Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I make any money from it.

A/N Thank you so much for the amazing response on the last chapter. I am truly grateful at how much you guys are motivating me to write with your reviews, alerts and favourites. I am just very happy with the response I have had with this story.

On to Story #7 then. "The Time Agency". Most of you guessed right with Jack making an appearance in the story. He's not there in this chapter but there are some familiar faces.

I drew heavy inspiration for this chapter from 'The Invasion of Time' and the actual ceremony is based on the one in the episode.

I actually have an outfit for Rose in this chapter. Link on my profile.

Happy Reading!

The Time Agency: The Ceremony

"...Paradise Lost excited different and far deeper emotions. I read it, as I had read the other volumes which had fallen into my hands, as a true history. It moved every feeling of wonder and awe that the picture..."

Rose closed her eyes in contentment as the Doctor's honey smooth voice washed over her. Even a horrific tale like Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' sounded soothing in his voice. They had recently visited Lake Geneva during the Year without Summer as guests of Lord Byron. The Doctor had just winked and tapped his nose when Rose had asked him how he had pulled that one off.

Mary Shelley had been there with Percy Shelley and Claire Clairmont who in addition to being Mary's stepsister was also pregnant with Byron's child. The Doctor had been happy to fill her in on all the latest scandals and rumours as they stayed with Lord Byron and his young (and very handsome, in Rose's opinion) physician John William Polidori.

Of course, on the infamous night of 16th of June 1816, they all sat down in the villa discussing ghost stories. Rose had been wonderstruck as she saw the history of one of the greatest literary creations of her culture happen right before her eyes.

They had left soon after but Rose had insisted that the Doctor read Frankenstein to her again. Which was what they were doing right now while the TARDIS floated along in the vortex.

Rose had read the book once when she was young and hadn't thought much of it. But as the Doctor read it to her now, she was captivated by the tale and his voice as he read the creature's introspection and the comparisons he drew between him and Satan.

"I always feel like the people were the real monsters in the story," Rose murmured slowly, when the Doctor paused to take a sip of his tea.

He smiled down to where she was resting her head in his lap. "Yes, it seems so, doesn't it? Frankenstein created a creature and the people turned him into a monster. And then the monster turned Frankenstein into a monster too," he said.

"Mmm," Rose said. "When I tried to tell that to Miss Dell, she told me to quit being a smart arse," Rose recalled. The Doctor frowned at that, but Rose closed her eyes again, snuggling back into her blanket and resting her head more comfortably in his lap. "Keep reading," she requested.

He grinned lightly. "As you wish, Miss Tyler," he said as he picked up the book and looked for the line that he had left at. "Everything is related in them which..."

Light knocking made the Doctor pause. Rose met his eyes in slight alarm. "I thought you said we were in the vortex," she said.

"We are," he said, placing a bookmark in the book. Rose got up quickly as the two of them crossed the console room and reached the TARDIS doors. The knocks repeated and the Doctor went to open the doors.

"Hang on," Rose said. "Is it safe to open them?"

"Temporary force field," he explained and opened the doors slowly, only to have a small white cube encased in a glass case fly inside the TARDIS.

"What is that?" Rose asked.

The Doctor took the cube and examined it grimly. "It's a hypercube," he frowned. He looked at the mark in alarm. "It's Romana's!" he exclaimed.

"What's the hypercube exactly?" Rose asked, looking at the cube and wondering why he was freaking out so much.

"It is a way of sending a distress call by Time Lords," the Doctor explained. "See this mark here?" he pointed. "That's Romana's signature."

"Romana is in trouble?" Rose asked, scared for her friend.

The Doctor nodded. "Come on," he said.

"Do you know where she is?" Rose asked as he flew around the console, setting the coordinates for their destination.

"Gallifrey," he said. "She says to come at once."

"Then how can she be in trouble?" Rose asked, confused. It was a bit unnerving to know that he could hear something she couldn't but she guessed that it was telepathic, like the TARDIS.

The Doctor pulled a lever, rougher than he would have. "I don't know," he said, knowing that Rose was right. "But she wouldn't just send the hypercube unless she was in trouble."

Rose nodded. "How long till we get to Gallifrey?" she asked.

"Almost there," he said and the TARDIS landed with a thud.

The two of them ran to the door and threw it open. "Oh good, you made it on time," Romana grinned at them.

"Romana," the Doctor said, his eyes wide. "I thought you were in trouble."

"Well it was the only way to get you here," she shrugged calmly.

"Romana!" the Doctor admonished. "We were really worried."

Romana smiled mischievously. "Oh don't be so melodramatic, Doctor," she said. She waved at Rose. "Hello, Rose."

"Hi, Romana," Rose grinned. "What'd you need us here for?"

Romana opened her mouth to explain but the Doctor cut in. "Why couldn't you send a normal message?" he demanded. "Or call the TARDIS?"

"Would you have come if I had?" Romana asked.

The Doctor knew the answer to that. He would have come up with some excuse not to. He crossed his arms in exasperation and Romana rolled her eyes at him. There was a knock on the chamber door. "Enter!" Romana said.

Rose saw as a tall, good-looking man in a Chancellery Guard's uniform walked inside who bowed to Romana. "My lady, the proceedings are underway," he said.

"Thank you, Andred," Romana said.

Rose remembered that this was Leela's husband, who was a Commander in the Chancellery Guard. His eyes fell on the Doctor and Rose and he nodded at them. "Doctor," he nodded.

"Andred, I trust you are well," the Doctor said pleasantly.

Andred nodded politely and he looked at Rose. "You must be Ms. Tyler," he said. "Leela speaks highly of you."

Rose blushed lightly. "It is very nice to meet you," she said.

He gave her a tight smile and with a final bow to Romana, he left the chamber. "What proceedings was he talking about?" the Doctor asked Romana.

"President Flavia has finished her final term as the President," Romana said.

"Yes, I expect she would have by now," the Doctor nodded. "I assume she recommended you as her replacement?"

Romana nodded. "The High Council voted on it yesterday and as of today, I am President Elect of the High Council," she said.

"My congratulations, Madam President," the Doctor said with a small bow.

Romana smiled. "Thank you, Doctor. I wanted you and Rose to be at the ceremony," she said.

"Romana..." the Doctor began. He hated ceremonies of all kind. And this was his least favourite one.

"Doctor," Romana interrupted. "This is the highest honour a Time Lord or Lady could receive."

"What ceremony?" Rose asked curiously.

"This ceremony will swear me in as the new President of the High Council," Romana explained to her.

"And you don't want to go?" Rose asked the Doctor in disbelief.

The Doctor looked uncomfortable. "Rose, it's boring and stuffy..." he protested.

"This is important to Romana," Rose said.

Romana smiled at Rose. "Thank you, Rose," she said.

Rose nodded. "We'll be there. I will drag him there if I have to," she said firmly.

Romana looked amused. "I have no doubt you would, dear Rose. Thank you very much. I am very grateful," she said.

"Don't I get a say in this?" the Doctor asked petulantly.

"No," the two women answered in unison.

"When does the ceremony start?" Rose asked Romana.

"Two hours, relative time," she said. "I assume you'll both come."

"Wouldn't miss it," Rose promised.

"Then I will see you both in the Panopticon in two hours," she said.

"Good luck," Rose grinned as she took the Doctor's elbow and led him back to the TARDIS.

"Do we have to go?" the Doctor groaned.

"Just why are you so opposed to the idea?" Rose demanded. "Romana is our friend."

He nodded. "Yes, I know and I am very happy for her. It's just..."

"Just what?" Rose asked curiously.

"I have bad memories of this ceremony," he admitted, throwing himself on the chaise that he and Rose had been resting on before. "Or, rather none at all."

"What?" Rose asked, completely confused.

"Apparently, I have been through the ceremony but the details are so hazy in my mind," he confided, grasping both her hands in his. "I remember that it was necessary and there was something about an invasion." He shook his head as the memories refused to surface.

Rose knelt in front of him in concern. "Do you want to leave?" she asked softly. "I'm sorry I just assumed that..."

"No," he said, finally. "We'll go. Like you said, Romana is a friend and this is an immense honour for her."

Rose nodded and patted his shoulder. "You're a wonderful friend, Doctor," she said, knowing that he was willing to ignore his own discomfort in order to support Romana. She considered him thoughtfully. "If anyone should be worried about going, it should be me," she said lightly.

His eyes snapped to hers in surprise. "Why would you think that?" he asked incredulously.

Rose rolled her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, Doctor, I am human," she said. "No offense, but I don't think anyone apart from Romana and Leela even thinks of me as more than some sort of an exotic specimen."

He frowned as he realised how accurate she was in her deductions. But her reasons were all wrong. It wasn't the fact that she was a human that fascinated the Time Lords. It was the fact that even the most experienced Time Lords couldn't see more than a few strands of her timeline. The Doctor, of course, couldn't see a thing but he was aware that the Time Lords were as fascinated by his young friend as he was.

However, this wasn't something he wanted to tell her. Instead, he cupped her face with both his hands. "Rose Tyler," he said, relishing the way her name rolled off his tongue. "You are more brilliant and astonishingly amazing than that stuffy bunch of people. You have faced Daleks, Cybermen, deluded mobs, Plasmavores. You even survived Byron's and Polidori's flirting," he joked, his eyes hardening only slightly as he remembered that.

Rose blushed madly and ducked her head but the Doctor lifted her chin and gave her a disarming grin. "You, my dear, have nothing to fear," he said, tapping her nose affectionately with his finger. "You have accomplished more than any of these people have in their thousand year lives."

Rose grinned and threw her arms around him, giggling into his neck. His arms were equally enthusiastic as they hugged her to him. They stayed in each others' arms longer than was acceptable for a standard hug but neither of them could bring themselves to pull away first.

Finally, Rose broke the hug mumbling something about not being late. The Doctor smiled at her, trying in vain to ignore the smugness emanating from his younger selves in his mind.

An hour and half later, the Doctor was pacing in the console room while he waited for Rose. She had flat out refused to attend the ceremony wearing her usual jeans and hoodie, claiming that Romana deserved better than that.

He had wanted to argue but he got a warm feeling in his hearts when he thought of Rose making such an effort to get along with one of his friends. Rose had only met Romana once and if what Romana had said was true, even she couldn't have met Rose more than once before.

It was surprising to him that Romana, of all people, had taken such a liking to Rose. As far as he remembered, Romana never took much liking to anyone. Not her fault, of course, it was just the way that all Time Lords were raised. Romana had been typical of her planet when he had first met her, but her regeneration had changed her quite a bit.

He was also very pleased that she was going to be President. She had no experience in politics officially, but she was extremely intelligent and her travels with him and later in E-Space had made her an incredible person. He had no doubt that she would be a terrific President. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if she already had a list of things that she wanted to accomplish once she was President.

Rose emerged from the depths of the TARDIS back into the console room, momentarily knocking him speechless. She looked absolutely beautiful, dressed as she was in a white Edwardian gown and her hair in tumbling curls with small braids going around the crown of her head.

"What'd you think? Will it do?" she asked nervously, an eager smile fluttering at her lips.

He beamed widely at her, ignoring his racing hearts. "Oh yes," he agreed at once. He walked up to her and offered her his hand. "Will you do me the honour, Miss Tyler?" he asked.

Rose suppressed the urge to giggle and placed her hand in his. "But of course, Doctor," she said. Her breath hitched only slightly as he kissed the hand that he was holding, tucked it into the crook of his arm and began to lead her out.

The Panopticon was a magnificent structure with six different sides, each having a statue in front of them. The Doctor explained to Rose in a low voice that each statue belonged to a founder of the Time Lord society. He did tell her all the names but the only ones she remembered were Rassilon, Omega and the Other. The place was swarming with Time Lords some of whom nodded at the Doctor, while many others merely stared at them as they walked past.

Tired of the looks she was getting, Rose looked at the ceiling of the Panopticon only to find that she couldn't. The Doctor grinned at her look of surprise. "No one really knows how high the ceiling is," he whispered in her ear. "It is rumoured that once clouds gathered inside and made it rain."

Rose had heard of stranger things to have happened after she started travelling with him so she nodded along to that tidbit of information. She did turn around once to see Leela waving at her, who gestured that she would talk after the ceremony to which Rose nodded back eagerly.

The conversations around them were still hushed but then silence fell as processional music started playing loudly. A man dressed in gold entered the Panopticon followed by three guards each carrying something on a red cushion. Behind them, entered Romana dressed in plain white robes, covered from neck to toe.

The man in gold, who was the Gold Usher as the Doctor whispered in Rose's ear, stepped onto the dais as the guards and Romana followed after him. The guards stood on one side and Romana stood right in the centre of the dais as the Gold Usher addressed the Time Lords.

"Honoured members of the Supreme Council, Cardinals, Time Lords," he called, his voice as pompous and grand as Rose had imagined it would be. Then to her enormous surprise, his eyes fell on her and then on Leela. "Madams," he said and Rose tensed just slightly before remembering the Doctor's words and holding her head up high. She wasn't expecting to be addressed but she was not going to shy away either.

The Gold Usher continued to speak. "We are here today to honour the will and the wisdom of Rassilon," he said and then banged his staff on the floor three times, pausing for a heartbeat between the strikes.

"Is there anyone here to contest the candidate's right to the Sash of Rassilon?" he asked.

No one spoke and the Usher marked the words with a single strike of the staff against the floor.

"Is there anyone here to contest the candidate's right to the Rod of Rassilon?"

Silence again which was marked with another strike of the staff.

"Is there anyone here to contest the candidate's right to the Great Key of Rassilon?"

There was silence and the Usher struck the floor again. "By custom, with wisdom, and for honour, I shall strike three times. Should no voice be heard by the third stroke, I will, duty-bound, invest the candidate as President of the High Council of the Time Lords of Gallifrey," he said. His words were met with silence which was then punctuated by the three strikes of the staff.

The Gold Usher now turned away from the Time Lords and looked at Romana. "It is my duty and privilege, having the consent of the Time Lords of Gallifrey, to invest you, Lady Romanadvoratrelundar, as President of the High Council. Accept, therefore, the Sash of Rassilon."

Rose was a bit surprised at the long name that Romana had, but focused her attention as Romana lifted the heavy sash from one of the cushions and put it around her neck.

"Accept, therefore, the Rod of Rassilon," the Gold Usher said.

Romana lifted the odd-looking sceptre and cradled it in her arms.

"Seek, therefore, to find the Great Key of Rassilon," the Gold Usher announced.

Rose was surprised when there was no key on the third cushion. But Romana didn't miss a beat as she extended her hand and held it over the cushion. Nothing happened but Rose noticed the Doctor smiling out of the corner of her eyes. Deciding she would ask later, Rose directed her attention back to the ceremony.

"Do you swear to uphold the laws of Gallifrey?" the Gold Usher asked Romana.

"I swear," she stated clearly.

"Do you swear to follow in the wisdom of Rassilon?"

"I swear," she said.

"Do you swear to protect the law and the wisdom?"

"I swear," Romana said and at her words, a circlet rose from the floor and into the hands of the Gold Usher. Rose watched curiously as the Gold Usher walked behind Romana who kneeled.

"I invest you," the Gold Usher said. "Lady President of the High Council, Romanadvoratrelundar." He lifted the circlet and slowly placed it on Romana's head. "I wish you good fortune and strength. I give you the Matrix," he said as the circlet went around Romana's head.

Romana stood up, as if in a daze and Rose was so absorbed in the ceremony that she almost didn't notice the Doctor tugging on her hand. Rose quickly knelt like everyone else as Romana gazed upon the Panopticon.

"I am Lady Romanadvoratrelundar," she spoke deliberately, her voice strong and steady. "Of House Heartshaven of the Prydonian Chapter. President of the High Council of the Time Lords of Gallifrey." Her gaze swept over the Panopticon again. "Arise, now."

A/N And end of part 1.

So, what did you think? I changed the end of the ceremony 'cos well, the Doctor just fainted in the episode. Anyway, it is still one of my favourite episodes.

All facts about Gallifrey are canon or somewhat canon.

To those of you wondering why Gallifrey and Romana featured into a story about the Time Agency, patience my dears. The next chapter will explain it. Plus, I know some of you are still waiting on an explanation for who 'I.B.' was and what Arkytior signified. So stay tuned for that.

The story of Mary Shelley and the vacation in Lake Geneva is an actual fact. It is also somewhat canon that the Doctor was there as he mentions it at the beginning of the BFA 'Storm Warning'. Plus, Mary also travels with the Eighth Doctor for a while in the BFA universe.

Anyway, let me know how this was. Part 2 will be up on Thursday. See you then!

~ Phoenix