Title: Domestic Battleground
Rating: T – not suitable for younger children, because I have a dirty mind.
Summary: The Doctor promised Jackie he'd take Rose back for special occasions. But a whole week with her family? Will he survive, and more importantly, will Rose?
Notes: Day Seven. Final preparations and the marriage. For everyone who said they hoped my Mum was okay – she's doing much, much better. Thank you!
Day Seven
Rose closed the door behind her, muting the sounds of Bella's panicking. She breathed a sigh of relief. She loved her cousin, she truly did, but Bella panicking was something she would always try to avoid at all costs.
She reached a hand up to make sure her hair was still in place, then made her way upstairs to the guest bedroom. The bridal preparations were taking place in Bridget's house because of its size, but she was fairly sure she'd be safe from it upstairs.
Besides, she wanted to see the Doctor in his suit.
She entered the guest bedroom and gaped. The Doctor stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his jacket. He turned as she came in, and grinned at the look on her face.
"Wow," she managed at last. "You…wow."
He barely glanced at her dress. "You look beautiful," he said honestly.
"What, for a human?"
"Just beautiful," he shook his head. He held his hand out. "Come here."
"Don't mess up my hair," she warned, slipping into his arms. She straightened his tie slightly. "God, isn't this dress awful," she moaned.
"Nah." He blew gauze out of his face. "Just…big."
"Big and orange," Rose nodded. She reached a hand up and cupped his cheek. "You should do a suit more often."
"Tell you what, I'll take you to the opera in Paris. I'll have to wear a tux for that." He grinned down at her. "Late eighteen hundreds."
"You just want to see me in a corset," she teased. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to breathe in those things?" She mock-shuddered. "You just like that they push my breasts up."
The Doctor chose, wisely, not to respond to that. Instead he managed to get his arms properly around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss.
She hummed happily into his mouth. "Love you," she whispered when they parted. "God, I love you. Even though you're full of it."
"Well, that's good," he said. "Because I love you, even though you're wearing something that makes the slime creatures of Kassel look handsome."
Rose tilted her head. "Haven't met those."
"No, and you won't, either," the Doctor said. "They eat humanoids." He grinned, his little-boy grin that she loved so much. "I went there once – that was a couple hundred years ago – and almost got eaten. That was –"
"Fantastic," she completed for him, smiling. "I'm sure it was." She grimaced as she heard her mother call her from downstairs. "I'd better…"
"Yeah. Don't want your mum even more mad at me," the Doctor nodded. "I'm just going to – "
"Hide up here," Rose grinned. "Right." She leaned up and kissed him. "I'll come get you when it's time to go. You got something to do?"
He nodded. "Re-reading 'Oliver Twist'."
"Don't read too quick, yeah? I know you." She pulled away and went to the door, then her eyes strayed back to him. She swallowed hard against the lump that had appeared in her throat.
"You alright?" he asked, watching her keenly.
"Yeah," she said, and cleared her throat. "Yeah, fine."
She went downstairs and was caught up in the whirlwind of dresses, jewellery, hair, makeup, and panicking that she supposed accompanied every wedding. The lump in her throat didn't go away.
Rose had always hated wedding music, ever since she was young. She wasn't quite sure why, but she thought it maybe had something to do with the fact that the day they'd buried her father, there had been a wedding going on at the Catholic church down the road.
Bella looked beautiful. Despite her bad choice in bridesmaid's dresses, her own dress was magnificent; a full skirt, a bodice, and sleeves off the shoulder. Cream, rather than white, it highlighted her particular loveliness.
She hugged Rose in the church vestibule.
"Are you alright?" she asked in a low voice, as Julie fussed with her veil. "You're pale as anything."
"Oh, Bella, honestly," Rose said awkwardly. "I should be asking you that."
"I love him, and he loves me," Bella said, smiling bashfully. "I'm so happy, Rose. It's the strangest feeling – as if I were floating."
"You look it," Rose said with feeling. "You're glowing." She clutched Bella's hand. "You're going to be so happy," she predicted.
"Ready?" Izzy asked, shaking out her skirts.
"Never readier," Bella nodded. "Mum?"
Julie nodded, wiping her eyes. "Yeah, I'm good," she nodded. "Let me get in there, get the music started." She cast an eye over the bridesmaids. "Michelle, watch your arm," she instructed. "Oh, Bella…" She gave a watery smile and went into the church.
A moment later the music started up, and the bridal procession started.
Rose caught a glimpse of the Doctor as she walked down the aisle behind her cousin. Whilst everyone else watched Bella, he had eyes only for her. She looked away from him, keeping her eyes forward. She didn't know why, but she couldn't quite think about him at the moment.
She took her seat, Izzy on one side and Michelle on the other, and the ceremony started.
"Who brings this man to marry this woman?" the vicar asked.
"I do," Sam – Julie's husband – said, and stepped back.
"This is the time you have chosen to become husband and wife," the vicar began. Rose blinked. Time. "We are here, not only to witness your commitment to each other, but also to wish you both every happiness in your future life together." Time was a strange thing, part of her mused. "Within its framework of commitment and loyalty," he continued, "marriage enables the establishment of a home, where through trust, patience and respect, the love and affection which you have for each other may develop into a deep and lasting relationship." And he was lasting, she knew. He could last beyond stars, beyond worlds and civilisations. She trusted him, she respected him, she loved him. Would they last? "We who are witnessing your marriage, hope that despite the stresses inevitable in any life your Love, Respect for each other, your trust and understanding of each other will increase your contentment and heighten your joy in living." She hadn't lived before she'd met him, not really. She'd existed in a mundane world, and he'd woken her up. Made her experience things, experience life in a way she'd never believed possible. But would they last?
"Everyday you live," the vicar continued, "learn how to receive love with as much understanding as you give it. Find things within yourself, then you can share them with each other." He shared things with her, and she in turn had taught him to feel again. "Do not fear this love. Have an open heart and a sincere mind. Be sincerely interested in each other's happiness. Be constant and consistent in your love. From this comes security and strength." He was her strength. She couldn't do anything without him anymore. Was that a bad thing? She didn't know. "All that we love deeply becomes a part of us on this day of your marriage. Try to commit yourselves fully and freely to each other." Would they last?
"Before you, Stephen and Bella, are joined in marriage in my presence of these your family, friends and witnesses, I remind you of the serious and binding nature of the relationship you are now about to enter. I shall now ask you to make your marriage vows."
Stephen went first. "Bella, I love you. I knew you were the right one from practically the first time I met you. I love your enthusiasm and your sense of humour and your decency. I am proud and honoured that you love me back. I promise to support you in all things, to be with you for as long as you want me, and to not let your indulge in your chocolate addiction too often." A ripple of laughter went through the church.
Bella smiled. "Stephen. I don't know why I have your love, but I will do my best to live up to the honour you have given me. I will support you always, and love you for the rest of my days."
The vicar smiled. "The rings, please?" Chris handed them to the vicar. "Stephen, will you take Bella to be your lawful wife, will you love her, honour and keep her in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keep only unto her so long as you both shall live?"
"I will," Stephen said solemnly.
The vicar nodded. "And Bella, will you take Stephen to be your lawful husband, will you love him, honour and keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keep only unto him so long as you both shall live?"
Bella smiled. "I will." The vicar held out the Bible with the rings.
"Bella," Stephen intoned, "with this ring, I thee wed."
"Stephen, with this ring, I thee wed."
A ring was like time, Rose thought suddenly. Endless and twisting, constantly starting and stopping and changing.
"As you have consented together to be bound to one another in lawful marriage," the vicar said, "you have made special promises to each other which have been symbolized by the joining of hands, taking of vows and by the giving and receiving of rings. By the authority vested in me, according to the laws of this country, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife." He smiled. "You may kiss the bride," he told Stephen.
Rose looked down at her hands, twisting in her lap. She hated weddings. Sentimental and full of stupid promises that couldn't be kept.
Izzy nudged her, and she stood up with the rest of the congregation, watching as the new husband and wife walked down the aisle and out of the church. People followed them, laughing and smiling. The photographer was waiting outside, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen had to be there too.
Rose gritted her teeth and smiled for the camera and the relatives and the friends. When she caught the bouquet, she smiled some more and let her mother photograph her.
As soon as she could, she pressed the bouquet into Izzy's hands and disappeared back into the church.
Rose wiped angrily at her eyes and sank into the pew in the tiny side chapel. She clenched her fists. "This is stupid," she whispered. "Stupid, stupid."
"Are you alright?"
Rose looked up. It was the vicar. He stood in the doorway, looking compassionately at her.
"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Sorry, was I disturbing you?"
"Not at all," the vicar assured. "You look as though you might need a friendly ear." He moved into the chapel and sat next to her. "It's Rose, isn't it?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm happy for them," she said quickly. "It's not about that, so don't think it is, yeah?"
"Of course," the vicar inclined his head. "May I ask what it is about?"
Rose shrugged slightly. "Dunno, really. Just…weddings." She waved a hand. "Promises of love and faithfulness, and whatever." She shook her head. "Doesn't last. One in three marriages end in divorce, right?"
"That is, sadly, true."
"So what's the point?" she demanded angrily. "I love Bella, and she's happy with Stephen, but what's the point of trying to make a commitment when it might all fall apart?"
"People try not to think about that aspect of it," the vicar said after a moment. "Hope, Rose, is what keeps people wanting weddings. The commitment it shows is part hope that the two participants will have their happily ever after, and part faith that love triumphs. It is the need for the fairytales that we are told as children, and the need for recognition from the world in general."
Rose hugged herself. "But it doesn't work out," she whispered. "People change, they grow apart. Love isn't enough. And if it is, people can die. Accidents happen. There's so much in the way."
"Only if you let it be." The vicar paused. "Are you thinking of someone in particular?" he asked gently.
Rose didn't answer. "I caught the bouquet," she said instead. "M'not superstitious, or anything – I don't believe in those old traditions. But…"
"But those traditions are so deeply part of us, known from our earliest days," the vicar nodded. "Did it distress you, catching the flowers?"
"I guess," she sighed. "It's complicated." She eyed him. "You can't say any of this to anyone else, right? It's private. Confidential?"
"Of course."
Rose took a breath. "There's this guy – I mean, there always is, isn't there? But he's…different. Not like everyone else." She gazed, unseeing, up at the window. "And he's amazing," she confessed in a whisper. "He's like nothing on Earth. He's so passionate about everything he does." She blinked away tears.
"Do you love this man?" the vicar asked gently.
"Yes, of course." It was inconceivable that she didn't. "I'd do anything for him. He's everything." She glanced at the vicar. "That scares me," she admitted.
He nodded. "I can see how it might do. But you obviously don't love him to the exclusion of all over love."
"No," Rose said slowly. "But I'd die for him. I'd kill to save him." She stood and started pacing. "But he's different. Our relationship is different. I only…we only told each other how we feel a few days ago, but we've been travelling together for a couple of years. He's my best friend and my lover and my…guide, I guess, all in one. What if something goes wrong? What if he stops loving me like that and sends me back here?"
"Would that be so truly awful?"
"Yes! This isn't my home anymore, my home is with him!" She stopped. "It'd break my heart. I used to think that was really clichéd, y'know? But it's true."
The vicar watched her, fingers laced together in front of him. "You're worried that he'll leave you. You want some sort of commitment from this man. Have you talked to him about this?"
"No." She bit her lip. "He doesn't do commitment, he doesn't do domestic. This week, staying with my family – it's been hell on him."
"But he did it," the vicar observed. "For you." She nodded. "Is that not a sign of commitment?"
"Yeah, I guess," Rose nodded slowly. "He wouldn't do it for anyone else." She sat down again and smiled wistfully. "But it's not always enough, is it? That's why people get married, have kids." She pressed a hand to her stomach. "I thought I was pregnant," she said. "But I'm not."
"Do you want his child?"
"Yes," Rose said after a moment. "I mean…I wouldn't go out of my way, but…" She closed her eyes and saw herself, heavily pregnant with the Doctor's child. A child with the Doctor's eyes and blond hair and an insatiable curiosity, always wanting to know more, always asking questions of his father…
His father…
A strangled kind of gasp escaped her. Regeneration. She hadn't even thought of it.
"It's never going to work," she realised.
The vicar touched her shoulder gently, then his hand left her to be replaced by a familiar weight that after a moment ran down her arm so he could take her hand.
"You really think that?" he asked, an odd note in his voice. "That we won't work?"
"You're going to change," she reminded him, not looking at him. "You won't really be you anymore. You probably won't even remember me."
"I'll always remember you," the Doctor said harshly. "How could I ever forget the woman I love? I'll love you no matter how many regenerations I go through."
"You can't promise that. Or you shouldn't." She shook her head. "You mean too much to me – as a friend – I can't – " She cut herself off, angrily wiping at her tears.
"Rose…" He crouched down in front of her. "What is it? What's wrong?"
She searched his face, stifling a sob. "I'm scared," she admitted at last. "Scared of the future."
"We'll go to the past."
She had to laugh. "Idiot," she said, clutching at his hand. "I never thought this would happen. Us. You and me. It's odd."
"Good odd?" he asked, watching her carefully.
"Yes," she nodded. "God, I'm sorry. I'm being an emotional twit." She wiped her cheeks dry.
"No, you're not," he contradicted gently. "I'm scared too." He tilted his head. "I'm only scared with you. For you, about you. Of you, sometimes."
"You liar," she snorted, poking his shoulder.
"I am! You can be a right dragon!" He knelt, leant forward, and kissed her gently. He grinned when he pulled back. "I've got an idea," he announced.
Rose's eyes twinkled. "Uh oh."
"Oi! I have very good ideas," he said, pretending to be offended. "You stay here." He left the chapel, only to reappear moments later with the vicar. "Right then. We're getting married."
Rose blinked several times. "Uh…huh…" she said slowly. "Since when?"
"Since now," the Doctor grinned. He patted his pockets. "I'm sure I've got…aha!" He pulled two rings out of his pocket. "Knew I had these with me."
Rose stood up and folded her arms. "Is that what you call a proposal?" she asked, eyebrows raised. The vicar was smiling at her from behind the Doctor. "So sure I'll agree, are you?"
A vulnerable look crossed his face for the barest of moments. "Oh. I didn't think of that." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Um. Will you? Marry me, I mean."
Rose's lips twitched, wanting to tremble with tears rather than laugh. "Forever and always, Doctor?" Always, her eyes asked, even through your regeneration? Even through family visits like this one, even through the days when you'll wish you'd never brought me, even through the days when I nearly get you killed?
"Always," he said with conviction. He turned to the vicar. "Well?"
The vicar smiled broadly. "Very well. Rose, come and stand here." Rose stepped into position. "A brief ceremony, because you will both be needed at the reception." They both nodded. "You have both heard the words traditionally spoken at a wedding, so I shall simply say that in love, you should strive to share all feelings and fears with the other. Differences, be they of opinion or taste, can only make you stronger together." He looked from Rose to the Doctor, then back again. "Do you wish to say individual vows?" he asked.
"Yes." The Doctor turned to Rose. "Rose…I love you. That's never, ever going to change. Ever. I am always going to be there with you, showing you the stars and learning from you. I can't promise a smooth ride, but I can promise it'll be fun." He brushed her cheek with the backs of his fingers, wiping away the last of her tears. "Eternity, Rose."
Rose took a deep breath and looked at their joined hands. "Doctor…God, this is so crazy. You're so crazy." She looked up at him again. "I love you for that. For everything you've shown me and given me. And even though you're a stupid idiot, and really full of it…you're it." She laughed. "God, this is insane. I can't believe I'm doing this." She turned serious again. "Eternity. And I mean it."
The vicar frowned momentarily. "I'm afraid I don't know your name, Doctor," he said apologetically.
Rose and the Doctor looked at each other for a moment, then he gave a faint smile. "Theta," he said to the vicar. "Just Theta."
"Very well. Theta, will you take Rose to be your lawful wife, will you love her, honour and keep her in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keep only unto her so long as you both shall live?"
"I will," the Doctor said at once.
The vicar nodded. "And Rose, will you take Theta to be your lawful husband, will you love him, honour and keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keep only unto him so long as you both shall live?"
"I will," Rose said faintly.
"The rings?" the vicar asked of the Doctor, who handed one over but kept the other.
"Rose," he said softly, "with this ring, I thee wed. For all time."
Rose took the other ring from the vicar. "Doctor…Theta," she corrected herself. "With this ring, I thee wed. For eternity."
"As you have consented together to be bound to one another in lawful marriage," the vicar said, repeating the words of earlier, "you have made special promises to each other which have been symbolized by the joining of hands, taking of vows and by the giving and receiving of rings. By the authority vested in me, according to the laws of this country, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife." He smiled. "You may kiss the –"
He didn't finish; the Doctor swept Rose into his arms, crushing her to him and capturing her mouth with his.
The reception was great; Stephen had rustled up a band from somewhere and they played oldies music most of the time, it being Bella's favourite kind. Rose ate lunch and cake and drank champagne and held the Doctor's hand whenever she could.
She danced with Tim and Josh. Stephen's brothers, Chris and George, spun her around the dance floor once each, and Stephen grabbed her for a dance as well to say how much he appreciated her coming back for the wedding.
Grandpa Mark did a foxtrot with her, and she twirled around with the twins, who were a little giddy, having been allowed a sip of champagne each. She didn't laugh when Andy tried to dance with her, and she solemnly allowed Tommy to stand on her feet.
The Doctor shunned dancing with the elder cousins, but was pulled onto the dance floor by Anna at one point, and Sandra. Michelle approached him and shyly thanked him for the present he'd given her. Grandma Sarah ordered him to dance with her, and he obeyed mostly because of the glint in Grandpa Mark's eyes.
Finally he managed to escape the clutches of the relatives and worked his way over to Rose.
His new wife.
He grinned as she appeared in front of him. "Rose."
She smiled. "Doctor."
"Care to dance?" he asked, holding his hand out.
"With you?" she checked. "Always."
She took his hand and lifted her other hand to his shoulder. His free hand went to her waist, and he took her out onto the dance floor.
"I didn't know you could dance," she said after a moment. She tightened her hold on his hand; the ring he now wore warmed under her touch. "You been keeping secrets, Doctor?"
"A few," he admitted, twirling her around. "For surprises. Nothing bad."
"I know," she nodded, smiling. "I know all your bad points. You always leave your towels on the floor."
"You have a habit of picking up strays," he riposted.
"Your ship hardly ever lands right," she pointed out.
"You spilt tea over one of my books," he noted.
"You love me." She laughed softly. "God, I don't believe it."
"You'd better," he said seriously. "Because I'm not letting you go." He lifted their joined hands, and kissed her knuckles. "My wife," he murmured, low enough that nobody else would hear.
"My husband," she replied in the same soft tone. "Theta." She lifted her hand from his shoulder to cup his cheek; her thumb stroked his cheekbone gently. "Thank you." Thank you for trusting, she said silently. Thank you for loving.
