Ariel sat at the edge of the Tardis floor holding a cup of tea and leaning her head against the doorframe as she stared out at the starry sky. The Earth sat just below them as the Doctor usually hovered over it during the nights when they were sleeping.
She couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried she just rolled around in her bed, more awake than ever.
Her mind wouldn't stop running. Everytime she closed her eyes she just thought of her mother and Donna.
The only person she had left was the Doctor. Everyone else was gone. She knew the situation was the same for him, but it was difficult to face the fact that if she went home at that moment it would be empty.
She let out a shaky sigh. She should be crying her eyes out. She should be feeling the pain of loss like knife wounds throughout her body but she just felt numb. She stared out into the sky and wondered if that was what happened when you've lost so many people in a short amount of time. Eventually, you stop crying so much and you just grow numb and weak.
After traveling with the Doctor for so long, she wondered when a life with him had shifted from just some fun journeys to a lifestyle. What exact moment in her life did she commit to the Doctor and become willing to risk her life for him?
When did her life finally slip out of her fingers to the point where she couldn't even remember what month it was?
Ariel wasn't sure if, knowing what she knew, she would ever say no to traveling with the Doctor. She wanted to believe she would've been wiser and turned down the offer, but she knew that with the level of confidence and actual joy in her life she had gained (disregarding all the deaths), she would've still walked into the Tardis with him and traveled anywhere and everywhere.
Despite how many people had died when she stood by the Doctor, she knew that if she had never met the Doctor she would still be living the same dead ordinary life with classes all day and then reading and homework all night. Her only joy would come from escaping her mother yelling about her always being in the house and paying a quick trip to the library.
Even that happiness wouldn't begin to compare to the joy she felt when she and the Doctor started on a new trip to an unknown place.
Plus, there was nothing that beat the way her heart soared each time the Doctor's arms wrapped around hers. She knew it would take some time before he was ready to travel again. He had just lost his best friend and the woman he loved in one day. It wouldn't be easy, but she would be ready to be there for him through it all.
He wouldn't be alone.
Never again.
As if hearing his name swirling around in her mind, the Doctor stepped out into the console room and smirked at her.
"I'm beginning to think you don't sleep," the Doctor chuckled.
Ariel looked up at him with a soft smile. "I couldn't sleep," she sighed.
The Doctor took a seat beside her and wrapped his arm around her. She took a deep breath and rested her head on his shoulder. "That's always the case," the Doctor muttered, brushing a few stray hairs out of her face. "What's wrong?"
"I don't feel anything," Ariel breathed. "My mother died and it's like my mind just doesn't know how to process it. It won't go through. I cried for ten minutes straight on the Dalek Crucible, but now I'm here where I'm allowed to be upset and there's nothing," she said, lifting her head up and meeting his amber eyes with stormy grey ones. "Is that normal?"
"I don't think there's a proper way to deal with these things," the Doctor shrugged. "Especially not with the way we live," he said. "All there ever is is coping."
Ariel nodded and rested her head back on his shoulder.
"There'll be days when you would do anything to forget and days when you can't help but remember," the Doctor said. "But all of them come along with it."
"Would you ever want to forget it?" Ariel wondered. "Just take out the bad and leave all the good?"
"Nah," the Doctor shook his head. "The bad is necessary. Death, pain, heartbreak," he listed. "Without them the happy wouldn't hold any worth. It would seem dead ordinary without a little pain to teach us a lesson. To show us who we are and why we should value those good days and hold them close."
Ariel smiled softly. "I don't wanna leave," Ariel sighed. "I wanna just stay here."
"How long are you gonna stay with me?" the Doctor asked.
"As long as you want me to," Ariel said simply. "If you decide I'm a great bore and you'd rather travel alone, I'll head home."
"Oh," the Doctor smiled. "Never," he insisted.
"Never say never," Ariel mumbled. Watching everyone leave or die had made her wary of traveling with the Doctor. She knew that she couldn't stay with him forever and she wanted to spend each moment with him as though it were her last.
However, before she could express a single word of this to the Doctor, the Time Lord took a deep breath and jumped up.
Ariel spun around, unwilling to get up but steadily watching him from the entrance.
"Remember how you said you wanted to meet Queen Victoria?" the Doctor prompted and Ariel frowned.
That felt like a lifetime ago. Back when she was meeting Donna Noble for the very first time.
"You said she was one of your favorite people in history," the Doctor reminded her and Ariel giggled.
"Of course, I remember," Ariel nodded.
"Well, do you remember when you said if I had met her with Prince Albert she probably would've been much nicer?" the Doctor asked.
"Yeah," Ariel smiled, jumping up and closing the Tardis doors behind her. "I remember when I was a little girl. I used to read about her and Prince Albert and dream of one day having a love like theirs. I remember he once said 'a love like ours could burn down a city'," Ariel sighed happily, leaning on the console as she thought about them. "Why?" She frowned, suddenly curious as to why the Doctor felt it necessary to bring up.
"Would you like to see their wedding?" the Doctor asked with a small smirk.
Ariel could've sworn her heart skipped a beat at that simple yet wonderful question. When she was a little girl she had idolized Queen Victoria. One of the many things that set her apart from the others growing up. When she was just six or seven she would go around the house in large dresses and a makeshift crown that was usually built out of construction paper and pretend to be Queen Victoria. Her father had thought it was adorable, her mother called it abnormal.
Then again, her Mum had only fallen into the role of a proper mother after the Doctor arrived.
"Are you kidding?" Ariel breathed. "More than anything!" She exclaimed with a grin.
The Doctor beamed at her and typed in the coordinates. "February 10, 1840!" He exclaimed. "Let's see if we can avoid an exile," he smirked.
Ariel giggled and ran up to him, placing an excited kiss on his cheek. "I'm gonna go get changed!" She cried. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She grinned as she ran out to the Tardis wardrobe.
The Doctor smiled softly at her as she left. "You're welcome," he mumbled.
After Ariel had changed into a light blue dress with no shoulders but long sleeves, she ran out to the Doctor and grinned at his repetitive attire.
"Do you ever change?" Ariel wondered.
"Oi, I changed my suit!" the Doctor exclaimed.
Ariel just laughed and shook her head. "Never mind," she sighed. "Thank you for doing this. I dreamed of this for ages. I was the weird kid who only ever wanted to meet Queen Victoria or see Frank Sinatra in concert."
"And now you can do both," the Doctor smirked and held out his arm. "Shall we?" He prompted.
"We shall," Ariel nodded and took his arm, using her other hand to hold up her dress as they walked.
They stepped outside and the Doctor closed the door as Ariel stared up at the palace with wide eyes.
"Oh, it is," Ariel breathed. "It really is. St James Palace," she gasped.
The Doctor smiled softly at her as he watched her. She was beautiful in every sense of the word. He wanted to spend every second with her possible and he knew if it had to end sometime, he would seize every second until that day came.
He didn't want to leave Ariel behind as he had done with Rose, leaving with regrets and hundreds of things he never said but should have.
Thunder rolled overhead and Ariel giggled. "It was said to be the rainiest day," she nodded giddily. "But they were determined to marry each other and hundreds of people still showed," she smiled.
The Doctor grinned at her and took her arm in his. "Nevertheless, I think it may be best to find a place before the rain comes in," the Doctor said and Ariel sighed softly.
"Of course," Ariel nodded.
They walked up to a man in a British soldiers uniform who raised his eyebrows at them.
"May I see your invitations?" The man prompted.
The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and flashed it to the man. "There you are. Lord and Lady Smith here to see the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert," the Doctor said.
The man nodded. "Right this way, My Lord."
Ariel flashed an anxious grin at the Doctor as the man lead them inside and they took their places awaiting the beginning of the ceremony.
As they walked everyone crowd in around them, Ariel began remembering Queen Victoria's entries from her diary about the day she married Prince Albert.
Rather than explaining herself, she just launched into quotes from the diary, knowing the Doctor would understand regardless.
"'I never saw such crowds of people as there were in the Park, and they cheered most enthusiastically... The Ceremony was very imposing, and fine and simple, and I think ought to make an everlasting impression on every one who promises at the Altar to keep what he or she promises... Oh! this was the happiest day of my life!'" Ariel grinned as she remembered and the Doctor smiled down at her.
Before the Doctor could say a word, the organs and choir began, announcing the arrival of Prince Albert. Ariel inhaled sharply and grabbed the Doctor's hand as she watched Prince Albert with wide eyes.
Rather than watching Prince Albert, the Doctor watched Ariel with a smile. She was so perfect and somehow she became far more beautiful when watching the wedding of two people she admired most throughout her life.
Albert was in a British field marshal's uniform and was escorted by a squadron of Life Guards. He entered the chapel to the strains of Handel's 'See, the conquering hero comes'. When he reached the front of chapel, he stood tall, not looking behind him at the crowd watching.
Ariel stared at him with bated breath and wide eyes.
It was only a few moments before Victoria followed. She was lead by Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister and a fatherly figure to Victoria.
Ariel grinned, barely able to contain herself as she watched Victoria. "That's her," she gasped. "That's really her."
The Doctor chuckled and nodded, watching Ariel radiate with joy and beauty while she stared at Queen Victoria.
She wore a white lace wedding dress. On her head rested a wreath of orange blossoms and myrtle. Twelve young bridesmaids followed her, carrying her train.
"Did you know, it wasn't common for women to wear white dresses to weddings at this time?" the Doctor whispered in her ear. "Brides simply wore their "best dress" whatever colour that was. Victoria's decision to wear a white dress actually started the fashion for white dresses that we now think of as bridal wear."
Ariel grinned at him. She loved that he would bring out random facts and shine with his intelligence. She stared at him with wonder in his eyes and cupped his cheek.
"Have I ever told you how incredibly wonderful you are?" Ariel breathed.
"No, I don't so," the Doctor smirked.
Ariel just giggled and shook her head. The Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her head as they turned to watch the wedding.
"People have said that they could notice the orange blossoms on Queen Victoria's head vibrating as she trembled with nerves at the altar," Ariel muttered. "I always thought that was quite beautiful," she remarked. "Their love was perfect and everyone knew how wonderful they were together and she still got nerves as though she were holding his hand for the first time," she smiled.
Before the Doctor could get a word in about his nerves at that exact moment as he looked down at her, the bishop interrupted him.
"Albert, will thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife? To live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will thou love her, comfort her, honour and keep her in sickness and in health so long as you both shall live?"
"I will," Albert said and Ariel squealed, grabbing the Doctor's hand and holding it tightly.
"Victoria, will thou have this man to thy wedded husband? To live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will thou obey and serve him, love, honour and keep him in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live?"
"I will," Victoria nodded.
Ariel at the pair of them. Their love was far too perfect for words. She looked up at the Doctor and felt her heart swell as he smiled down at her.
Albert stepped forward and took Victoria's ring from the bishop's bible. He began to place it on her finger as he turned to her.
"With this ring, I thee wed," Albert said. "Doth my body, I thee worship. With all my worldly goods, I thee endow."
Ariel melted at those beautiful words while a few noble men across the room scoffed at the vow. The man was supposed to be in charge in the nineteenth century, no doubt they were expecting Albert to hold a mistress. Someone else he could be with while Victoria took care of the children.
Ariel grinned at the fact that he had never taken a single mistress. Perhaps, that was why people thought their love was so great and passionate both emotionally and physically. He never took anyone other than Victoria.
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," Albert said, looking down at Victoria and Ariel could feel his eyes practically begging for his lips against hers. "Amen."
Victoria looked up at him as though she were trying to memorize every inch of his face in that very moment. She looked at Albert like he was the only one in the room. The crowds didn't matter, so long as she could stay with him.
Ariel could feel the tension between them and how desperately they just wanted to be together. Her heart melted at the very sight of it.
"I pronounce that they be man and wife together," the bishop announced.
The choir began singing once again as everyone in the room fell into a great round of applause.
Meanwhile, Victoria and Albert seemed to be tuning everyone out. They never kissed but their eyes screamed that they were wrapped in the presence of each other, unwilling to be taken away for a single moment.
In the distance, church bells tolled announcing the marriage of Queen Victoria to her husband Prince Albert.
Ariel grinned and she and the Doctor both clapped for the pair along with the rest of the crowd.
"What do you say we stay for the feast?" the Doctor prompted. "If my memory serves me right, I believe they had a three hundred pound cake."
"Oh, say no more," Ariel giggled. "All you had to do was mention the cake. It didn't even have to be Prince Albert and Queen Victoria's wedding," she laughed.
They headed to the feast and while they didn't talk to many seeing as the only two people they would've wanted to talk to they couldn't just approach. Plus, if the Doctor showed his face to Queen Victoria, his own personal history could be quickly changed by the sheer fact of her remembering him when they meet later in her timestream.
Instead, they just enjoyed the feast and Ariel recounted stories of when she was a kid and would insist on going to primary school dressed as Queen Victoria.
The Doctor laughed and was entertained by the thought of young Ariel wearing a little paper crown and refusing to take it off.
In turn, the Doctor told her about when he briefly encountered Elizabeth the First after saving Shakespeare from a bunch of witches. He told her how Elizabeth had wanted him executed and Ariel just laughed.
"Is there anyone in the British monarchy you haven't pissed off?" Ariel wondered.
"Well, I have had tea and scones with Elizabeth the Second," the Doctor frowned as he remembered.
"Oh, so it's only just all the Queens from history you have a problem with?" Ariel smirked. "The ones currently on the throne are easy to manage."
"Now, that you mention it," the Doctor frowned as he realized she had a point.
"Oh, get off it!" Ariel laughed.
They continued to talk as the feast completed and headed back to the Tardis when Victoria and Albert left, laughing the entire time.
"I can't believe nothing went wrong," Ariel sighed as she closed the door behind them.
"Oh, now I don't always have something go wrong on these trips!" the Doctor exclaimed with a chuckle.
"Just almost always," Ariel grinned and nodded at him.
The Doctor just smiled and rolled his eyes.
Ariel walked up to him and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Thank you," she muttered. "I couldn't have asked for anything better," she nodded.
The Doctor smiled softly and tilted her chin up to meet his amber eyes. "You're more than welcome."
Ariel felt her breath stolen from her chest as she gazed up into his eyes. It was as though all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. Every sight and sound was absent except for the man before her. Seconds folded into hours as she felt wrapped in his warm brown eyes. Then all at once, the atmosphere shifted as he sighed softly, seeming to give up whatever internal conflict he had been fighting and placed his hands on her cheeks, pressing his lips against her roughly, relishing in the feeling they had deprived themselves of for far too long.
She revelled in the feeling of his soft lips, pressed against hers, desperately craving something he should have never lost. He deepened the kiss and she sighed softly, tangling her fingers through his soft brown hair.
His hands feel from her cheeks and she almost moaned at the loss of his delicate touch. She wanted to feel every inch of him on her body. She wanted to get as close to him as possible, never lose a moment of his skin against hers.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist.
She pulled away from the kiss momentarily and smiled softly at him, placing her forehead against his.
"Are you sure?" Ariel breathed, her eyes searching his frantically for an answer. "You know everything about me now."
"And I love all of it," the Doctor grinned.
Ariel almost laughed in relief and kissed him, pouring all of her love for him into that single kiss.
She couldn't get enough of the taste of his lips. She had missed him every second they were apart. It had been so strange to spend hours without him after never going a single day without seeing his face.
His presence offered comfort and love where she needed it most and she would never stop loving him for it.
He never wanted to leave her again. As he pulled away for a moment and gazed into her sparkling grey eyes, he knew he could never leave her again. He would never leave her by choice if he could help it. He didn't want to lose the one woman left in the universe that knew everything about him and had still chosen to accept him and care about him. He would never cease to be filled with wonder and awe at the woman in his arms. She had accepted him when most others would turn away, so he would accept her just the same.
He was hers and she was his. That was final.
He kicked open the door to his bedroom, his lips never leaving hers as she grinned against his lips.
That moment was, quite possibly, the happiest she had felt or ever would feel until the day she died.
The Doctor kicked the door closed, sealing their time together from the world and just granting all his attention to the woman he loved smiling down at him.
A/N: I just finished binging season two of Victoria and I love it I love it I love it. If you hadn't guessed, I based what the bishop said off that because I don't think I'm supposed to know word for word what was said at a wedding in 1840. Also, if you have been paying attention, I started recently making this series completely canon by including the comics as well. In the comics, the Doctor spent most of his time mourning and (if you haven't read them) even got a cat named Rose who encouraged him to get a "rebound companion". He also, according to the wikia, watched a bunch of sad movies like Love Actually. (It actually says that). I figured that would change because now he has somebody so forgive me for not going to the original canon of his travels before "The Next Doctor"