Fic: Ombres de l'amour
Title: Ombres de l'amour – Shadow's Of Love
Authors' name: Sinéad
Disclaimer: I think you all know Doctor Who isn't mine 'cos believe me if it was, Chris would be filming the next season right about now and I wouldn't be sat in my study, in Ireland, with a packet of chewing gum and six euros eighty in my pocket.
Distribution: Distribute away just let me know where it's going. If you want it, all you have to do is ask.
Category: Drama/angst/romance.
Pairing: Nine/Rose! Yay!
Spoilers: I don't think it'd be wise to read this if you hadn't seen all the episodes so far. Obviously the last couple of episodes aren't going to count. No serious spoilers though, things might just be thrown in now and again.
Rating: PG for the moment.
Summary: She wanted more. Maybe this was her chance. Maybe a weekend away would bring romance or maybe there's something strange lurking?
Authors Notes: Hope you enjoy! This will be a multi-chapter fic so I hope you stay with it. Thank you so much to my brilliant beta Bexi Lexi! Hope the christening goes well. Thank you to all the great comments from everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Sorry this took so long, I've been really busy! This is my first go at a multi-chapter DW fic so all comments will be greatly appreciated…
Chapter Two: Tension Tapissant- Lurking Tension.
As the shock and excitement began to sink in she looked behind her to the TARDIS. The Doctor was leaning against the doorframe wearing a knowing grin. She returned his smile, glancing back towards the entrance of the alleyway and then she met his eyes again.
"When are we?" she asked, not even caring the slightest.
"Round about April 2005." he judged as if he wasn't quite sure.
"Fantastic!" Rose squealed running the short gap between them and pulling him into a tight hug.
The Doctor returned her hug, stroking her hair gently. He smiled. "Oi, that's my word! If I had known I'd be getting this reception I would have brought you here yonks ago..." he trailed off.
Rose pulled away again and twirled around. She couldn't stop smiling, she was literally buzzing in anticipation. She had only been to Paris once before. It'd been on a school trip. She hadn't seen much as she'd been too busy flirting with the lads and trying to sneak glances at her fit maths teacher's bum to notice hardly any of the city. She had thought she'd enjoy Parc Asterix. They had been meant to be at The Louvre however herself, Shireen and Tom Fuller had had the genius plan of fleeing to the amusement park. But after Shireen had gotten sick all over Rose's Mickey Mouse teddy and Tom from the Glenside estate had stolen her candy floss she'd had enough, plus there was the fact they were caught and sent home to a lifetime of detention. To this day she regretted not seeing Paris properly. Well, she thought, now was her chance.
"Come on, let's go!" Rose ordered grabbing the Doctor's hand tightly and beginning to guide him towards the main street.
"Keep your knickers on I've got to lock her up first." the Doctor protested pulling his key out quickly.
Rose sighed in mock exasperation as the Doctor fiddled with the padlock.
"Oh come on the world won't end 'cos I take five seconds to secure our premises." The Doctor joked, grabbing Rose's hand again and guiding them to the end of the laneway.
"Ha-ha, very funny," Rose replied sarcastically skipping by his side to keep up with his long strides, "and it took you eight seconds actually," she retorted sticking her tongue out at him.
As they emerged on to the bustling street, Rose let the bantering come to a stop. She gazed around lost in the crowd of Parisians all going about their daily business. Women dressed in high end couture and designer sunglasses, men in their business suits and briefcases, old lady's walking their poodles and tourists complete with their cameras and guidebooks. The path was swarmed with people and Rose felt as if she and the Doctor were the only ones standing still. The street was packed with shop fronts and cafés and bars. People sat reading the daily newspapers or chatting on their mobile phones, their espressos lying idly on the little spindly marble topped tables. The traffic whizzed by. Rose turned to the Doctor as she spotted a red tour bus slow to a halt o the other side of the street. Pulling him along she made a dash across the street something that was surely near fatal. Luck was on her side however and they weaved in and out of people's paths towards the bus's red doors.
As they reached the bus the Doctor glanced at his companion uncertainly. She nudged him not so gently and he shrugged making his way towards the bus conductor, Rose following closely behind.
"M'excuser, peux-je vous aider?" the bus driver asked.
Rose raised an eyebrow trying to remember her French from school. She never had understood how they spoke so fast, but maybe that was just her. She eyed the Doctor with a "what now?" expression. The Doctor cleared his throat and began to speak.
" Err- Oui, vous remercier. Deux billets pour la tournée s'il vous plaît." he spoke nervously in a scratchy voice handing the bus driver some psychic paper.
He was obviously buying some tickets Rose mused.
They boarded the bus, climbing the stairs to the open air seats. Sitting down towards the front Rose turned to him.
"You never said you could speak French!" Rose accused.
"Well you never asked, did you?" he responded crossing his arms.
"'S not the point, when did you learn? I thought the TARDIS translated languages for us." Rose asked.
"She does but I kind of turned the translator off for when we're on earth. It's a good way of practicing, plus I like getting it wrong sometimes," he said.
"Well you're used to getting it wrong by now I s'pose. Where did you learn though?"
"I won't go into details but there's a lovely barmaid back in the forties who was very friendly." he beamed.
"Oh, I'm sure," Rose replied a pang of jealously hitting her, "you're going to have to translate for me then. Where we heading to?" Rose asked watching the stone buildings and tree lined paths go by.
The Doctor pulled out the red brochure he'd been given by the bus driver. He scanned the colourful guide quickly and placed it in the inside of his leather jacket once more. He looked up at Rose again, "First stop, Notre Dame," he grinned his manic grin.
"Brilliant, a church." Rose replied a little disheartened.
"Oi, I thought you wanted another chance at seeing this place." the Doctor protested.
"How did you know…?" Rose trailed off dismayed. The doctor just winked and displayed his smuggest smile.
"Anyway it's a cathedral not a church," the Doctor corrected her, a superior look on his face.
Rose just elbowed him.
Parks, shops, restaurants and various types of architecture flashed past as the bus moved throughout central Paris. The Doctor had been to Paris many times, it was one of his favourite Earth cities. It was so full of life and no matter how many times you visited there was more to discover and he always left with a promise to return.
The Doctor scanned his surroundings; two Japanese students were busy photographing a passing shop front eagerly to his left. A family of four was taking up the seats towards the back of the bus, the mother with her nose stuck in some guide book or another, the two kids fighting and the father trying to no avail to calm the two down. The Doctor sighed, far too domestic for his liking.
Rose sighed happily and rested her head against his leather clad shoulder. The Doctor couldn't help feeling happier, having her so close. She made him feel like no other person could or would, she made him truly happy. He resisted stroking the hair falling upon his shoulder. The golden strands begged to have his fingers run through them. He bet they'd be silky smooth. Restrain yourself his inner self shouted. He snapped out of it quickly. Rose was a fantastic companion, she was a fantastic friend and there was nothing more to be said about it.
His eyes wondered to the front of the bus, looking for a distraction. Two lovers sat, hand in hand. The dark haired woman was engrossed in the various sites as the bus made its way towards the cathedral. Her partner however, only had eyes for his lover. He supposed he could be misunderstanding the situation, perhaps the couple were just friends but then why was he so certain. He wondered if he and Rose ever looked like the couple in front of him. So many people concluded they were involved, perhaps they gave that impression.
"Snap out of it! We're here, or at least I think we are," Rose's voice shouted loudly, her fingers snapping in front of his face.
"Alright, I'm not a walking zombie or anything, I hear you, no need to shout, stupid little apes always over exaggerating things," the Doctor grunted.
"Well who's being moody, then Doctor?" Rose asked, not waiting for an answer, "Right come on, we have to go see this church place and I want to call Mum, tell her I'm in Paris, she'll be dead jealous!" she ordered.
"It's a cathedral Rose, and we are not calling your mother," the Doctor moaned.
Rose dialled the buttons carefully making sure she didn't make a mistake. This would probably cost her a bomb as it was, not to mention if she messed the call up. She had exchanged some physic paper at the corner's newsagents for some change and was now slotting the euros into the machine, the phone resting in the crook of her shoulder. The ringing tone began and she turned to face the door of the telephone box. The Doctor was resting against the side of the box, just inside the door and wearing an irritated expression. Rose just smirked; her eyes alight and waited for her Mum to pick up.
"Hello?" Jackie bellowed into the phone, loud enough for the Doctor to hear.
"Hiya Mum."
"Rose, where are you, are you safe, are you with him?" her mother asked, flooding her with questions.
"I'm fine Mum; both of us are, me and the Doctor we're on a bit of a break,"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, mouthing 'a break.' Rose giggled quietly, "we're in Paris, mum."
" Paris?" Jackie demanded.
"Yes, y'know capital of France, earth," Rose explained.
"I know where Paris is Rose, I'm not stupid." Jackie spoke snapped.
"Could have fooled me," the Doctor interrupted.
"I heard that." Jackie called from the other end of the phone.
"Enough you two," Rose groaned, waving a hand in protest to the Doctor's grin.
"He wants to get in your pants y'know," Jackie warned.
"Mum, would you stop, the Doctor doesn't think of me that way." Rose spoke abruptly. The Doctor couldn't help but feel a little twang of solemnest.
"Men bring their girlfriends and wives to Paris for one thing. To get some action, a romantic weekend and all that, that's wot that dirty old man of yours is after," Jackie explained.
"I'm not havin' this conversation Mum, the Doctor is not a perve and I'm not his wife or girlfriend so give it a rest, yeah?" Rose barked.
"Whatever you like love, all's I'm sayin' is that I'd make sure he keeps his hands to himself," advised Jackie.
"Fine, look, I'm just telling you that we're here and that we might pop in to see you after, okay?" Rose asked.
"Right, well make sure you do call in, Shireen's bin pestering me for the past week looking for your number and you'll never guess what happened to Trisha Del-"
"Talk to you later, see ya." Rose called into the phone interrupting the start of Jackie's onslaught of gossip and swiftly hanging up.
Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand and urged him towards the gathering throng of tourists heading towards the famous attraction.
"I can't believe you're making us stop off at your mother's after this. I bring you here for a surprise and what do you do? Torture me, make me visit Jackie Tyler." the Doctor complained, his eyes downcast.
"Oh shut it you dirty old man," Rose joked, a smile playing on her lips as she dragged him further up the street to reveal the cathedral in all it's glory.
Rose paused immediately as the Cathedral came into view. Its massive structure overshadowed the courtyard and the throngs of tourists. The detailed stone work and artistic engravings were impressive even from the distance that they were standing from. It may not have been Parc Asterix but it was still impressive.
"Built in 1163, Notre Dame is one of the first and most impressive gothic Cathedrals, of course it's modelled on Kladgasdaraplow's main presidential building but we'll let that go will we?" the Doctor lectured cheerfully.
"S'pose we'll have to won't we," Rose agreed.
"That's the spirit," the Doctor nodded with a smile urging her forwards to join the queue to the front entrance.
It was late afternoon and the place was thronged with tourists. The entry queue was long but time passed quickly as Rose took in the intricate engravings above and beside the doors. They were beautifully carved and she knew they must have taken quite an amount of time to complete.
"Take a good look, they'll be covered in metal by the next millennium, the Doctor whispered in her ear.
She barely heard him though, his lips were brushing the wisps of hair that had escaped her ponytail and just those mere whispers were having a rather unusual effect on her. She had little time to contemplate this feeling however as the Doctor ushered her inside the cathedral.
The Doctor could not help but stare. He had been here many times, the cathedral itself had no effect on him however impressive it was it was nothing compared to Rose. The candle lit aisles enhanced her beautiful face, the light dancing merrily at her expression of awe and wonder. Her face was tilted slightly as she gazed upon the stained glass window. The Doctor's mind was racing, and yet everything else seemed to be standing still. All other passer bys seemed to fade away. Only he and Rose were left. He tried to pull his thoughts together to lecture her on the fact that the window she was looking upon was in fact the South Rose window, that it was one of the few stained glass windows to still retain its original glass. He tried to shake the feeling of closeness, of tension off. He'd always felt a connection to Rose before, nothing ever as intense as this though.
Rose could feel the Doctor's breath caress the back of her bare neck. She was lost in a trance. Her eyes were focused on the window before her, yet all she could concentrate on was the Doctor's presence behind her. It wasn't the proximity, they had always been close; it was something else. She could almost feel him next to her and still he wasn't touching her. Light skips of heat ran down her spine, she longed for him to close the gap between them, to interrupt this bizarre stirring, this awareness, which she was experiencing.
A dark shadow of cloud crossed the air. The other tourists explored the holy place unknowing. Mothers and children posed while their over enthusiastic fathers snapped photos. Pilgrims knelt praying to God for their special needs or thanks. Art enthusiasts mulled over the various sculptures and paintings, and the Doctor and Rose stood there in a trance all having no idea of what at that exact moment was going on right over their very heads.
A scaly crippled figure hovered watching the couple excitedly. His disfigured mouth curved into a twisted smile. He rubbed his long curved hands eagerly as he set his eyes upon his victims. He had been waiting a long time for this, a long time for freedom. If and when this plan was complete he would be released, limitless and untamed. He could almost taste the sweet flavour of freedom on his skeletal, chapped lips. Yes, he agreed to himself, this couple were finally his much awaited ticket to liberty.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked it! Good or bad? I love a response.