her behind. Two Rose's in the TARDIS, she thought that may create some sort of paradox that not even the TARDIS could contain but that hadn't been the Doctor's first thought. His thought only revolved around never leaving her behind, and that warmed Rose to the core even if the new regeneration didn't seem to have the same thought process. "Mum's probably drivin' me barmy by now." The Doctor laughed.
"Ready for a new adventure then?" The Doctor asked as Rose grinned, even as she committed his face to her memory. The freckles that made up his face, the crookedness of his nose, the thin lips that stretched out into a goofy grin aimed only at her, and that gorgeous head of hair.
"Past ready." Rose admitted. A strong emotion flickered over the Doctor's face but he was wrapping his arms around her before she could figure out what it was. "You'll remember this later, yeah?" Rose asked into the softness of his cotton shirt. It was one of the few times he wasn't wearing a tie. Her younger self had hidden them in retaliation to a particularly snide comment he had said, though this present Rose couldn't remember the exact words he had said. She did remember him coming to the console room, the top buttons of his shirt unbuttoned, revealing the blue under shirt and the pale, freckled skin there. He was miffed, thinking the TARDIS had hidden his collection of ties and Rose had never told him otherwise.
"I'll always come back for you Rose," The Doctor promised. His words made her heart squeeze painfully but she forced a smile to her lips when he pulled back. She gave a quick peck to his forehead and before she could do something stupid, like beg to be brought along with him, she grabbed the food off the bench and walked towards the Torchwood building.
Rose told herself not to look back but she couldn't stop herself. This could possibly be the last time she saw her trench-coat wearing Doctor and she just wanted one last look.
Rose turned, pushing some fallen strands of hair behind her ear as she balanced the bagged food in her other hand. The Doctor was watching her, brows furrowed in concentration but when he realized he had her attention his face broke out into a lovely grin. His hand came out of his trouser pocket and he gave her a little finger wave. Rose returned the look, tongue caught between her teeth as she returned the finger wave.
"Really?" Rose asked as she walked into the building that sat on top of Torchwood. "For a bunch of agents from a secret government organization, you are all horrible spies." They had clearly been watching the Doctor and hers exchange on the monitor. The only one who looked a bit sheepish was Ianto, and he was the only one with a real cause to be watching the monitors in the first place, which meant as soon as she had appeared with the Doctor he had called the rest of the team.
"I saw the readings for his ship, and I believed you would be leaving with him." Ianto explained quickly at her look. "I wanted to gather everyone together to give you a proper send off."
"And to watch Owen cry," Gwen piped up, earning an 'oi!' and a couple swears from the man. "He's gained a soft spot for you." Gwen continued on without giving a look to Owen.
"Shove it," Owen grumbled as he snatched the bags out of Rose's hands. "I only wanted to make sure she gave us the food before she popped off."
"He is really good looking," Gwen continued to ignore Owen.
"Not that good looking."
"What monitor were you watching?" Tosh asked softly.
"If anyone cares, I'm going to go eat now." Owen sniffs, snatching the bags out of Rose's arms before storming off down the hall as everyone said, 'no one cares' in union, as if they had choreographed it.
"Best go make sure he doesn't spit in all our food out of spite," Gwen says with a grin before walking off with Tosh and Ianto. Jack leant a hip against the front desk and peered at Rose in a knowing way that makes Rose want to squirm, but she resisted, if barely.
"You okay?" Jack asked, unusually serious.
"Yeah," Rose said softly then laughed at the other mans disbelieving look. "No really Jack, I am. I thought- I thought maybe it'd be hard, seein' him- at least that him, again. But it was nice Jack, comfortin'." She felt awkward, she could feel the burn in her cheeks and the way her heart rate picked up at the mere mention of her trench-coat wearing Doctor. "I miss 'im the same way I miss the one with blue eyes, and the one with only one heart. I even miss the one who left me, again, bloody git that he is."
"Rose," Jack started, but Rose shook her head.
"No, it's fine, I understand." Rose took a deep breath, holding it within her lungs for a moment before letting it out along with the anger that had been building up inside of her since she had watched the TARDIS dematerialize, leaving her behind, again. "I always understand Jack. He sent me home, that first time with the daleks, because while he knew he'd die, he found comfort in knowin' that I was still out there, alive and livin'. And he sent me away because he didn't want me to see him push that lever, didn't want me to see him at his worse, and I understand that now more than ever. I understood when he left me on that bloody beach in Norway, the first and second time. I know why he pushes me away, again and again. He's over 900 years, and he's had to watch people, over and over, die while he still has to go on, because that's who he is. The Doctor will never just give up, he'll always continue on, no matter what, but he has to live while the rest of us- while we wither up and die, and that's only if we live long enough to die of old age."
"Just because you understand, Rosie-girl, doesn't make it hurt any less." Jack said knowingly, and Rose found herself unbelievably grateful towards Jack. Grateful to have a person who comprehended, who knew, and didn't ever judge her for her weaknesses.
"I could have gone with him," Rose admitted, slightly ashamed when her voice broke on the last word. Jack made a comforting noise in his throat before pulling Rose into a hug.
"I'm going to have a talk with him."
"Jack," Rose admonished but didn't get out another word as he hugged her tightly to him.
"No Rose, I will talk to him, it's a long overdue talk anyways." Jack rested his chin on top of Rose's head as he continued speaking. "Your mum isn't around to give him a good smack when he's being particularly obtuse, and he really is being an ass."
"He really is." Rose agreed sulkily before Jack pushed her away gently, grinning down at her with a look that made Rose want to run away, but he's got his hands on her shoulders and she knows she isn't going anywhere.
"I think it's time for another trip to Europa," Jack laughs at Rose's groan.
"No way Jack, those alien drinks are too much for my weak, frail, human body to deal with." But Jack is already pulling Rose to his side, already punching in the coordinates on his Time Vortex Manipulator.
Jack and Rose stumbled back to Torchwood Three, Cardiff, two days later. Jack had, somehow though not really surprisingly, lost his shirt, and has a pocket overflowing with knickers and pants from a host of alien and human partners. Rose had lost her own clothes in a card game that she thought was poker, but definitely was not, hence her losing everything, but she traded her little silver heart ring for some silver, futuristic-looking clothes that seemed to be all the rage in 3022. Rose was told it was inspired from late 20th century sci-fi movies. Her hair was shoulder length now, though she didn't remember getting it cut.
"Oh, thank god you're back." Ianto rushed out, managing to look both relieved at the sight of Rose, and annoyed at the sight of Jack.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked, popping a little orange pill into his mouth that was either candy or those brilliant hang over pills, Rose wasn't really quite sure.
"You're- erm- ride is here." Ianto said, pointedly ignoring Jack and staring at Rose. Rose told Jack that he should have, at the very least, left a note.
"My ride?" Rose asked, pushing the horned rimmed glasses up into her hair, and when exactly had she put on glasses?
"Your boyfriend?" Ianto tried again, looking vastly uncomfortable. "He got here moments after you left-"Pointed look at Jack. "And he's been- prowling around in Torchwood ever since. He doesn't look like the one we- ah, saw you talking to a couple days ago, is the Doctor just a title on his planet?" Rose hadn't realized that the Torchwood crew hadn't been briefed on the Doctor's regenerations, she didn't really blame Jack for that, it was a difficult subject to broach or understand fully. Plus Jack, despite his anger towards this particular body of the Doctor's, was still extremely loyal, and he wouldn't go around telling everyone the Doctor's secrets. But Ianto seemed to understand that he was an alien, so at least she didn't have to explain that.
"You let him into Torchwood?" Rose asked, completely surprised. Ianto gave her a hard look.
"Of course not, he let himself into the building. Gwen locked him up, five different times with varying degrees of locks and handcuffs, but he got himself out of them each and every time. He hasn't been that destructive, and we've managed to keep him away from the vault-" which housed alien technology Jack Harkness deemed dangerous, and therefore was a very good reason to keep the Doctor away from that. "Mostly he just yells a lot, especially at Owen, which is understandable." That was the most Rose had ever heard Ianto speak.
"I'm sorry Ianto," There wasn't much more Rose could say. The Doctor didn't operate by human standards. He probably fully believed he had every right to storm into this building and do what he pleased, barmy alien git that he was, but despite her anger and her hurt, she was still pleased that not only had he shown up, but he had waited around for two days for her. The only reason they were back two days later was because Jack had slept with the wrong aliens life mate and they were forced to make a quick getaway. Rose briefly wondered how long the Doctor would have waited for her.
Rose, followed closely behind by Jack, walked down the hall and then took the lift down to the sub-basement level that was the real Torchwood. It wasn't hard to find the Doctor after that, just follow the noise of his incessant gob.
The Doctor was sitting in a chair, legs and arms crossed in a manner that Rose could identify as his angrily defensive pose, a forced casualness that could not hide the edge in his posture and voice. Rose wanted to be angry, she really did, but her heart gave a leap of joy at the sight of him. Betraying little organ, it was.
"Leave Tosh alone Doctor, I'm sure she knows what she's doin' better than you." Rose yelled out from across the large room as she slowly made her way over to him. The Doctor lost his defensive posture right quick at the sound of her voice and he popped up to his feet, nearly knocking over the chair in his haste. A brilliant smile lit his face before a deep scowl overtook his features.
"And just where the hell have you been? I've been waiting around for two days for you, Rose Marion Tyler!" The Doctor yelled, making Rose stop just short of him.
"What?" Rose asked.
"I said I've been waiting around-"
"I bloody well know what you just said, you big soddin' git! Two days, you've been waitin' two days? Oh, well, I'm so sorry for makin' you wait around for two days! Actually, I'm sorry for abandonin' you, once again, to pop off without an explanation, and then leavin' you for over two bloody weeks! Oh wait, that wasn't me, that was you!" Rose was near shouting by the end of her rant.
"I went back to that base only moments after I left to pick you up, but you had already left with Mr. Fancy Pants!" The Doctor yelled back.
"Mr. Fancy Pants?" Jack asked, sounding amused, which earned him a dark look from an angry blonde and an even angrier Time Lord.
"How the hell was I s'pose to know you were comin' right back? You didn't say anything!" Rose yelled louder to try and cover up the fact that her voice was wavering, that her eyes were getting suspiciously wet, that her heart physically hurt. The Doctor looked ready to continue yelling back, but a shared look between him and Jack made his face soften, if only slightly.
"I couldn't let you come, not where I needed to go." The Doctor admitted softly.
"And why not?" Rose asked, keeping her anger close, because otherwise she was afraid she might fall apart, right there and then in front of everyone.
"Because I needed to find River, and not the child-version of her either. I know you would have tried and talked me out of it, but I was in a delicate circular paradox that needed to play itself out perfectly, otherwise a hole in the universe would have formed, and I've just patched up all the cracks through time and space, and I didn't fancy doing it again." The Doctor explained in a way that didn't really clarify anything.
"So you had to find the adult-version of her, because it was already too late to save her when she was a child." Rose worked out by herself, though she didn't really like that answer, but she decided to drop that for now. Rose wasn't even quite sure what a circular paradox was, but she knew paradoxes weren't good, and the Doctor understood those better than she, so she left them to him. "Why couldn't I help with that?"
"Because she had been raised to kill me, Rose. Rory and Amy were safe, because they were her parents, and even in her warped mind she wouldn't have hurt them- couldn't have hurt them. But she could have hurt you Rose, could and would have." The Doctor's voice dropped an octave, sounding quite dangerous. "Amy's my best mate, and her daughter was taken away to be made into a weapon to kill me. I needed to help her, and if she had hurt you I'm not quite sure I could have."
Rose Tyler was never one to hold a grudge. Yes, she could work up quite an angry tirade when she wanted to, she was her mother's daughter after all, but none of the Tyler's had it in them to hold onto that anger. It was exhausting, holding that anger close to her heart, and she had seen how doing that had made other people so very bitter. Rose Tyler was many things, but she would never allow herself to grow bitter. She was too strong for that. But damn, if she didn't want to work up a good anger towards the Doctor for abandoning her again, but how was she supposed to yell at him when he said things like that?
It was like whenever her first Doctor had called her a stupid ape, or mocked her, or did any number of things that should have made her, in the very least, give him a good slap. Then she would remember the things he would say the way that she made him vulnerable.
"I could save the world, but lose you."
"Bloody stupid alien!" Rose shouted, feeling all of 15 years old again. The Doctor lost his anger, lost the edge in his eyes as he stared at her in shock. "What am I s'pose to say to that?"
"Well what would you like me to do then?" The Doctor asked, his anger returning to cover up the growing softness inside of him.
"Stop leavin' me behind!" Rose yelled, giving him a good shove, but the Doctor merely rocked on his feet, like she had been a particularly strong wind. It fueled her anger. "Or at least stop for five seconds to explain why you feel the need to go do something by yourself." She tried to reason, she really did. She didn't want to seem like a petty 15 year old, shouting for no reason, especially since they had gained quite the audience.
"You wouldn't listen, you never listen!" The Doctor yelled back.
"Of course I don't because you're a strappin', big, alien idiot!" Rose tried to keep her glare, she really did, but she heard her own words echoed in the eerily quiet cave-like room of Torchwood and her face cracked. The look of disbelief on the Doctor's didn't help her keep her composure. "I'm not 19 anymore Doctor, I'm not just goin' to stand back and do what you tell me to do."
"Oh like you ever did that in the first place. First place I took you, do you remember that? Don't wander off, that was my only bloody rule, don't wander off Rose Tyler, time and space are a dangerous place to go swannin' off in, and do you listen? No, off you pop the first chance you get." The Doctor ranted, hands flailing about.
"I nearly was roasted alive!"
"In the theatre in Cardiff, people running around, screaming, danger everywhere, and what's the first thing you do?"
"I thought they were kidnappin' a woman, and you were too busy bein' Charlies number one fan to be of much use."
"10 Downing Street!"
"I was helpin' Harriet Jones!"
"Adam Mitchell." The Doctor nearly growled out the name.
"Oh here we go again," Rose rolled her eyes. "For the last time, I didn't know he was a ponce when I invited him along, he just wanted to go see the stars!"
"Sure it had nothing to do with his pretty boy face?"
"Yes, exactly, glad you've figured me out! I go around invitin' pretty little things into my spaceship to travel throughout all of time and space- oh wait, that's not me. But who do we know who does that?"
"Jack Harkness-"
"Captain Jack Harkness, and he saved me when you were off doin' god knows what-"
"Mickey Smith!"
"You were the one who invited Mickey along!" Rose was moving now, walking away from him in a huff of anger. A part of her, a small part she would never admit to having, preened in satisfaction when she heard the Doctor's booted footsteps follow behind her.
"And just where do you think you're going?" The Doctor asked from behind her.
"To my room."
"You have a room here?" The Doctor sounded, if Rose wasn't mistaken, a bit hurt.
"Well, it's technically Jack's room, but he let me crash in it. And of course I have a room, it's been over two weeks, did you think I'd just stand around waitin' for you?" Rose asked, shooting a look behind her. "Oh you stupid alien, that's exactly what you thought I'd do!"
"You were suppose to wait where I left you, five and a half hours, that was our deal wasn't it?" The Doctor asked, sounding disgruntled as Rose pushed in the door to Jack and her shared bedroom before spinning around o face him.
"Why do you think now would be a good idea to bring up Madame Pompous?" Rose asked with a raised eye brow. The Doctor sputtered as he straightened his bow tie once, twice, and then a third time before answering.
"Madame de Pompadour." The Doctor corrected then cringed. Rose laughed then covered her mouth, trying to cover up the sound with a cough but the Doctor narrowed his eyes. "You are messing with me, Rose Tyler, you are messing with me!"
"Seventeen days Doctor!" Rose exclaimed but her rouse was up. She dropped her hand and grinned at him, tongue in teeth. "I had you goin' for a while there."
"I thought you weren't going to come with me!" The Doctor admitted then looked immediately uncomfortable with the small truth that had popped out of his mouth.
"Do you still want me to? Go with you that is." Rose clarified.
"Of course," The Doctor answered immediately, no hesitation. Rose felt herself grin again, her cheeks hurting from the largeness of it.
"No more leavin' me behind, I mean it Doctor." Rose had a mental debate with herself. She needed the Doctor to understand the severity of his actions, but she found it hard to show such vulnerability, especially to the Doctor. Logic won out in the end as she slowly continued. "It- it hurts Doctor, bein' left behind, I know you always have a good reason to, but I can't take it again. I can't, and if you can't do that one thing for me, then you best just leave me here." The Doctor wrung his hands out in front of him before stepping forward to cup Rose's face.
"I'm sorry," He exhaled softly, his breath a warm tickle against her face. "This regeneration doesn't stop and talk things out, just rushing about, always running around from one thing to another. Amy and Rory are use to it, only thing they've ever known, but I'll stop for you Rose Tyler." His forehead rested lightly against her own and Rose felt her shoulders drop, her defensive posture that she didn't even know she was doing was suddenly gone.
"Where to next then, Doctor?" Rose asked softly, a small smile playing at the edge of her lips as the Doctor pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead before giving her a manic, thankful grin.
"Anywhere, any when, any place you want to go Rose Tyler. The universe is yours for the taking." The Doctor turned to leave, but then turned back to her. "Well, that's not exactly true, you can't actually have it, a lot of people would be very upset about that. I know it'd be in good hands, your hands, very capable hands, probably make things a lot better. But master of the known universe? Sounds like a tough job, sounds like a lot of work, and can you imagine the hours that'd go into that? You'd be stuck behind a desk for the rest of eternity, Rose, the rest of eternity, you wouldn't like that would you?" Rose was laughing as she pushed him out of the bedroom.
Rose grabbed her rucksack and packed it with the clothes she had accumulated during her stay in Cardiff. She then took a quick shower and changed into denim, a blue vest, and a thin white button up. It was cold in Cardiff, but Rose was going to convince the Doctor to someplace sunny and warm, though knowing their luck they'd end up in the opposite place.
When Rose came out to say her goodbyes she took note of the space between the Doctor and Jack, and their unwillingness to look at each other. So Jack had that talk with the Doctor after all, and judging by the looks of it, the Doctor hadn't been too happy to listen. Sounded about right. Jack pulled Rose into a tight hug, and he didn't have to tell her she always had a place to stay, because she knew that and he knew that, and there was really no reason for either of them to say much on the matter.
They went on a series of trips, just the two of them. The Doctor and Rose Tyler, in the TARDIS again, just like old times. Exactly like old times actually. What with the Doctor trying to be all impressive and trying to land in safe places, but it never quite worked out the way he planned it to.
First it was Belladona, the most prestigious resort located on one of the 8 moons orbiting a planet that had been made uninhabitable when seven large volcanoes blew in a chain reaction to each other. The people of the planet had fled to the moons. Two of the eight were used purely as living space, four for work, and the last two were reserved as resort moons.
Belladona was one of the biggest tourist destinations. Guaranteed to be a nice, relaxing, completely safe little adventure full of hot tubs, skiing, wakeboarding, and 43 other fun, family-friendly activities offered at the wonderful Belladonna Resort!
Everything was going fantastically. Rose was in stitches as she watched the Doctor attempt to wakeboard at one of four different wave pools. He was loudly exclaiming, "I used to be quite good at this, I swear!" and "Oh shut it Rose Tyler, I'd like to see you give it a try!" As Rose continually laughed from the side lines, her eyes darting, without her consent, to the Doctors rather exposed body. She didn't know what she thought, that'd he'd try all the water activities in his tweed and tie, but when she stepped out of the changing room, in a bathing suit with a soft orange cover up and sandals, to see the Doctor standing there in nothing but swim trunks and a gray towel tossed over his shoulder, it had been a bit of a shock. What was even more shocking was the fact that he was really quite fit. It was distracting, near enough to the point where she didn't realize how truly awful he was at water sports.
Rose had pulled off her cover-up and kicked off her sandals, ready to show the Doctor up because he was really taunting her now when the lights suddenly went out. She felt arms go around her and, quite suddenly, Rose Tyler found herself in the middle of an attempted kidnapping.
Now Rose didn't like being kidnapped under the best of circumstances, and the combination of traveling with the Doctor and being the heiress of the Vitex fortune meant she was just a bit too use to being kidnapped. But she had been having a good time and she was not going to be kidnapped in her swim suit, not again at least. Not for the fourth time, she thought with just a touch of bitterness. It's not like Rose made a habit of flouncing around in a swim suit, but people tended to think it left her vulnerable and made her an easier target. Those people also tended to be wrong, it just left her angrier.
So Rose let her Torchwood training kick in. She was just about the flip the idiot onto his head when she felt weightless then sudden, aching nausea.
Now she was rightly mad. Transmat a girl on a holiday, in her swim suit?
After two bloodied noses, a bruised arse, and three very bruised egos, none of which belonged to Rose, she was issued a string of apologies. Between the apologies and the groveling she managed to get the real story behind the attempted kidnapping.
Luna Lunar, the other resort moon, had been kidnapping Belladona's guests and forcing them to relax on their moon instead. They had been doing this for decades, and the guests thought it was a fun treat. It was a bit of excitement for people who lived mostly ordinary lives.
Rose had been so shocked by the realization and their humble apologies that she agreed to try out their resort, free of charge. She was an honored guest, a VIP, no area was off limits to her.
Rose had been enjoying a deep tissue massage when the Doctor came busting in.
"What are you doin'?" Rose asked as the workers hid behind her. She had been quite proud of being able to get her towel wrapped tightly around her exposed torso without exposing herself. The Doctor, for his part, was looking anywhere but at her.
"Rescuing you?" The Doctor answered, though it came out sounding more like a question, and there was an uncertainty in his green eyes that still refused to meet her hazel ones.
Rose then explained the situation, to which the Doctor made a noise. A specific nose that had Rose narrowing her eyes and threatening to give him a good smack because he clearly knew about Luna Lunar and Belladona's rivalry and tourist kidnappings, but of course, he had forgotten. After that there was even more apologies made, this time for not also kidnapping her husband so they could enjoy Luna Lunars attractions aimed at couples. Rose had just been about to set them straight when the Doctor interjected, wondering exactly what attractions they were referring to.
They were treated like royalty after that. All they had to do was hold hands and smile at each other, which was no real chore for either of them. But after 3 days of the royal treatment both Rose and the Doctor started to feel antsy. They snuck away in the dead of night after a feast that had been held in their honor.
"After you, my dearest wife." The Doctor grinned manically as he held open the TARDIS doors for Rose. Rose stumbled in, grinning from ear to ear as she shushed herself, even though they were out of the city and safe inside the TARDIS.
"Oh why thank you, my lovely husband." Rose curtsied and yes, maybe they had a few drinks at the feast. It was held in their honor after all, and it would be considered very rude indeed to turn down the proffered drinks.
They both dissolved into giggles as they continued to play the married couple, though neither of them quite knew what marriage actually meant, so they just curtsied and bowed and called each other nauseating nicknames until the Doctor managed to finally get them off that moon. The Doctor believed tea was in order, the perfection solution to help sober them up, but half way down the hall they got distracted by the theatre system and ended up watching old, black and white horror films while reenacting their favorite parts dramatically until Rose, her head using the Doctor's thigh as a pillow, fell asleep quite suddenly.
They visited Rome at the height of its power, around 117 AD, and besides the part where Rose freed almost two dozen slaves, and they were nearly executed, everything went rather well. The Doctor grumbled about time lines and paradoxes and stupid humans mucking about with things they don't know, but Rose could tell he was only worried, and when he got worried he got a bit snarky and mean. They were, after all, locked in a dungeon, waiting to be hung or burned alive or fed to a hungry lion, Rose had no real clue how it'd end.
"Did I really mess up the time lines?" Rose had asked worriedly, sitting on the jump seat and chewing on her thumb nail. The Doctor exhaled, losing the tension in his shoulders that he had gained the second she had unlocked the 20 people from their chains. The Doctor had parked them safely in the vortex before taking a seat next to Rose.
"No, but you're not allowed to do things like that Rose, you can't see time the way I can, you don't know what will cause a paradox or a shift in the nexus. For some reason one freed person could mean you were never born, or the human race is made extinct in a nuclear holocaust." The Doctor explained, but the hard edge in his voice was gone.
"I couldn't just walk away," Rose admitted softly. What she didn't say was that the Other in her head had nearly growled in agreement when Rose had thought about freeing them. Rose might not feel the shift of time through her veins anymore, but she was nearly positive the Other did, and yes, maybe she should have thought things through a bit more, consulted the Doctor, not listened to the dark and timeless voice in the back of her mind so readily, but she had. She had acted and had to deal with the consequences, even if the only consequence was the Doctor being angry at her. Which he clearly was not anymore.
"I know," The Doctor sighed before pushing himself to his feet and clapping his hands together. "You, Rose Tyler," He pointed to her, narrowing his eyes just a fraction. "I forgot just how human you could be sometimes, you won't ever just sit back. My people would have hated you."
"The other Time Lords? Because I refuse to be passive?" Rose asked, trying not to show her eagerness towards learning more about the mysterious Time Lords.
"It's not just passivity, Rose Tyler, it's more than that. My people observed, they did not interfere, they did not join in, and-"
"They did not have a bit of fun?" Rose asked, her legs swinging, and the Doctor lost the edge he had been gaining during his talk of his long gone people. "I think your people and my mum would have gotten along. Mum didn't even like me goin' up town to Henriks, she wanted me to work around the corner at the butchers." The Doctor started to laugh, big belly laughter that had Rose leaning forward, smiling as she tried to decipher exactly what she had said to gain such a response.
"Could you just picture it? Your mum and the Time Lords, I'm not sure who would drive who barmy first!" The Doctor laughed harder.
"My moneys on my mum." Rose said with conviction, causing the Doctor to grin at her.
"Mine too," They grinned at each other before the Doctor starting darting around the console and taking them someplace new.
From there the Doctor took Rose to a masquerade ball on Veegen VI. It was the 182nd Masquerade Ball, held once a year by the High Garden royal family. Their name was long and alien, with lots of clicks and whistles that Rose had repeatedly tried to say until the Doctor told her that she could just call them the High Gardens. Rose had grumbled about barmy aliens over complicating everything, and even though she had been on the top floor of the wardrobe room, trying to figure out how to put on a big, ballroom dress, the Doctor had still heard her from down on the first floor.
The Doctor had parked the TARDIS already and hadn't told her where they were going, because it was suppose to be a surprise. That was until he realized she would need to be more dressed up than the sweats and a jumper she had on. Rose had laughed because the Doctor had been so disappointed that he couldn't surprise her, he had pouted for a full five minutes, though he kept repeating 'Century year old Time Lords do not pout, Rose Tyler', which only made her tease him even more.
"Doctor?" Rose called up from the top of the steps as she caught him mid-act of twirling around in front of the mirror in his nicest, and only, tux. He spun around and walked a few paces to get a better look at her. "How am I s'pose to get down the stairs in this get up?" That had the Doctor roaring because the staircase was small and curving and Rose's dress was about four feet wide.
In the end, Rose had to take it off or risk tossing herself over the railing of the staircase. When she began to strip out of the dress the Doctor had let out a squeak, and they had both stared at each other for a solid minute before a grin began to break out on Rose's face. She teased him mercilessly as she revealed the vest and shorts she wore underneath the dress, along with a pair of trainers. Just in case they had to run, she didn't want to do it in her knickers because she knew there'd be no chance of her running in that dress.
Rose teased the Doctor right up until they walked into the palace, yes palace. Rose had been in a couple of places like that, but this one was gorgeous. It looked like something right out of a Disney movie, and Rose half expected tiny singing birds to bring her food and drinks.
It didn't take long for the Doctor to realize it wasn't the 182nd annual ball, but the 132nd, and then he was going off a mile a minute before dashing off. As far as Rose could tell from his quick rant, something extremely important happened during the 132nd ball, and the Doctor was going to find the person who made it a solely unique experience.
Rose Tyler found herself studying the broad array of alien life forms that the fancy affair had brought about. There were a scattering of humans, aliens who had a humanoid shape, and those who did not. There was a large man or woman, or both, Rose wasn't quite sure the gender safe term to use, but they were big, near ten feet Rose would guess, and a bright blue color with white eyes and their hair looked to be made of crystals. Rose accidentally bumped into someone who looked like a goat, and there was everything in between. Everyone dressed in their best, with masks to cover part, or in some cases, all of their faces.
"Quite a shin-dig in there." Rose said as she moved out to a, mostly, secluded balcony. There was a man sitting on a stone bench, his fingers steeple and his head bowed. His skin was so dark it was nearly black, and with the dim lighting Rose couldn't quite tell the real color, though she guessed it was blue. His deep red hair was slicked back and he looked up at her with yellow eyes, slit like a cats.
"Shin-dig?" The man asked, his voice surprisingly low.
"Gathering, party, shin-dig, it's a good word. Quite like it myself." Rose continued to stand, though she would have loved to sit down, but her dress didn't really allow for sitting. Apparently sitting was uncivilized. "But here's what I don't get, rager goin' on in there, and you're out here, all by your lonesome."
"Rager?" The alien asked, his voice deep and posh and his innocent question making her grin.
"Big fancy party." Rose answered and he smiled, just a slight twitch of her lips but Rose counted that as a victory all the same. "I'm Rose by the way." Rose held out her hand, and the man studied it before looking up at her then taking her hand very slowly.
"Do you not know who I am?" He asked, his red eye brows raising in question.
"No, sorry, from out of town, me." Rose apologized with a smile.
"I'm- Romulus." He stood to his full height, which was quite impressive. He was dressed in smartly and the yellow mask set off nicely against his dark skin and bright eyes.
"Rose, oh wait, I already said that." Rose said with a nervous giggle because he still had her hand and he really was quite tall. He seemed to be studying her too, an emotion that Rose couldn't quite place on his face as he tilted his head to the side.
"Would you care to dance, Rose?" Romulus asked, the name rolling off his tongue a bit awkwardly, and he gave her a questioning look, to which she smiled. Rose never thought her name would be a hard one to pronounce, but she tried to mimic the look of pride her Doctor gave her when she pronounced something correctly.
"I'm afraid I don't actually know any of these dances." Rose apologized, glancing back inside before turning around and letting out a soft breath of air when she realized Romulus was a lot closer now. He was using his advanced height to look over her head, back into the crowded ballroom.
"You can follow my lead, that is, if you would like to learn, I will teach you." Romulus offered, a gentle smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"You would do that?" Rose asked in surprise and this time, she got a genuine smile.
"It would be my pleasure." Romulus led her out onto the dance floor. Rose did take notice how people moved aside for him, and gave him a wide berth of space, but she couldn't put any more thought into it as they began the dance, and all her concentration had to go into not stepping all over his booted feet. Rose knew all sorts of dancing, human and alien alike, but these dances were long and complicated and involved twists and partner switching and carefully placed hands. Just when Rose thought she was getting the hand of the dance, the music would change and it'd be a whole new one.
Rose couldn't help but laugh, and the more she laughed the more Romulus would smile at her.
"I am so sorry, Romulus, your feet must be all bruised by now." Rose apologized and then she realized that one of those complicated turns were coming up. Romulus stepped closer, put his hands on her hips and lifted her up, twisting her around and placing her back on her feet after the turn was over. Rose felt a bit breathless.
"Now there, that seemed to work wonderfully, wouldn't you say?" Romulus asked, another one of those genuine smiles lighting up his features.
"So you're just goin' to carry me around the dance floor?" Rose asked, letting out a quick apology as she turned the wrong way and slammed into another couple. The couple bowed and backed away quickly, probably to get out of Rose's range. She felt flush with embarrassment and she had no idea why Romulus was continuing to dance with her.
"I could," Romulus answered after thinking it over. Rose let out a breathy laugh as Romulus took one of her hands and she twirled out, both their arms extending, before twirling back into him, and accidentally elbowing him in the stomach.
"Oh god, we should stop before I do some serious damage! I swear, I'm usually a lot more graceful then this." Rose apologized again, stepping close to make sure she hadn't actually done any real damage to Romulus. There was a commotion to her left but Rose ignored it in favor of checking Romulus.
"Why would we stop? I haven't had this much fun in- in a very long time." Romulus said, quite seriously, as his eyes searched Rose's face. Rose licked her lips nervously. If Romulus had been a normal bloke she could of sworn he was hitting on her. "Rose I-"
"M'lord, the people are growing restless." A man that looked like a peacock interjected and it was then that Rose realized a fair amount of the room was looking at her and Romulus. Romulus looked up too and glanced about. "Others have been promised to you." Rose couldn't tell if the man actually resembled a peacock, or if he was just dressed as one. She glanced around for the Doctor but she couldn't pick out his black tux and plain black mask from the rest of the crowd.
"There's no need for that." Romulus said quietly, too quietly, because the peacock man kept speaking and now more were joining him. Rose didn't understand half the words they said, not because the TARDIS had suddenly stopped translating, but just because of the cultural barriers. But she did know this was bad. Something about him dancing too many times with her, that not being acceptable. Rose also guessed he was someone important, not that it made much of a difference to her, everyone at this ball was suppose to be important.
Yet everyone was staring now, and she meant everyone. This might be a fancy part, thousands of years into the future, with all types of high-bred aliens, but she could draw the similarities to a situation such as this, that she'd seen on earth. Back in her younger days, back with Jimmy Stone and Shareen Costello, when they'd be at a pub or club and something would happen between on group of people and another. It would mean a fight back then, though Rose wasn't sure these people would defile themselves with fisticuffs. Rose glanced around for the Doctor, wanting to share her glee over the word 'fisticuffs' and the fact that she knew it, and had used it in a proper sentence, but the Doctor was still missing. Which was really quite rude of him.
"Come now, this is really quite- well, improper." A woman whispered furiously. She looked a lot like Romulus, though she was even taller yet with long red hair that was tied severely back in a braid that reached her waist.
"I appreciate your concern, mother, it is well noted and taken under concentration." Romulus answered, and people gasped around them. Rose wasn't positive, but she guessed her London equivalent of that sentence would have been 'whatever, mum'. Given the look Romulus's mother was giving him, she liked it about as much as Jackie had when Rose had dared uttered the words.
"Um- Romulus-" More gasping from the peanut gallery, making Rose flush crimson in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. She was thankful for her mask just about then. "Maybe I should go?" She asked more softly, trying to find some privacy, but that seemed to be the wrong answer also, because she had leaned in to speak quieter and a rush of whispering started up.
This was not the type of attention she wanted. All she had been doing was trying to get a sad-looking alien to smile. She saw the parallels to her Doctor, she did, and maybe that's why, out of a full ballroom of people willing to converse with her, she had sought out the one who had hidden himself away on a dark balcony. Thanks to this encounter that was the last nice thing she'd ever do again.
"Please don't," Romulus answered, though it wasn't a command in any sense. His fingers brushed hers and she knew it was only a request, one she could turn down and not fear any sort of repercussions. At least from him, she had no idea how the crowd would react. She had an inkling that Romulus and his family were near the top of the hierarchy, and she feared that maybe they were at the top.
Thankfully Rose didn't have to stutter through an answer to a question she didn't really comprehend because the lights shut off. Rose was nearly expecting the fingers that slid into hers, the fractionally cooler hand that gripped hers and pulled her way, gently but urgently. Rose followed, trusting his better eye sight to keep her from bumping into anyone, or anything- like a wall for instance.
"Did I muck everything up?" Rose finally broke the silence that had felt like a heavy weight pressing down on her slowly. They were in the vortex now and the Doctor was bent over the console, his head bowed, and his back towards the blonde.
"What?" The Doctor's head popped up and he turned distracted green eyes on her.
"Is this like Rome, or like my- my dad?" Rose asked worriedly, feeling like she was 19 again. It wasn't the best feeling in the world.
"Rome?" The Doctor asked before his eyes finally focused on her. "Go get changed, Rose Tyler, I have somewhere to take you." For a moment Rose felt like arguing, but she did as she was told instead, dread making her limbs heavy. It took longer than she'd have liked to get out of the dress, but when she did she let out a breath of relief. Corsets were not her most favorite article of clothing, and it was easier to think about that then whatever heavy consequences she had to deal with when she went back into the console room.
Rose put on a pair of black capris with a soft yellow jumper and her favorite white trainers, that weren't really white anymore. She pulled out all the odds and ends that kept her elaborately braided hair up and shook her head happily. Rose grabbed the Doctor's watch, which had been waiting for her on a small table by the wardrobe door, and put it on her wrist as she walked out of the room and down the hall.
When Rose got to the console room there was no Doctor in sight. The door, however, was left slightly ajar. Rose took that as a hint and walked out of the TARDIS, closing the door gently behind her.
"Welcome, Rose Tyler, to the Mercraft Museum of Romance. Santuki Mercraft made it for his life partner 342 years ago. It was meant as a remembrance, a small shrine to his late husband, but it expanded over the years. It's five stories tall with a total of 252 rooms full of love stories from around the universe." The Doctor explained from across the room, his eyes on Rose as she stood by the TARDIS, a bit nervously. "It is under constant construction with new exhibits and pieces being added daily."
The room the TARDIS was parked in was bare except for a row of benches near the walls that were covered from top to bottom in layers of letters. All different languages, most of which the TARDIS didn't translate so Rose's eyes jumped from something that looked like elaborate cursive to another that was full of dots and lines. Each was a love story, the couple that Rose could read led her to know that much. A particular letter, written on a cream colored paper with beautiful circular writing, caught Rose's attention.
"Doctor, isn't that your writin'?" Rose asked, looking over to see the Doctor using his sonic on a wall monitor. The Doctor turned and strode over to her. Rose didn't think it was, in particular, his writing, but she had just meant the writing of his people. She had seen the writing on post-it notes scattered around the TARDIS or sometimes displayed on the monitor in the console room.
"Yes that is," The Doctor said, sounding quite disgruntled as he pulled her away by her hand. Rose's eyebrows threatened to go into her hair line she was so surprised by his sudden behavior.
"That was your letter, wasn't it?" Rose asked instantly, a grin lighting her features.
"Thousands of letters and you pick that one!" The Doctor said, answering her question whether he was aware of it or not.
"You put a love letter up on that wall?" Rose wondered, more to herself then to anyone else. The Doctor dropped her hand and sped up his walking. Rose followed, a small frown playing on her features.
It was obviously his letter, but she was well aware that he'd never tell her the contents, or even actually confirm that he wrote it at any point in his long life. The letter that Madame de Pompadour had given her previous Doctor popped unbidden into her mind. Was that what his letter was about? Love ending before it even had a chance to begin? Time had moved quicker on in France then in had on the space ship and she had waited five and half hours, so how much time did the Doctor actually end up spending with the young, aristocratic French woman?
There was aloes the tree lady from Satellite Five, Lynda with a 'y', Cleopatra, also known as "Cleo" to the Doctor. Probably hundreds of others that Rose did not even want to consider, though her mind gladly supplied her with the long list she knew.
But perhaps it was something deeper than that. Something like what he has with River Song, or what he had with Sarah Jane Smith, or any other companion Rose didn't know because it was too difficult for him to speak about. Maybe it was about a Time Lady he had lost in the war?
Rose didn't let herself think of any other options but those. She couldn't think maybe it was about her. Hope was a very lovely thing, but when taken away it left you cold and bereft. How often had she fooled herself into thinking her and the Doctor had something special? More times than she could admit. Yes, she knew that the Doctor and her, at some point when she was younger and he wore a different face, did have something special, but he gave her up and she moved on, for a time, with another version of him. Even though her mind was thinking about it she forced herself to stop.
Rose knew she and the Doctor were special, but so was Amy and the Doctor or Donna and the Doctor. She was special, important even, but she knew that letter wasn't about her.
Rose had enough brooding and jogged to catch up with the Doctor and entwine her hand with his.
"Doesn't seem to attract many visitors," Rose commented, looking around at the empty rooms she would have loved to explore.
"What?" The Doctor asked, tracing patterns on her skin with his thumb as he distractedly looked at his sonic. "Oh no, we're just here on a Sunday is all. Well, they don't call it Sunday, but it's the Sunday-equivalent. Hate Sundays, me, even Sunday-equivalents, but sometimes they are dead useful, even if they are dreadfully dull." The Doctor explained as he tugged her this way and that way. Past statues and paintings and other pieces that represented love in different cultures.
"So they close on the Sunday-equivalent?"
"No pesky lines. The only thing I hate more than Sundays are queues."
"And pears." The Doctor gave her a solemn nod before going off into a rant of what he thought was the disgusting history of pears. Rose listened with a grin, too happy to tease him about his aversion to that particular fruit when she had thought he was angry with her only moments before. This particular body seemed even more rubbish at explaining himself, especially when it came to any strong emotion.
"How come people took Mercraft's little shrine o' love-" Rose grinned at this and the Doctor rolled his eyes. "And turned it into this place?"
"They had eight children, those two, and each child fell in love or had their heart broken and they added to it. Those children had children of their own and had their own stories to add and so on and so forth until the those people who could trace their lineage back to the original Mercraft's were no longer populating this planet. Couple hundred years later a girl of 18 loses her family when the air system on their space station goes wrong. She survived because she was learning maintenance on the outside of the craft, in a suit. Well what's a girl to do? She can't live there anymore, no one can actually since it's closed down. The government funds them enough money to get them where they want to go, but this girl, she grew up amongst the stars, sharing space with thousands of other of people, who are now mostly gone." His thumb had stopped tracing patterns against her hand, and now he was holding hers with a bit of desperation, but his voice and face remained the same, as if he was just telling a story that held only interest to him, and certainly did not bring up bad memories.
"How'd she get here then?" Rose asked, hugging his arm to her to lend a bit more comfort where she could without being outright obvious about it. The Doctor turned a smile to her anyways.
"This place had only been a two story, four bedroom house at the time, but it was still passed down through her family. Since she was the only one left, she inherited it. She thought being grounded might be a bit better for her, so she took the governments money and came here. The house had been abandoned for a long time by then, and it was in need of some serious renovations, but when she stepped inside she found something extraordinary. Seems the local kids had decided to continuing the local tradition of staring their love and heartbreak here. Some wrote letters, others left wood carvings or pin work. The place was overcrowded with it. It was just the sort of distraction she needed. She cleaned out the place, set it up properly and pretty, and put everything back in, and made an attraction."
"And then people just kept addin' on?" Rose asked, but was suddenly distracted as the Doctor came into a room full of statues made of what looked to be marble. They were all different sizes, but the one that dominated the room was centered and lit from above by a skylight. "But that's- how- when-" Rose couldn't hold onto one thought let alone have time to form it into a proper question so she just walked slowly around the large statue instead.
It was two dancers, and it was so beautifully done that Rose thought if she reached out and touched the hem of the woman's dress it would feel soft between her fingers, though she knew it was completely solid. The woman was in a long ballroom dress with half of her face covered in a decorative mask, the feathers coming off the mask looked like they should move in the wind. The portion of her face that wasn't covered revealed a wide smile, and it was if her entire being radiated happiness. The male of the pairing stood quite taller than her, and he was lean with more angular features, but even his face was softened by the effect of his smile. It wasn't as wide as the woman's, but it was still powerful on its own.
"Doctor?" Rose turned, confused as to the reason being that there was a very realistic looking statue of herself and Romulus dancing in a mansion full of love stories. The Doctor wasn't looking at her though, he was studying the faces of the two dancers.
"You were dancing with the next in line for the High Garden crown, that ball was for him." The Doctor answered in an oddly emotionless voice. "I-I had a granddaughter, a very long time ago, named Susan. I didn't deserve her, bright little spot of sunshine in my life, I was such a grump in those days too. But she loved the story of the High Garden Prince and his disappearing love. I must have told it to her three or four dozen times." Rose didn't chance moving, hardly let herself breathe as she stared at the Doctor. "Susan would always speculate about the reason of the woman leaving, especially when they were so obviously in love." Something changed in his tone with the last few words, but Rose couldn't identify it.
"We just danced," Rose finally spoke, her eye brows raised as the spell was broken and the Doctor turned his face to her.
"The royal family are not a tactile people, Rose. They don't just dance, not ever." The Doctor answered, still in that odd voice. It was giving Rose the creeps, it was.
"Blimey, how was I s'pose to know that then?" Rose finally lost her temper, raising her voice as she motioned to the statute. "You swanned off and I just saw a man, sittin' outside by himself, lookin' lonely and miserable! He's the one who asked me to dance, I even said I didn't know the dances, and he said it was fine. I didn't know he was bloody royalty, and I definitely didn't know he was the royalty. If you had been a better driver this wouldn't have even happened in the first place!" Rose wasn't sure why she was yelling, or where her anger was coming from, but after she was done she felt defeated and tired. She turned her eyes back to the statute and let out a soft sigh.
"He loved you, probably from the moment you walked up to him, showing concern where everyone else showed respect and a healthy dose of reverence. He ended up marrying a good friend, they never properly loved each other, but they rescued twelve orphans from a war torn planet and adopted each and every last one of them. He talked about you, until the day he died." Rose closed her eyes against that, but she still felt retched. "I could take you back."
"What?" Rose asked in shock.
"They do a fair amount of traveling, those royalty, and his life isn't set in stone, it could change. I could take you back, and you could stay with him." There was that odd tone again and Rose tried to work her way through it, tried to figure out what he wanted.
"If you don't want me with you anymore I'd rather you drop me back off with Jack." Rose finally said with a resigned sigh.
"What? I was trying to offer you a chance at love-"
"It was just a dance to me, Doctor!" Rose shouted over him, then immediately felt bad as she looked up at the statue. "Could we go back in time and stop us from goin' to that dance? No, don't answer that, crossin' time lines and reapers, I know." Rose hesitantly stood beside the Doctor. "You aren't mad at me?"
"Mad at you? No, Rose- no. I'm not mad at you." But Rose could see the clear frustration that was aimed directly back at himself. "This is brilliant, all this time, thinking about that story, after the dozens of times telling it to my Susan. What happened to her though? One time I told her she travelled amongst the stars, I think I did it just to shut her up, but I didn't realize how right I was." The Doctor entwined their fingers and he lost a bit more of the tension in his shoulders as Rose squeezed his hand gently.
"We're a bit of a mess," Rose admitted, and the Doctor looked like he was going to argue but then gave her a sheepish grin.
"We'd take aces in mess." Rose laughed as the Doctor pulled her away and they started down the hall, taking their time on their way back to the TARDIS.
"Doctor- look!" Rose said excitedly, pointing at another sculpture. The Doctor turned and then looked shocked. "The Stone Rose, they put it in a museum dedicated to love." Rose couldn't be positive, because he turned so quickly, but she swore that the Doctor turned bright red before tugging her quickly through the museum and into the TARDIS.
A/N: Thank you for all the, frankly, quite wonderful reviews! This chapter and I had to go a few rounds before I decided I had to just post it or I would nit-pick at it for eternity, so I do apologize if it's a bit all over the place, but I hope you enjoy it all the same!