Their progress on the dimension cannon that day was slower than it ever had been. However, no matter how much the Doctor and Rose attempted to distract themselves and delay the work, the device was completely restored by the time that Gallifrey's twin suns set over the horizon outside.
The Doctor silently ushered Rose forward and slipped the black band of the cannon around her left wrist. He refused to meet her eye as he scowled down at the device with a sour expression.
"Will you show me how it works?" she asked tentatively. She stepped closer to where he still sat on his stool and gently ran her fingers over the grip that he had kept on her left wrist.
"It should operate much easier, now," he informed her matter-of-factly. "I was able to fix all of the kinks that the original designer was not able to foresee. It should be much more accurate in taking you where you need to go from now on."
"Good," Rose stated quietly. "That's ... good."
The Doctor gave a small, noncommittal nod. His grip on her wrist tightened slightly as he twisted her arm to better display the cannon's interface screen. "It works in much the same capacity as it did before, it just has a much more finely-tuned destination selection. It will be able to hone in on any time or place you choose, and get you there without fuss or delay."
"Will it ...? I mean, do you think it can find the Doctor?"
The Doctor before her made some tense approximation of a smile as he continued to avoid her gaze. He stared down sadly at the dimension cannon as though it were the single source of all his problems. "I have taken the liberty of assembling the data that you've already collected while tracking the Doctor's timeline," he replied quietly. "With the new programs I've installed, it should be quite simple to set an accurate destination. You should be able to find him at any point that you choose."
He finally let his hand fall away from her wrist and Rose quickly began fiddling with the new controls that he had added just so that she would have something productive to do with her hands.
"Rose," the Doctor interrupted her nervously. "You said, before, that these jumps could be quite dangerous ..." When she raised her gaze to look at him once more, Rose could see that he was sitting before her with hunched shoulders and an expression that was filled with hopeless defeat. "I do not know if I can willingly send you into a situation that might cause you significant strain or even physical injury ..."
"I'll be fine, Doctor," she reassured him quietly. "I've been on plenty of these jumps before. The first few times were the hardest, when I was just being sent through the void with no data to go off of. They've gotten much more controlled since then." She paused to offer him her own small, bitter smile as she added lightly, "Besides, with this new top-up you've given me, I'm sure the travel will be easier than it's ever been before."
"But ... I will have no way of knowing for certain," the Doctor muttered in frustration. His gaze dropped once more to her wrist and another scowl twisted up his features. "From my perspective you'll just ... disappear. I'll never know whether or not you made it back to wherever it is that you need to be. I wish ..." He heaved a heavy sigh. His eyelids slipped shut as his expression crumpled once more into a look of defeat. "I wish more than anything, Rose, that I could go with you."
"Me, too," she agreed weakly. She took another cautious step forward and hesitated for only a moment before she reached up and gently began running her fingers through his dark, thick hair in a soothing gesture.
He breathed another sigh that sounded slightly more contented rather than weary. He leaned into her touch for a moment and allowed her to project a few calming reassurances into his mind. When the Doctor finally opened his eyes again, he reached up with one hand to grab her wrist once more, while his other gently snagged her around the waist. He maneuvered her until she was turned around and leaning against him with her back to his front and his chin resting against her shoulder. He brought her left wrist up where they could both clearly see it. He then slowly began to show her the many modifications that he had added to the dimension cannon.
The patience and care that he so diligently showed for her wasn't at all like the harsh, commanding youth who she had met when she first came to Gallifrey. Rose silently marveled at how much he had changed in the span of just a few days. She wondered if it really was her presence alone that had managed to make such a drastic difference in him. When the Doctor let out a small breath of amusement and pressed a quick kiss to the side of her neck, she realized that he must have sensed her wandering thoughts and was agreeing quite adamantly that his change in attitude was entirely her doing.
"What will happen to you?" she asked gently when he had finished showing her all of the added modifications. They had both fallen into a contemplative silence as the light from the Gallifreyan suns slowly sank closer to the horizon outside. Both of his arms were wrapped tight around her middle, as though he were afraid to let her go, and his nose was buried against her shoulder.
"What do you mean?" he murmured quietly.
"I mean, after I leave," Rose elaborated. "What will happen to you? Where will you go? What will you do?"
He breathed another small sigh against her before he replied warily, "Oh, I suppose I should probably go back to the Academy, don't you agree? I think it's about time I got the final exams over with and finally rid myself of the infernal place for good." His grip around her waist tightened ever so slightly as he lowered his voice and whispered, "I find myself far more invested in my future now than I once was. I think it's time I finally grew up. In fact, I'm rather eager to take up the name of 'Doctor'."
"No more 'Theta'?" Rose teased quietly.
He hummed in quiet agreement as he turned to press his cool lips to her neck once more. "Who is 'Theta'?" he whispered. "'Theta' is no one. 'Theta' is a schoolboy trapped on Gallifrey with nothing but his hopes and dreams of seeing the stars to keep him company."
"I don't know ..." Rose continued playfully. "I think I was beginning to like Theta, actually."
He breathed another small laugh that tickled against her skin as he slowly shook his head and replied, "No, my dear, I think I much prefer the Doctor. He has a time ship and a universe to explore and a young woman named Rose Tyler at his side. I think I would dearly like to become that man - ideally, as soon as possible."
"Be careful what you wish for, Doctor." Rose ran her hands gently over the arms that circled her waist as she stared forlornly around the old, empty barn before her.
"Why's that, my dear?"
"It's just ..." she explained slowly, "the man I traveled with - the man I met in my past, and your future - he's been through quite a lot. I don't know all of it, of course, but I think there are some times when he would have been much happier being you again - just Theta; not someone who the universe turns to every time it needs a bit of help."
The Doctor was silent for a moment as he contemplated this. When he eventually replied, he spoke with a tone that was quietly assured and held not even a hint of doubt. "I suppose that is always the way, isn't it? We are all of us destined to want what we cannot have."
Rose's hands stilled on his arms as her thoughts filled with bitter agreement. She considered all the time that she had spent pining away for the Doctor and never knowing for sure if she would ever be allowed to keep him or not. She still wasn't really sure - even after all that they had been through and all the time that she had spent trying so hard to get back to him.
She realized belatedly that her hands had come to a halt over his. She felt the Doctor go very still as he seemed to pick up on the thoughts that she didn't dare speak out loud. As she felt embarrassment begin to rise up within her, the Doctor's grip on her shifted and he slowly turned her around to face him once more.
Standing before his work stool as she was, Rose stood a few inches taller than him. He had to lean forward in order to press his lips to her cheek in a quick kiss before he took both of her hands in his and met her gaze with a weighty, pointed look.
He is already yours, Rose, he assured her, whispering the words directly into her mind so that there would be no question as to the intensity of the sentiment that lay behind them. Both of my hearts, he continued earnestly as he pulled against her wrists and settled both of her hands flat against the front of his chest, they belong to you. You hold them both in your hands - no matter what body they happen to be in.
Rose could feel tears pricking the backs of her eyes as she stared down hard at her hands and attempted to memorize the soothing rhythm of his heartsbeats pounding against her skin.
"Please don't make me go back," she whispered weakly. Her voice broke pathetically over the lump in her throat as she struggled to raise her gaze and meet his sharp, intense eyes.
"You know as well as I do that neither of us have any choice in the matter," he reminded her quietly. However, she could hear the note of regret in his tone that he was desperately trying to hide.
"At least let me stay the night," she begged, letting her hands slide up from his chest and grasp the back of his neck. "Just one more night - it won't hurt anyone."
"I fear you are rather wrong about that, my dear." The Doctor's miserable expression made Rose's heart turn over in her chest. "Every moment that you draw this out is utter torture for me."
"You always did hate goodbyes," she muttered ruefully.
"I'm sure I wouldn't know anything about that," he replied quietly. "I do believe this is the first time I've ever had to experience one."
"Then let's make it a good one, eh, Doctor?" Rose encouraged him pleadingly. "One more night, and then I'll go home in the morning, I promise."
He made no response to that, but Rose could see the grim acceptance settling in his pale eyes. She reached forward and gave him a long, lingering kiss to show him her gratitude.
"You should get your rest, if you plan to leave tomorrow," he advised her when it became quite clear that she had no intention of letting him go any time soon. "Especially after the long night you had yesterday, you will be needing to get as much sleep as possible. I can't risk sending you back to wherever it is you come from and having others question my treatment of you."
"What are you trying to say, Doctor?" Rose asked as she pulled away to flash him a look of playful indignation. "Are you telling me I'm not well-rested? Are you suggesting I need beauty sleep?"
Again, he made no response, but the slight lift to his brow and the teasing sparkle in his eyes were answer enough. Rose rolled her eyes at him as she poked his shoulder in retaliation and continued, "You know, while we're offering free advice, you could do with a bit of that yourself, mister."
"What, 'beauty sleep'?" he asked, his tone of indignation matching hers exactly. "Why, Ms. Tyler, I'm certain I don't know what you're talking about. I've never looked more well-rested in my life. That tired old man you're attempting to get back to wishes he had what I have."
"You think you're so impressive," she pressed, flashing him a tongue-touched grin as she settled into the easy back-and-forth that she had been so desperately missing the past couple of years.
"I am so impressive!" he countered, unknowingly parroting his future self as he instantly shot to his feet and glowered at her.
"Come on, then," Rose teased. She grasped both of his hands in her own and pulled against them as she backed her way towards the loft stairs. "If you're so impressive, Doctor, then why don't you show me some of your moves?"
"My what?" His eyes suddenly went wide and he hesitantly pulled back against her beguiling grip on him as he flashed her a look of nervous confusion.
"Oh, it ... it's nothing." Rose's teasing grin instantly fell from her face. She turned her gaze away from his as her cheeks flushed red. She really hadn't meant to imply anything or suggest that they spend the night doing anything other than sleeping. She had simply been so caught up in their teasing banter that she had forgotten that this Doctor wasn't exactly keyed in on all of the inside jokes that she shared with his future self.
"It's just a joke," she assured him nervously. "It's this ... thing the Doctor and I used to tease each other about."
She could feel him watching her. When she finally raised her gaze to meet his, she was surprised to find that his expression was curious rather than alarmed.
"This relationship between you and my future self continues to baffle me," he informed her. "The two of you are clearly very close to one another, and yet you tell me that he's never even attempted to make contact with you before. It seems very strange. I do not even pretend to know how he does it."
"Does what?" Rose asked curiously.
She was able to catch the hint of a teasing smile turning up the edge of his lips before the Doctor suddenly took one large step forward and instantly backed her up against the loft ladder behind her. She gasped in surprise, but was unable to make any further reaction before he sealed his lips over the sensitive skin of her neck and instantly turned her into putty in his hands.
"I do not know how he can resist you," he whispered against her skin.
"Just keep that in mind, once you're a few more centuries down the road, Doctor," Rose replied breathlessly as she fought desperately to control the sudden, wild beating of her own heart. "Been waiting four years for you to make a move."
"I assure you I have plenty more," he promised. "However, I think I will leave those for my future self. He has been forced to wait far longer than I have."
"This is starting to sound like it will be a much bigger reunion than I was expecting." Rose was smiling playfully once more as the Doctor finally pulled away from her and reason slowly returned to her mind.
"Just you wait, Rose Tyler," he teased, his roguish smile making her pulse spike unevenly. "I have many things planned for our combined futures."
It's not the first time that she's forced me to share a bed with her, but it's the first time that she's fallen asleep with her head on my shoulder and my arm wrapped around her waist.
One week ago, I never could have even dreamed of sharing my bed with someone else - let alone an alien woman who I barely knew. One week ago, I never could have imagined how satisfying it might feel to have a warm body curled up next to mine. One week ago, I was an ignorant fool. Now I am simply a lovesick one.