The supposed "quick" introductory meeting with the members of the New York office was torture in Rose's opinion. They had met for dinner at a recommended pizzeria, and Rose was hard pressed to keep her hands off the Doctor long enough to eat. Their fingers remained entwined under the table all evening, they stole as many kisses and caresses as possible, and Rose had no desire to raise her head from his shoulder. He had explained about touch, and how necessary it was for him, and Rose wondered if a bit of that need was rubbing off on her.
It was only after their physical and mental needs had been met that they began to work out their emotional ones. Lying entwined in one another's arms, the Doctor finally elaborated on the bond they shared while they made love, how badly he needed that connection with her. He shared his fear of her leaving him, of realizing all the things he couldn't give her and finding someone better for her. In response, Rose confessed her own insecurities, how she felt he could find anyone to fill his needs and how she questioned what made her worthy of him. She even admitted to the insanity she felt over his "kiss" with Martha, telling him it was fine and secretly, for a brief time, wanting to claw the young girl's eyes out.
He had clutched her tightly to him at this, brushing kisses over her face. "Rose Tyler…you have no idea how badly I need you. You. No one else. You are everything holding me together at this point. The connection we share…it wouldn't work with just anyone. There has to be…feeling and emotion and…" He pulled back from her so they could see one another properly and pursed his lips. "I could very easily say, 'I love you,' and I suppose, technically, it would be accurate. Because I do, so much that I don't even know how to exist without you. That means it's not enough, those words. They work well enough, for a human relationship. Not that there's anything wrong with human relationships…oh, I'm rubbish at this."
"'S okay, Doctor," Rose soothed, cupping his cheek comfortingly. "Just…keep going."
He nodded and drew in a breath before continuing. "What I feel for you, Rose…there's no English equivalent. The only thing that comes close is in my language. The words, they encompass your devotion to this person in every timeline; in every universe; in every version of the past, present, and future; through every regeneration. For the remainder of your lives and beyond, you belong to one another." He took another breath. "Words have power, Rose and these words… these words tie one person to another for the rest of their existence. Most humans, if you'll forgive me, can't fathom the depth of the bond created in a Gallifreyan marriage."
Rose gulped. "They're…marriage vows?"
"Sort of…they're more like…how you initiate the bond. It cues areas of your brain to connect to the other…it's complicated. You know, Susan married a human."
"Your granddaughter?"
He nodded. "David Campbell. Oh, he was brilliant. When she was called back to Gallifrey…" He swallowed, and Rose reached around to stroke his back comfortingly. "I had to go tell him, after the war, what had happened. That was the last time I saw him."
"We should go visit," Rose told him softly. "Once we're back home, in the TARDIS. He's your grandson-in-law, I'm sure he'd appreciate it."
"Hmmm," he replied, but didn't elaborate.
Rose continued on. "What was their wedding like?"
"Oh, I dunno," he blew out a breath. "They could have had an Earth wedding. Not too different in the 22nd Century, the music hasn't even improved. The Chicken Dance survives for millennia, Rose! How is that fair?"
"Hold on," Rose pushed herself up on her elbow. "You didn't go to the wedding?"
The Doctor hesitated for a bit before answering. He wrapped an arm around Rose's back and pulled her towards him, as if drawing strength from her closeness. "Susan and I…well…we didn't part on good terms."
"Oh." Rose decided not to press further. He'd shared a great deal with her that night, she didn't want to push him too far. Instead, she opted to snuggle deeper into his embrace. "What were ceremonies on Gallifrey like?"
The Doctor hesitated once again, and Rose could feel his hearts speed up against her cheek. "They were…well, they were a lot like the marriages, I suppose. Stuffy, political charades with a severe lack of nibbles and baked goods. Boring. Those were the Time Lords though. Gallifreyians…now they knew how to party."
"They were different? Time Lords and Gallifreyians?"
"Gallifreyians were the citizens of Gallifrey. Time Lords lived in the Capitol city, in the Citadel. There was extensive training involved in being a Time Lord."
"So…all Time Lords were Gallifreyians, but not all Gallifreyians were Time Lords?"
"Precisely." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and felt his smile. "Time Lord marriages were typically arranged, based on compatibility, politics, and the potential for productivity. Gallifreyians…well, they married for love. Weddings were a true reason to celebrate. Two people, entwining their lives, making vows not unlike your Earth ones. Love, cherish, obey, for as long as you both shall live. Then there's the…" Rose felt his hearts speed up again, and heard him swallow thickly above her. When he spoke, his voice was almost shaking. "…the telepathic aspect as well…what I told you about before."
Rose's ears perked up at this, something connecting in her mind that hadn't before. "So…when we…does that mean we're married?"
The Doctor chuckled. "No, no, definitely not. That connection is…temporary. Brilliant and fantastic, but temporary. It fades, with our lack of contact. This bond…the marriage bond…it's permanent. They're always a presence, always with one another no matter the distance. Death is the only thing that can break it."
"Mmmm," Rose replied, curling deeper into their embrace. "Sounds sort of nice, actually. You know, with the right person."
She felt him smile against the top of her head. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
He was silent after this, simply caressing his cool fingers up and down Rose's back. It was incredibly soothing, and Rose was just dozing off when he spoke up again.
"David wasn't telepathic."
"What?" she mumbled sleepily.
"David. Susan's husband. He wasn't telepathic. Brilliant, not quite as brilliant as you, mind, but he couldn't have sustained the bond. Some can…not him."
"Oh," Rose muttered, wondering where he was going with this. "That's a shame. Sounds like something Susan would have wanted to share with him."
"Yeah," the Doctor agreed, going quiet once again and continuing to stroke gently against Rose's skin. "You know...if you're curious, we could test you for telepathy when we get back to London. If you want, just for future reference…"
Rose couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face. She turned so that she could see the Doctor's face properly, his gaze intense. "I think I'd like that."
His answering smile rivaled her own. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
He pulled her to him, kissing her breathless and pressing her back into the mattress.
The Doctor and Rose were the last to breakfast the following morning and were greeted by six knowing smirks. Rose blushed, stammered out a "Good morning" and immediately began poking through the unfamiliar kitchen to find the tea things. Torchwood had housed them in a gorgeous place in Brooklyn, apparently the only area of the city with affordable, somewhat spacious housing. They all doubled up in the bedrooms, and no one had objected when the Doctor and Rose had snagged only one with a full-sized bed for themselves. It was tastefully decorated and very clean, with a small yard and back patio. Perfect for a long-term assignment, if this turned out to be one.
Which, if the conversations continued like the one around her, Rose sincerely hoped would not be the case.
"Did you guys notice last night how thin the walls are in this place?" Mickey announced pointedly to the group. "Thought there must have been ghosts or something, Never heard noises like that before."
"Well, no, Mickey Smith, I suppose you haven't," the Doctor commented casually, opening up the New York Times while the rest of the team made various disparaging noises to Mickey. "So what's on our agenda today, Fearless Leaders?"
Mickey, always able to take the Doctor's comments in stride, immediately launched into the day's plans. They were meeting the New York office representatives in the theater district, which was where most of the unique energy signatures were picked up. All they had to go on were a few disjointed distress calls that they were able to loosely translate, and those did not include a location. The Doctor had managed to cobble together a few tracers that were keyed into the energy signatures, and they would be able to follow the trails and hopefully find where the aliens had set up camp.
After hasty breakfasts, the team gathered their equipment and took the subway into Manhattan, crammed in like sardines with the morning commuters. London was crowded, but New York seemed to be in a different class all together. Rose was pressed tightly against the Doctor, her arms around his waist and her cheek pressing against the soft material of his coat while he gripped a leather handle above to keep them steady. It would have been nice, romantic even, especially when he brought his free arm around and pulled her tighter to him, except that Mickey was pressed almost as intimately right up against the Doctor's back, the pair of them keeping up a steady stream of snark the entire way.
"Doctor, is that a sonic screwdriver in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
"Ohhh, Mickey, I would smack you for that one but currently my hands are very busy with my incredibly hot girlfriend."
"She was my hot girlfriend first."
"Oi!" Rose interjected. "You two knock off objectifying me before I smack the both of you."
The Doctor turned and smirked at Mickey. "She didn't use those big words with you, did she?"
Mickey smirked back. "Nah, generally it was just 'YES,' and 'OH GOD.'"
Rose, not to be left out, also smirked. "When you didn't fall asleep first…"
"HAH!" The Doctor barked out, beaming and hugging Rose tighter to him. "To borrow an Earth expression…Mr. Smith, I believe you just got pwned!"
"I ought to 'pwn' you right here!"
"Would you boys shut it?" Carrie scolded from the vicinity of Mickey's right shoulder. "I will sic Liza on you, don't think that I won't."
"She will!" the tiny blonde piped up. "She's done it before!"
"Hang on!" Mickey protested. "Why are we the ones in trouble? Rose was in on this too!"
"We girls have an understanding," Carried replied, contorting impressively to nudge Rose affectionately. "I've got your back, sweetie."
"Thanks, love," she replied, smiling. "Pedicures tonight?"
"Wouldn't miss it!"
Jake, Bill, and Ken groaned from the seats they'd managed to snag by being the first on the train. "Warning you, Doctor," Jake told him. "They always manage to drag us in on these 'girl's nights'. Don't be fooled."
"Last time…" Ken began conspiratorially. "I got a facial. It was horrible!"
The Doctor gaped at Rose, eyes wide with alarm. "This is you, plotting against us? Rose Tyler…I don't even know what to say!"
Rose grinned teasingly and leaned in close to whisper in the Doctor's ear. "Play your cards right and you'll get a nice reward after…"
His gaze was dark as she pulled away, and she couldn't help but press her lips gently against his. She smiled into the kiss when he refused to let her break it.
"Get a room!"
Rose pulled away and looked around at the team's innocent faces, and noticed a disgusted-looking middle aged-man shaking his head and going back to his newspaper. Rose grinned and snuggled closer to the Doctor, enjoying their quiet closeness for the remainder of the trip.
Rose held tight to the Doctor's hand as he maneuvered them through the throng of people also trying to make their way through the city. She let him guide her as she took in the sights around her, the huge glass skyscrapers towering over them and the zeppelins circling overhead. London was a lovely city, classic and majestic, even here in this universe. She'd never been to New York back home, but she imagined this version wasn't entirely different. It was modern, sleek, and bustling, and she imagined it fully earned the title "The City that Never Sleeps."
The Doctor glanced back at her and must have noticed how enthralled she was with the sites. He grinned and pulled her to his side. "Before we leave, I'm taking you to the top of the Empire State Building. We're going to Ellis Island and seeing the Statue of Liberty. And, Rose Tyler, we will play the comically oversized piano in FAO Schwartz and buy a ridiculously overpriced hair ornament from Barney's, just so we get to carry around the bag. The works."
Rose tucked herself into him, managing to get her arms around his waist even as they kept stride with the flow of pedestrian traffic. "That sounds amazing, Doctor. I can't wait."
He dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head. "I think you'll find you'll like it even better than New New York. Fewer cats. Well...fewer talking cats. Well...fewer talking cats in wimples. After all, the musical CATS is still running here…although, I supposed that isn't exactly talking cats, more like humans dressed as talking cats…"
"Can we go see it? While we're here?" Rose interrupted.
He met her gaze and grinned. "We can do anything you want, love."
"'S not so bad, is it? You and me, traveling and saving aliens and defending the Earth?"
"Hmmm," the Doctor mused, gazing around at the crowd, the huge glass-and-steel structure, the zeppelins floating even higher than the buildings. Finally, he settled on Rose, his soft, tender expression nearly making her knees buckle. "Not bad at all, Rose Tyler. Not bad at all."
They managed to reach the diner and noticed the American Torchwood representatives, Agents George and James, right away, dressed as they had been the night before in matching dark suits and dark sunglasses. After greeting one another warmly, the group of ten squeezed into a round booth to strategize. George was highly efficient and organized, passing around detailed copies of the case files and explaining what their procedures had been for the last week, while James seemed far more laid-back and content to let his partner take the reins.
"The only progress we've managed to make has been isolating their energy signature based on the unauthorized landings in the area," George told them, taking a sip of his coffee and grimacing.
"World's best cup of coffee, my ass," James interjected, grinning at his partner.
George offered him a side-long glance before continuing. "Anyway, there are so many traces all around the city we need the extra manpower. Word got around you have the premier linguistics specialist and technological whiz in the Institute, so we asked for your team specifically, Mr. Smith."
James snorted. "Get a load of this guy, tryin' to sound all fancy. These guys are cool. Take the pole out your butt and relax, Gee." He turned and fixed the rest of the table with a winning smile. "I'm gonna have to excuse my partner here. Ex-military, sleeps with his eyes open, you know the type."
Rose laughed. "Try having a bloke that barely sleeps at all. 'S so weird, thinking all he's doing all night long is watching you drool. Creepy!"
"Oi!" the Doctor protested good-naturedly. "I am not creepy. And you're lovely when you drool."
James, on the other hand, started guffawing. "You and him? That even allowed at HQ?"
"Are you dense, James? How did you not notice them hanging all over each other at dinner?" George asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Don't be a hater, Gee," he replied, smoothing his hands through his dark, close-cropped hair and decidedly not answering the question.
"She was his assistant before," Jake offered.
"Do you mind?" Rose glared at him. "I am sitting right here."
Jake ignored her. "She's the boss's daughter, too. So long as there's no ugly break-up…"
"There won't be," the Doctor cut in vehemently, wrapping his arm around Rose's shoulders and pulling her tightly into his side. They exchanged small smiles.
"Aw, see, that's nice. That's love, right there," James observed, resting his chin in his palm. "Still, shorty, I gotta be the one to tell you…you're way out of his league."
"Oi!"
"Don't we all know it," Mickey interjected, smirking at the Doctor.
"Are we quite finished discussing my love life?" Rose huffed.
"Our love life," the Doctor corrected her with a grin.
"Apologies, Miss Tyler, Dr. Smith," George finally spoke up. "My partner can be…irreverent from time to time…"
"You better watch yourself or I'll get irreverent on your shiny white ass, Gee."
Carrie and Liza were watching the interplay with identical cheery grins, while Ken and Bill started snorting into their coffee mugs. George had cracked a small smile at his partner, belying his serious façade and showing the genuine affection they had for one another.
"Slave driver," James muttered. "All right, so we've got two of these tracker thingies Dr. Smith drew up-"
"Just the Doctor," he piped up.
James stared at him for a moment. "Right, Doctor. So, we've got two of these. The traces have been heaviest and most ziggy-zaggy in the theater district. Now I know we ain't going in there to get our Broadway on, but our ID's should get us in anywhere."
"Three teams then?" Mickey offered. "I'm supposed to be observing Rose, so let's say me, Rose, and the Doctor with one tracker; James, Liza, Jake and Bill with the other; and Ken, Carrie and George back at central so you can work the monitors?"
"Aye, cap'pn," Bill offered a small salute. They settled the small check quickly, gathered the various bits of equipment, and congregated outside of the diner. The various team leaders agreed on a check-in-schedule, conference calling every hour, before breaking away in their various directions.
It wasn't until her teammates were out of sight that Rose's nerves began to break through. Here she was, on a "training mission," not even comparable to what she and the Doctor had faced on a regular basis, but it was wreaking havoc on long-dormant performance anxiety she hadn't felt since secondary school. She gripped the Doctor's hand and he turned to her instantly, as if sensing her mood, his free hand immediately moving to smooth the frown lines on her face as he gave her a warm, reassuring smile.
"You're brilliant, Rose. Honestly, this will be nothing for you. Remember, the Dalek Emperor? Cybermen? Satan?"
"Satan? Really?" Mickey interjected.
"Sort of," Rose replied distractedly before gripping the Doctor's hand in both of hers. "Just…don't let me fall flat on my face or anything?"
The Doctor pulled her to him for a quick kiss, moving his hand from her cheek to support the small of her back. He broke away before Rose could even react, and whispered so softly against her lips that Rose had to strain to hear above the roar of the city.
"Rose Tyler…I promise I will never let you fall."
Rose closed her eyes, her heart suddenly full-to-bursting with emotion. All she wanted at that moment was to bury her face in his chest, have him tuck his long coat around her and never let go. The compulsion was so strong, that she was sorely tempted to tell Mickey that stranded aliens could wait a few moments when something knocked into them hard. Rose tumbled, the Doctor's fast reflexes the only thing keeping her from hurtling into the side walk.
"Sorry," a gravely voice mumbled. Rose turned just in time to see the stranger decked in a long tan trench coat and large brown hat. She caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar, furry face before he hustled through the crowd with almost inhuman speed.
"Careful," the Doctor murmured, rubbing his hands up and down her arms after setting her on her feet. "You alright?"
"Did you see that?"
"What? Whoever bumped into you? Rude, I'd say."
"Doctor, it was a cat person! Like from New Earth! I'd swear it!"
Before he could respond, the tracker in his pocket began beeping loudly. He took it out, expression thoughtful, and noted the lights all over the small device blinking like mad. He met Rose's eyes, grins spreading across both of their faces.
"And here I thought there wouldn't be any cat people," the Doctor murmured.
"Cat people? Excellent," Mickey said, taking out his mobile to conference the other teams. "Which way did it go?"
Rose gestured down the street. "There, but he was moving fast."
"Well then we ought to catch up, eh?" The Doctor reached for Rose's hand with his free one and, with a quick nod to Mickey, the three of them were off like a shot.