2022 Tropes & Fandoms event - Trope: Confessions


Bargain Shopping

The Doctor cared for Rose. There was no doubt about that. However, he also knew that there was just no hope for them. She was simply too young…too innocent in the ways of the universe…for a damaged old soldier like him. Not only that, but she was a human…and her species was so short-lived that a relationship with her could never last…no matter how much he might want it to.

It would all have to end painfully - in one way or the other. Therefore, he rationalized that it was simply better to never let it start. Consequently, he just could not admit…not even to himself…how he truly felt about her…about how his hearts beat just for her and how they had done so practically ever since the day he had met her.

Therefore…instead of giving her the words…he gave vent to those buried feelings instead by trying to do all of the little things that seemed to please her. In fact, it was one of the reasons why he took great pleasure in introducing her to as many of the interesting marketplaces that were scattered across time and space as he could manage between their more arduous adventures.

After all, Rose really liked to shop…and the Doctor really liked Rose. Therefore, it was a win/win situation for them both!

...

On their current trip to the famed bazaar on Exaltis Six, however, Rose had broken Rule #1 almost immediately when the Doctor stopped to browse a table of ship parts for anything that might be of use on the TARDIS. He had simply looked down for moment, and then when he looked back up again, she was gone!

The Doctor mumbled and grumbled to himself as he went in search of his jeopardy-friendly companion while he also tried to ignore the feeling of increasing panic that swelled up inside of him. He knew that Rose might just have been distracted by something pretty at a stall or she had simply met up with Harkness (who had taken off the moment they had landed in search of a drink and, hopefully, a dance partner...or two...with whom to share it). However, he also knew that the woman could just as easily be lost or possibly scared and hurt. She could even have been abducted. After all, they had experienced some close calls before with that – especially in areas of the universe where humans were a novelty.

Consequently, his relief was great when he finally caught a glimpse of her signature blonde hair with darkened roots at a nearby stall that sold spaceship parts.

What's she doin' in there? he wondered to himself, though, until the logical explanation came to him. Probably lookin' for me, he rationalized.

As he approached her from behind, however, he felt an increasingly strange pull towards her that was centered in the core of his being. He tried to ignore it, though - especially since being near Rose often made him feel in ways he normally did not - as he reached out to tap his wayward companion on the shoulder.

"Rose! There you are!" he exclaimed, instead. "What did I tell ya 'bout Rule #1?" Nevertheless, the minute he touched her that weird feeling inside of him practically exploded as it burst forth...and he suddenly realized why in the instant that the woman he mistakenly thought was Rose turned around and faced him.

"Not Rose...as you can see...but I do admit I think she inspired the hair this time around," the woman said. She then looked him up and down carefully. "Rule #1, though, huh? I think I remember that one…for you…meant Don't wander off! The numbers have changed a bit since your day...but you'll be interested to know that she still breaks that one with regularity." She paused to grin, but the look turned thoughtful again before she continued. "Funny, though...I don't remember this happening at all."

The Doctor was so surprised at the sight of the woman that he barely heard what she said, however. After all, the connection between them once they had experienced physical contact was undeniable...and even though it had been quite a long while since the last time it had happened...the Doctor realized that he was indeed currently in the presence of himself. Without a doubt, it was a future regeneration, as well, because he knew that he certainly would have remembered if he had ever looked like that! Therefore, he just grabbed the woman's hand to pull her around to the back of the stall for a bit of privacy.

"Ah! This is…unexpected." The male Doctor muttered truthfully when he finally found his voice again. Meanwhile, he stepped back and let his eyes slip downwards to immediately register the obvious differences between his current body and that of the one belonging to his future self.

"Tell me about it!" The female Doctor chirped cheerfully, however, as she bounced on her heels. "Just imagine how I felt after regeneration!"

"But when…" the male Doctor started to ask before he was interrupted by another very familiar voice.

"Well...look at that...I have finally found the best bargain at the market today…two Doctors for the price of one!" The amusement was obvious in her voice when the woman that he had been searching for finally came into view from around the edge of the stall. "I knew I recognized this place," she added. "Now I see why!"

"Rose!" the male Doctor exclaimed as soon as he saw her. "Where have you been? How did ya know..." He gestured towards his future female self but his questions tapered off as he got a closer look at the woman in question.

"You're not my Rose!" he marveled, astonished at the sight of the woman before him. She was definitely Rose Tyler…but it was clear that she was not the Rose with whom he currently traveled. Even though she had the same face, the same hairstyle, and seemed to be about the same age, this Rose was different, somehow...all lean, gorgeous, and golden...

The newcomer flashed his favorite tongue-touched smile at him before she glanced hopefully over at the other Doctor who shrugged and nodded slightly with a knowing smile of her own. That was all it took for Rose to jump into the male Doctor's arms.

"I'll always be your Rose," she told him emphatically, "and you'll always be my Doctor...no matter what face or body you wear!"

"Ah!" That Doctor exclaimed again with sudden understanding. "So I've regenerated again, have I? Bound to happen that – especially with the kinds of trouble I...we...get into, huh?" He smiled sheepishly down at the woman in his arms...a place that his Rose had so rarely ever been, simply because he could not trust himself when she was there. Usually he forced himself to be content with simply holding her hand, but this was obviously a special circumstance…and it felt so wonderful to finally give in to the temptation to hold her! "Bit of a surprise for you, though, I imagine. Glad you stayed with the next Me, anyway…despite the change." He glanced over at the female Doctor who, for some reason, grinned merrily at him...and he could not help but to wonder what the joke was.

Rose brought his attention back to her immediately, though, as she shrieked and pulled away just far enough to punch him on the arm. "A bit of a surprise? You could say that, you git! Some warning would've been nice!" However, her special tongue-touched smile immediately returned and she snuggled back into his chest. "Oh, how I have missed this You, though, Doctor. After all, we never really got a chance to say goodbye, you know. You just babbled on about having two heads and dogs with no noses before you burst into golden flames."

The Doctor just swallowed hard at the feeling of self-recrimination that her words had awakened. In fact, he had been wondering a lot lately if he should tell her about regeneration – especially once he created Emergency Program One for her after the incident with the Dalek down in Van Statten's bunker. Apparently, he had not done so, however, and time had run out for his current body. He still allowed himself to pull the woman a little closer, though.

"Sorry 'bout that," he murmured into her hair.

"It's okay…now," she reassured him and her smile grew wider. "After all, I've had time to adjust. It helped that the next You was quite the pretty boy, you know…had really great hair!"

"Wait...a pretty boy?" The Doctor pulled away a bit in confusion. "But what about...?" His voice trailed off as he stared at the female Doctor as he finally realized what the punchline to that joke apparently was and his eyes immediately snapped back to Rose.

"Since we all know that you're goin' have to forget all of this anyway...in order to protect the timelines...I'll tell you a little secret," Rose teased when she saw the obvious question in his eyes. "Not only is she not your next incarnation, she's not the one after that, either." Rose paused to grin again before she added, "…nor even the one after that!"

With sudden understanding, the Doctor looked down at the future Rose in his arms with shock. "What?" he roared. "How's that even possible?" he demanded. He did not push her away, though…not even in his sudden desperate search for the truth. In fact, he held onto her even more securely with one arm while the other hand reached for the sonic screwdriver in his pocket. Then he thoroughly scanned the woman who humored him by standing there patiently while he read the results.

"These measurements are off the scale!" he exclaimed incredulously. "You're not even registering as human anymore. Rose, what did you do?" His voice broke a little at the final question and he pulled her roughly back against his chest as if to protect her from whatever the future obviously had in store for her.

"I only did what I had to do in order to save, you, my Doctor," she replied with a murmur against his leather jacket before she looked up and he could clearly see the moment her eyes flashed gold. "However, I've never regretted it…not even for a minute – especially since it eventually allowed me all the time I needed to be with you…here and now…and always."

He stared down at her with wonder and hope in his eyes as the actual meaning behind her words became clear. "Yes, it's all true!" she assured him as she laughed a little and reached up to pat his cheek before she continued to speak. "Now…if I remember all of this correctly…after all, it has been a while for me…your current Rose is a few stalls down on the right. She is admiring a beautiful pendant because it reminds her of you. You're going to buy it for her and she is going to treasure it always."

With those words, the woman's hand traced the chain around her neck before it slipped down into her shirt momentarily and emerged with a delicately wrought replica of the Milky Way galaxy. The Doctor's eyes were immediately drawn to the other item she had hanging from that chain, though. It was the TARDIS key that he clearly remembered giving her not so very long ago…in his current timeline, at least…to reassure her that he would never leave her.

"Wanna hear one more confession?" Rose asked when she realized what he was looking at. "The Old Girl doesn't even require a key anymore. I just like to carry this one around because it also reminds me of my very first Doctor...the first one to save my life and to give me all of Time and Space. The first one I fell in love with..."

She giggled then a little at the incredulous look on his face as she leaned in and did what she had always wanted to do. She kissed her first Doctor, slowly and thoroughly, until the woman behind them cleared her throat.

"I believe that's quite enough, you two," she said in a voice that was torn between amusement and strain.

Rose reluctantly pulled away a bit and leaned her forehead against his as she grinned at the sound of the other Doctor's conflicting emotions. "You still get jealous, by the way…even of yourself. I think it's cute."

"You mean that you two..." the Doctor looked between the two women and understanding finally dawned in his eyes and the hope there burned even stronger. "That we...?"

"Yes! We!" Rose replied cheerfully before her smile faded a bit. "It will take us a while, though...and the path is not always smooth...we even get separated for a time or two...and there are also quite a few annoyingly Fixed Points to navigate around along the way...but we do get there, Doctor, I promise." Her smile returned full force. "And let me tell you something, our forever is definitely worth the wait. Therefore, don't ever doubt what your Rose...what I...feel for you…or what you feel for me!"

This time the Doctor was the one who gave into his feelings. "Oh, Rose!" he groaned as he pulled the most amazing woman in the universe back close in order to kiss her again…even while his future incarnation just sighed and looked on with an ironic sort of impatient resignation. When they finally parted, though, Rose pulled slowly and reluctantly out of his arms, even as she moved back to the other Doctor who eagerly accepted her embrace. This time, it was her first Doctor whose eyes flashed in envy.

Rose smiled…albeit a bit regretfully at the sight. "Go to her, now," she still told him, however, confident of the welcome awaiting him within his companion's heart. "She's waiting for you."

The Doctor nodded in understanding and…with one last longing look back at the future Rose who stood in the circle of his future self's arms…he turned abruptly and walked away. With each step, however, his memory of the unusual and enlightening encounter faded away and it was gone completely by the time he was out of their sight. He was, however, for some reason he could not quite explain, filled with a sense of fresh hope and overwhelmed with the desire to find his Rose immediately - especially when he suddenly realized he even knew exactly where she was.

...

"Ah…there it is!" her current Doctor suddenly exclaimed as the memory from that particular day…when she had worn that body…suddenly returned to her. Rose looked at her a bit strangely, so she explained. "I remember now. I was so miserable back then…having to walk away from you, you know, but I was also suddenly so hopeful…more so than I had been in a very long time…ever since the Time War. I could not wait to get back to my version of you and buy that necklace." She reached down to touch the item that still hung on the outside of Rose's clothing from where she had showed it to the former Doctor. "I'm so glad that you kept it all of this time…through our separations…through everything."

"Of course, I did!" Rose countered. "After all, it was all I had left of you when I was stuck in Pete's World...and when I was crossing dimensions to find you." The women rested their matching heads together as they both thought of the pain that separation had brought to them…as well as the consequent joy of their eventual reunion.

The Doctor was the first to move as her manic cheerfulness returned and she started to bounce on her heels again. "Well then, what d'ya say we call it a day, head back to the TARDIS, and go pick up the Fam now? After all, we were just supposed to be gone for a bit o' bargain shopping and there's no tellin' what kind of trouble Yaz and Harkness have been up to in Sheffield since we left."

Rose nodded her agreement with the assessment of their trouble magnet friends…until a thought suddenly struck her. "Jack!" she exclaimed. "We should have told him about Jack!"

"And let him know that it's your fault we're stuck with the Immortal Flirt forever?" The Doctor shook her head. "Nah, that Me has had his heart broken enough for one day."

Even though the thought was bittersweet, Rose just could not stop the urge to laugh at the Doctor's joke, anyway...especially since it was at Jack's expense…and she knew very well that the Doctor loved the man as much as she did...despite the Time wrongness that was indeed her fault, but for which Jack had forgiven her long ago. Now, the three of them were in it together for the long haul - especially since the man had been such a good friend to them both.

At any rate, all joking aside, Rose also found that she could not deny herself the kiss she simply had to give to the current version of the alien she had loved since she was a nineteen year old shop girl.

After all, Rose knew that she would always love and be loved by her Doctor…no matter what body he…or she…was in!