Disclaimer: I do not own DW or any of it's characters unless they are OCs.
Chapter Twenty One - Bonding
Amy, predictably, was the one who broke the silence that had fallen as the Doctor and Rose hugged; clearly not keen on letting go of one another anytime soon. "So what happens now?" the Doctor and Rose finally released each other at the red haired woman's question. She was looking at them with an awkward look on her face. "Are you still getting married or have you changed your minds about that? I mean it wasn't as if the universe was on your side the last time but then again I think it helps that Rose doesn't need to be worried about being yanked from one dimension to another by a bunch of sociopathic pepper pots"
The Doctor rolled his eyes at Amy as he took Rose's hand in his own and as always her hand fitted perfect inside his own.
"We are already technically married by human standards; we just need to finish processing the bond which is important we do. It may have saved Rose's life even just partially done but if we leave it for much longer there's a slight chance our brains could end up...well...turning to mush"
Amy's eyes widened comically while Rory looked on in alarm. He hoped that this was another one of the Doctor's wild exaggerations. As a nurse he found it hard to imagine one's brain suddenly melting into mush.
"The Doctor's right" River spoke up, forcing Jack (who still had hold of her despite the fact the TARDIS had stopped moving) to release her as she moved towards the newly reunited couple. "You need to finish the bond immediately. We will have time to catch up after you've finished the mental bond"
"Wow, this all sounds super romantic" Jack drawled with a slight smirk.
"Maybe we should take this to the bedroom" Rose suggested and Jack opened his mouth to speak again but Rose was quick to add "So we can have somewhere to lay down while we're completing the bond"
"That's not a bad idea. River, Amy and Jack stay here. Rory come with us. You're a nurse and in case something should go wrong we may need you"
Rory looked at the Doctor in alarm. "I'm not exactly experienced with dealing with aliens"
"Don't worry, just don't give him aspirin and he'll be fine" Rose smiled at the nurse and allowed the Doctor to lead her through the TARDIS until they made it to a room she'd never been in before. She entered to see a room that was coloured in a variety of rich reds and royal blues. The wall was covered in symbols of Gallifrey which alerted her to the thought that this was the Doctor's own bedroom. Rory seemed to have the same idea as he hesitated at the doorway.
"Rose and I will lie down on the bed, all you need to do is watch and if one of us should start having a seizure or anything of the sort you need to disconnect us instantly" the Doctor said, talking to Rory as Rose made herself comfortable on the large king size bed. "That means take my hands off her head"
Rory frowned at him but decided it was probably easier not to ask. "Okay..." As the nurse sat himself down on a cushy armchair in the corner of the room, the Doctor settled down next to Rose.
"Are you ready Rose Tyler?" he asked, his green eyes meeting hers. She smiled at him, her wide lips spreading in a soft grin.
"I've been ready for a long time"
With that said, the two closed their eyes and the Doctor placed his hands onto her head. She soon found herself back in the place in her mind that she had been before she had left the TARDIS.
"How long will this take now, Doctor?" she asked him, appearing beside him in her white dress in a pink field with a purple sunset that reminded her of a certain planet they had visited in his previous body. "I just want to be your wife"
The Doctor gave her a soft smile and slipped his hand in her own. "Not too long. I can feel the bad wolf moving along the bonding process quite quickly - quicker than before you left. I'm impressed at how much control you've developed over her"
"Good. While I was gone all I thought of was getting back to you although I do have something I need to confess, Doctor" Rose gave the Doctor a sheepish look that made him narrow his eyes at her suspiciously.
"And what would that be?"
"The Bad Wolf had me jumping through different points in time before I could find you. I eventually ended up on a certain planet with a Chinese looking market. You were there with Donna, I think. And before I left, I sort of kissed you and wiped your memory"
The Doctor gaped at her for a moment. "You did what?"
"Sorry?" Rose smirked at him, not looking all that sorry after all. "You know I think you're an amazing kisser in every single body though"
"You better Rose Tyler" he growled at her before pulling her into his arms and dipping her. "I bet my past self didn't kiss you like this" He then planted the most passionate kiss on her lips that she had ever received from anyone, including his former selves. By the end of it she was left completely breathless and could have sworn she was starting to see stars. She blinked and that's when she realised that she really WAS seeing stars.
The Doctor had somehow disappeared and in his place was a couple of beautiful shining stars that glistened like diamonds. They were beautiful. Suddenly Rose remembered River's words from not so long ago: "Once the mental bonds finished, you will see a shape or a symbol. You will each have different things to represent you individually and when you see the Doctor's symbol – you'll just know what it is when you see it – you will officially be marked as his wife mentally and legally by the laws of Gallifrey".
That's what the stars were, they were her mental representation of the Doctor – who was now her husband. She felt a warm feeling wash over her before she felt herself begin to pull out of her their connected minds. Her eyes flashed open and she found herself staring up at the Doctor's bedroom ceiling.
"Well that was fun" the Doctor commented, announcing that he was also awake. "And just as I thought, your symbol is a golden wolf" Rose smiled at the look of excitement on his face. "So what was I?"
Rose rolled her eyes before answering him, "You were a bunch of sparkling stars"
"Oh typical, how girlie" the Doctor said in apparent disgust but the look in his eyes said otherwise and she hit him lightly on his arm.
"Err, guys? I don't mean to interrupt but you do remember that I'm in the room, right?"
Their moment was cut short by Rory reminding them of his presence. Groaning slightly, the couple grinned at each other before getting off the bed and making their way back to the control room swapping stories of their adventures from the time they were away from each other along the way. Rose rolled her eyes and called him a hypocrite when he confessed he had gone and kissed her past self.
"So River" Jack backed the future anthropologist against the console as Amy disappeared to use the 'ladies room' as she had called it, leaving the two notorious flirts alone. River gave him a saucy smile as she turned around so her chest was rubbing up against his own. "What do you say about that drink you agreed to? Want to grab one after this whole Doctor Rose debacle is over?" River's eyes darkened as the former time agent came even closer and leant his head closer to hers.
"I don't know. That depends on how good a kisser you are"
"I'd be more than happy to give you a demonstration" Jack whispered as he planted his lips on hers. The two time travellers kiss deepened and River grabbed the lapel of Jack's coat to pull him closer. Just as his hands slid down River's back and towards her bottom, Amy returned and effectively cut the moment short.
"Oh that's gross. That's not what I wanted to walk in on" The two pulled apart to give the ginger an incredulous look. The time they had spent waiting to find Rose she had chosen to use as time to kiss and snuggle up to her husband and at one time, straddle his lap and snog him. She seemed to realise the hypocrisy of her statement as she gave them an apologetic smile and added "But I'm happy for the both of you. You deserve each other, really"
Before either Jack or River could say anything, the Doctor and Rose walked back into the room and seemed to be in an intense conversation. "So we both have letters we need to write and visits we need to make before we can put this whole thing behind us and explore space and time once again"
"Clearly or else we're gonna be risking a huge clausal nexus by leaving the time loops we seemed to have caused open. The sooner we get it done, the safer the universe will be" Rose said, causing Amy's eyebrows to rise upwards while River and Jack looked at each other completely unsurprised by this thought.
"Before you start wrapping things up, do you think you could drop me and fly boy over here off on some romantic planet? We'd like to get drinks while you fiddle in our timelines, sweetie" River requested and the Doctor rolled his eyes as Jack smirked and winked suggestively.
"Oh alright, I guess it'll be better if you're not around for it anyway"
Everyone gathered around the console as the Doctor punched in the co-ordinates for some romantic planet that he hadn't visited in over five hundred years. River hugged Amy, Rory and Rose before giving the Doctor a brief kiss on the cheek as they arrived at their destination. Jack gave the Doctor a smile and a handshake before requesting to speak to Rose for a moment in private. "Sure, Jack. What's going on?" the blonde former Torchwood employee inquired as they moved to a corner of the room.
"I just wanted to tell you thanks"
Brown eyes blinked in confusion. "Thanks for what exactly?"
"For the advice you'll give me when you see me again. You were right. You'll know what I mean soon enough"
Jack then gave Rose a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug before heading towards the TARDIS front doors where River was waiting for him. He then turned and gave the group one last cheeky grin and a salute.
"I'll see you soon then, Doctor. Rose. Amy, Rory it was a pleasure meeting you two lovebirds"
"You too captain" Amy smiled, earning herself an annoyed glare from her husband. The foursome watched as River and Jack walked out of the spaceship before the Doctor began rubbing his hands together and grinning in excitement.
"Right, two more stops and then we have the whole of time and space at our disposal"
"Where exactly are we stopping?"Rory frowned."Rose is back now, what more do we need to do?"
Rose was the one to explain to Amy's husband. "I need to make a stop to an old friend and the Doctor has some business with River"
"River but he just saw River!"
"Not that one" the Doctor replied briskly as he skipped around the console punching in co-ordinates. As the TARDIS moved, he turned to glance at his newly official wife with a large smile. "Do you think you can get to Jack yourself?" At his question, Rose smiled coyly at him.
"I think I can do that. Meet you in Barcelona?"
"Absolutely. Geronimo!"
Sorry I took so long to post this. I've had it written for a while now but I was recovering from the 50th before I could bring myself to edit and post this you want my opinion on the 50th, look at the next paragraph of my note. Anyway this is the beginning of the conclusion of this story with only 1 or 2 chapters remaining plus possibly an epilogue. Hope you enjoy this one since it's full of fluff!.
[spoiler alert] I've gotta admit, I was so gutted when 11/10/Rose didn't interact but still Billie was great as was David and Matt and John Hurt. I hated the QE1 storyline. What was THAT about? what was the point of that and the Zgyons exactly? Oh well [spoiler alert].