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Chapter 48 - Dancing
They came back into the dining room. All of the men at the table stood up as Rose sat down, then the rest of the men sat down as well.
"You just made it in time for dessert." Jake told him.
Playboy told them, "Yes. This would be Maple Pecan Cake with Cocoa Nib Wafer, with Butterscotch Swirl ice cream. Complemented well with Chateau Chantal Ice Wine from 2013."
It made the Doctor grit his teeth again. Rose noticed and put her hand on the Doctor's thigh.
"I bet this is the ice cream the kids are having upstairs." Rose told him.
"Yeah. You're probably right." the Doctor agreed as he calmed down at the thought. "Gosh, they are going to be on a sugar high."
Pete leaned up, "Jackie sent another text, they are at the pool. And as it turns out, everyone can swim. They are having a blast."
The Doctor and Rose smiled at one another.
"Swimming, huh?" the playboy said. "I didn't know the White House had a pool."
The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't either. Apparently it does."
One of the Secret Service members came over and whispered something in Jake's ear. Jake turned to the Doctor and motioned for him to join him for a moment.
"Rose, I'll be right back." he told her as he patted her leg.
Jake and the Doctor followed the Secret Service man out into the hallway and were joined by Shakes, John, and two other Quauhtin.
The Secret Service member spoke. "There is an active shooter about two miles from here. There might be more than one. The military is on it, but it is still a dangerous situation. Protocol is to notify your head of security in an event."
The Doctor nodded. He had tried to warn Rose about the damn tux.
"Do we need to send anyone?" Jake asked.
"No, sir. It is contained. It's just that we have to make you aware of the situation."
"Contained? It doesn't sound contained. It doesn't sound like you even know how many people are involved." the Doctor told him.
"As I get more information, I will update you. If the situation moves another half mile, we have to move the Presidents, the family, and the delegation into the bunker."
The Doctor looked at Shakes. "The children are alright?"
"Yes, sir." Shakes told him.
"Get me another couple of guys for the kids, and just keep us updated. Notify Shakes or Jake. Either one. Rose will know something is wrong if I know it, and I want her to enjoy her evening. If we need to move the children, tell me first. I don't want them to be scared, that will have to be handled delicately. I don't trust anyone but myself with that. Alright?"
"Yes, sir. We're going to go ahead and announce everyone to head into the East Room to get everyone closer to the bunker if it's needed."
The Doctor rubbed his head and nodded in agreement.
They broke up their meeting, and the Doctor returned to the table with Jake.
"Everything alright?" Pete asked.
"Yeah, just protocol stuff." Jake said.
The playboy asked, "Getting yelled at about something, huh?"
Rose took his hand. 'What is it?'
He looked at her and smiled. 'It was the craziest thing, Rose. Something about someone finding knickers in an office. I don't know.'
Rose rolled her eyes at him and laughed. 'You better be kidding me.'
Someone rang a bell and announced it was time to move into the East Room, or the ballroom as some people called it. Rose held the Doctor's arm as they walked into the ballroom. The Doctor looked around and mumbled, "Wow. They kept these old Victorian chandeliers after all of these years."
"What?" Rose asked him.
"Well, some places you go never change. Abigail Adams used to hang laundry up in here. It has all of these windows see. Latrobe, the architect, and Thomas Jefferson wanted more windows in here. But after they drew it up, it looked like a green house. So, they just went with these. And this painting over there, Rose. It's the famous Lansdowne portrait. It was painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1797. It was rescued from the fire in 1814, and put right back in here after they rebuilt the White House. Originally, Jefferson called this the 'Throne Room', but that didn't go over well with Congress. They painted 38 chairs gold and black and just put them in here to try to avoid a palace look."
Pete was standing next to the Doctor. "Wow. I didn't know any of that."
The Doctor looked at Pete and nodded. "Oh yes. Lots of important stuff happened in this room. Funerals, weddings, a séance, Eisenhower took the presidential oath of office in here, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed here as well. Nixon gave his farewell speech here, too. Lots of stuff, Pete. Lots of history!"
Pete looked impressed.
President Shepherd walked out to the middle of the room with Caroline Shepherd. Someone rang a bell to get everyone's attention.
"And now for my favorite part of the night. The dancing!" Howie declared.
Everyone applauded and cheered.
"That's what our State Dinners are known for. Dancing and having a great time. The bar is open! Don't get too rowdy, and let's all have a good time."
"Our music has been selected by my beautiful wife, Caroline and our precious Rose Tyler. But, as you know, I have to start any dance with our song, Caroline. I don't know what you were thinking, not putting it on the list." he playfully fussed at her.
Caroline laughed and shook her head.
He leaned pointed over to the DJ and said, "Play it! Let's get this shin-dig started!"
The song started. Rose had never heard it before, but it was very clear to her it was a country song. She looked back at the Doctor who was singing along to it and smiling. Several people joined Howie and Caroline on the dance floor.
"Oh, I love this song!" he smiled at Rose. "Do you know this one?"
Rose shook her head at him and laughed. "No! Sounds terrible! You listen to this?"
"Yeah! It's David Allan Coe's song. 'You Never Even Called Me By My Name'. Sortof works for me, doesn't it?" he smiled at her.
He took her in his arms and started dancing with her out on the dance floor.
Rose laughed as she quietly told him, "I never call you by your name because I don't know your name, goofball."
He laughed at her and said, "And funny thing is, you still won't be able to once you do know it. I'll explain it later. This is the best part of the song!"
Rose couldn't stop laughing at the disbelief that the Doctor was singing along with such a terrible song. But, she never missed an opportunity to dance with her Doctor. He probably sang the chorus even louder than Howie did.
"Oh my god, this song is terrible. What was that you talked about? 'Cruel and unusual punishment'?"
He dipped her and sang, "Darling." along with the song.
Rose laughed. "Oh, this is bad."
He laughed at her, "Me thinks the lady protests too much!"
"Did he say his Momma got hit by a train? This song is terrible!" Rose laughed as she continued to dance with the Doctor.
"It's the perfect Country and Western song, Rose!" the Doctor teased her.
The song ended, and Nick Jonas' song 'Levels' started playing.
Rose lifted her hands in the air. "Now this is a song!"
"I don't know this one." the Doctor told her as he continued to dance with her.
"You mean I found a song you don't know!?" Rose laughed.
He twirled her around, "Well, wait. No, I have heard this one."
He pulled her in close when the song got quiet and kissed her quickly, then spun her back out.
When the song ended, they went to get a drink. Howie was at the long bar. "Well, there he is! Hey there Doc'! You and Rose look good out there cutting a rug! Want some whiskey?"
The Doctor looked at Rose. "I don't know. Should I have the damn whiskey, tonight? Tux and damn whiskey? What do you think, Rose?"
"Totally up to you. I'll have some wine, please Howie."
Pete came over to the bar, "Are you the bartender again, Howie?"
"Yeah. Get your ass in here and help me!" Howie yelled at Pete.
"Sure! As soon as I grab a dance from Rose. Is that alright, Doctor?" Pete asked.
The Doctor already had two shots of whiskey. "Totally up to Rose."
Rose went back out on the dance floor with Pete. Jake sat down next to the Doctor. "Is this the damn whiskey?"
"Yes. Have some." the Doctor said as he poured Jake a shot and they drank together.
"Well, Thomas isn't here, so we might be alright giving this to you."
"Rose was concerned about me punching out the playboy. That's why she took me out in the hallway." the Doctor confessed as he had another shot.
"I can see that. I was preparing myself to jump in between you two." Jake told him.
"He asked her out? Did I hear that right?"
"Several times, my friend!" the playboy said as he took a drink behind him. "Don't worry. She wouldn't give me the time of day. I doubt she'd even agree to a dance with me. She never has before. In fact, I've never seen her dance with anyone. I've honestly never even seen her smile. You are to be commended for whatever you have done that has made her so happy, Doctor Smith. She's a completely different person that the one I knew."
The Doctor looked over at Rose. His heart ached as he heard how she had been during the time she had been without him. He already knew it, of course, but this just confirmed how unhappy she would be without him again. He grew angry at the rubbish human body that was failing him. He shook it off and decided he just couldn't think about that right now.
The Doctor smiled at his own embarrassment.
The playboy smiled. "I'm not going to steal your girl. Don't worry about it. I have one of my own. She's stuck in New York tonight, and couldn't come out. She's pissed about it. She wanted to see Rose. Did she do something to her hair?"
"Yeah, she changed it." the Doctor said.
"Umm...I like it." the playboy said. He looked over the Doctor, "What 'cha drinking there cold cheese?"
"Whiskey. I probably need to switch to something else, or they will have to carry me out of there." the Doctor confessed.
"I got 'cha. Don't worry. Hey Howie. Three martinis. Make the Doc's dirty will ya?"
Howie made the drinks and put them up on the bar for them, then was busy making another drink for someone else.
The playboy toasted with the Doctor and Jake. "A president that tends bar. What every country needs, huh?" They all laughed and drank.
The playboy continued to talk to them. "See, I'm just fascinated by you, Doctor Smith. Someone so smart, just now coming to light with all of these inventions. Just one right after another one. Brilliant stuff. Did you get stuck by lighting or something?"
The Doctor looked at him, "Yeah, a lightning bolt of knowledge from Mount Olympus struck me in the head."
"I mean, no offense, it's just weird." he said as he tossed his hand up in defense. "Do you come to New York anytime?"
He looked at him, "Yeah, we were just there a couple of days ago. Caught a Broadway show."
"Hamlet, huh? You strike me as a "Heminges and Condell man."
The Doctor rolled his eyes and shook his head. His hand automatically went into his hair as he gritted his teeth.
Jake saw his reaction. He stepped in between the playboy and the Doctor. He quickly poured both of the men another whiskey and handed to them.
The playboy continued. "You should drop by my place next time you are in town. Come check out my R&D there in New York. I'm telling you, it's Candyland. You'd love it. Speaking of which, I need to get back there if I'm going to see my girl before she's off tomorrow for something. I can't even remember what. Tell Rose I said that it was nice to see her again."
"It was nice to meet you." the Doctor said.
The playboy laughed, "Don't lie, it wasn't. But, I'll see you again sometime and it will be better now that you know I'm not after your girl. I'd hug her bye, but don't want to risk an upper-cut. I hear you have a mean one."
The Doctor laughed under his breath. How did he know about him punching out Thomas?
Rose walked up as the Doctor laughed and shook the playboy's hand. "Thanks, I'll be in touch. Wait a minute. How did you know what food they served us?"
He was already walking away. "Trade secret. Won't tell." he yelled over his shoulder as he left.
Howie looked at the Doctor from behind the bar. "What do you mean what food they served?"
Jake told Howie. "He told us, in great detail, what each course was. Even the year of the wine."
The Doctor continued. "Yeah, he even made a bet with us that they would serve lamb. Pete said you hated it and was sure they wouldn't. So, he made off with at least $200 of my money."
Howie roared in laughter. "Pete! How much money did you lose in that bet?"
"$500." Pete said. "Richard Crowe tossed in $100."
Howie was laughing hysterically.
What did Howie know that he wasn't telling?
Howie looked at all of them. "Well, he had an ace in the hole."
The Doctor tossed his hands up. "Well, Howie's ape language is back now! I don't understand. What is an ace in a hole?"
"This you addle-headed idiot." Howie slapped a program for the State Dinner on the bar. He turned to page four which had everything listed on it that they were being served. Even down to the year of the wine."
"Oh, the hell." Pete laughed.
"We got played." Jake said.
"Damn it. That was clever." the Doctor admitted. He couldn't help but smile.
"Have you drank too much to come dance?" Rose asked the Doctor.
"Never, sweetheart. Let's dance all night if you want to." he said as he took her hands in his and took her back out to the dance floor. They were now playing 'Get Lucky' by Daft Punk.
"Yeah, I know someone who got lucky in an office at the White House about 43 minutes ago. " the Doctor teased Rose as he danced with her.
"And I still think you know what happened to my-"
"I'll never tell. No ma'am." he told her.
The song changed into the Romantics 'Talking in Your Sleep'.
"I love this music, Rose. You and Caroline did a wonderful job picking these out." the Doctor told her.
"Have you heard any that you didn't know?"
"No. I did warn you that would be a hard thing to find. This song makes me wonder though, do I talk in my sleep?"
Rose looked at him funny, "Sometimes. But, I can't understand what you say."
"Hmmm. Interesting."
The song changed to Gary Jules', 'Mad World.'
"Oh, good a slow song. I needed a break." Rose told the Doctor. He pulled her in close to dance.
After the first chorus, Rose asked him, "Do you dream about dying? Is that the reason you talk about it so much lately?"
He sighed as he held her. "No sweetheart. I thought I had months left, that was the reason I talked about it. But, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
She leaned back and looked at him, "But, you've started bringing it up again. What's going on? Is there something you aren't telling me?"
She could feel his absentmindedness. His joy, and his worry.
"Oh, shit. I believe I might be caught finally."
" I knew something was going on." Rose told him. Was he finally going to tell her?
"Damn, woman. Nothing gets past you. A regular Sherlock Holmes you are!" he complained.
"Out with it old man." Rose told him.
"I don't think you want me to tell you this on the dance floor where someone can hear it my dear."
They continued to dance slowly.
"Then, whisper it in my ear. Or tell me in that other way."
"Nah. You don't want me to tell you that here. It will embarrass you." he shook his head.
"I do want you to tell me. Just tell me!"
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes." she demanded.
He cupped her face with his hands and snogged her right there in the middle of the dance floor. They both stopped dancing, not caring who saw them. As he kissed her, spoke in her head.
'Okay, the big secret Rose Tyler is that you are right. I did know where your knickers went. I have them in my pocket and you can't them back until you tell me about this damn paper.'
She leaned back and laughed at him. "You are such an idiot! I can't believe you!"
He laughed at her hysterically. He took her hand and they went back over to the bar. Rose had some wine and the Doctor drank some more of the damn whiskey. Rose sat on a barstool and crossed her legs. The Doctor looked at her and rubbed his beard. Now that he had teased her with it, he couldn't keep her lack of knickers off his mind. Especially, with her sitting right there in front of him without any on. His brain started to short out. She saw him looking at her and smiled at him.
"Oh, I know what's on your mind. You did that to yourself." she laughed at him.
He ran his hands through his hair. "Oh, geez. I need a drink. Howie! What else you got besides this damn whiskey?"
Howie was digging around under the bar. Pete said, "I can make you a Harvey Wallbanger!"
"A Harvey Wallbanger?!" the Doctor said as he laughed and shook his head in disbelief.
Rose laughed at him.
"Yes, Pete. Make me two, please." he said as he continued to laugh.
"What's the deal with a Harvey Wallbanger?" Rose asked him.
Pete handed him the two drinks. And he handed one to Rose. "Remind me to tell you a story about Donna offering me a Harvey Wallbanger. It made me think of that."
Rose raised her glass. "To Donna - "
He smiled, "Indeed! To Donna Noble!"
They drank and then the Doctor asked Pete. "Hear anything about the children?"
He raised up and took his phone out to show them all sitting in the White House theatre. "Jackie said they had just started watching the movie. So, she'll put them all to bed afterwards."
"Here, let me see that phone." the Doctor held out his hand.
"Rose, I'm going to have Jackie text me when she's putting the children to sleep. I think we should be there. Especially for this first night." the Doctor told her.
"I agree." Rose told him.
"Cheers, Pete! I have about an hour to dance with Rose before I have to be upstairs." he handed him back his phone.
"Ah, this will be over in an hour. Then there's the after party. Howie, Jake and me are going to drink up any whiskey that is left over." Pete told him.
"Well, hell. Hide some back there, then." he said as he laughed.
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