I feel like I've kept you all waiting for this, so I've tried to make it a bit longer for you to hopefully enjoy.
This would also probably be a good time to check out the prologue to this story "Messages Across Time" as it explains a bit featured at the start of this chapter.
As always, I don't own Doctor Who. I don't think the DVD's or the Funko Pops I own count…
Rose stepped into her bedroom with a smile on her face. She felt so blessed to have the Doctor back in her life. She removed her blue coat and went through its pockets. She still had the controls to the dimension cannon in there. She let out a happy sigh knowing that she would never have to travel like that again. It was absolutely horrible on the body. She tossed it carelessly on top of her desk. She'd dismantle it later.
Returning to her pockets she pulled out a rather interesting souvenir she picked up during her first trip through the dimension cannon. It was a small cube decorated with Gallifreyan writing and a carving of a rose on the top. She smiled at it. Her first trip through and she had found the TARDIS and a future version of the Doctor.
She still didn't know why he gave it to her. But she was given instructions not to let the current version of him know of its existence until the correct time. Up until this point she had complied with his request. She didn't have time to tell the Time Lord version, and there was so much going on with the Human version she decided to put it off until later.
She would tell him tomorrow after they both got a good night's rest.
The Doctor opened his eyes groggily, immediately shut them again and groaned. A sliver of sunshine was peeking through the curtains and directly into his eyes.
'Bloody yellow dwarf star interrupting my sleep!'
Eyes closed, he rolled over so he could no longer see the bright blood red colour through his eyelids took a deep breath and tried to settle back down to sleep. But something was still bothering him.
'What on Earth is that smell?'
He inhaled deeply through his nose and nearly choked. He may no longer have the enhanced senses of a Time Lord, but he didn't need them to know that something smelled absolutely horrible. It was the ripe old smell of humans. And he was the only one in the room.
'Human sweat glands… isn't that wizard…'
A shower later would sort that out. It wasn't the absolute worst smell that he'd ever encountered and could ignore it for now. He still felt very tired and just wanted to sleep. He could finally understand the human predilection for sleep. It was very pleasant. He could get used to doing it on a nightly basis. But his body wasn't quite through with him yet. He tossed and turned a little trying to find a comfortable position and avoid the retina searing light that was aimed at his pillow, but he just couldn't find one. It had a lot to do with the very uncomfortable pressure he felt on his bladder.
As a Time Lord, he had the ability to push aside his physical needs for almost days at a time. His body could filter toxins and waste much more effectively than humans. He didn't even feel hungry or tired as often, although eating was something he did more socially with his human companions and he only slept when he was either bored or was about to fall over with exhaustion.
But now, in a human body the thought of food was making his stomach growl, and thinking about how a Time Lord body could filter toxins was making the pressure on his bladder feel even worse. With speed he didn't think was possible in his still half-asleep state, he jumped out of bed and ran to the en-suite before he found himself in a puddle of his own making.
Now fully awake, and the almost painful pressure gone he glanced at his own reflection in the mirror and nearly recoiled at what he saw. It was the same face he had been wearing for nearly three years, granted his hair was a mess and he was in desperate need of a shave and a wash, but it was still the same face.
No.
He only had this face for about a day.
It was strange now that he thought about it. As a Time Lord, he had regenerated several times already. Eleven times if he was to be precise and counted the face he never talked about and kept hidden deep in his psyche. He didn't even show Rose that one and he trusted her with everything!
But this wasn't a regeneration. Not a normal one anyway. He could get used to a new face, but a borrowed one? The Time Lord would change into a new face eventually, but he would be stuck with this face until the day he died. And with a human lifespan that would be sooner than he liked.
'I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone you…'
He remembered saying those words to Rose long ago, and remembered almost confessing his love for her then. He would still watch her wither, but…
'You can spend the rest of your life with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on, alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords.'
He barked out a laugh that echoed strangely off of the tiled surfaces around him. It was no longer true. Being stuck in a human body that couldn't regenerate and needed such irritating maintenance to just keep going was probably the greatest thing to ever happen to him since the day he met a certain pink and yellow human. The curse was lifted. Sure, one day she would wither and die, but she promised him forever. And even if that forever was only forty or fifty years, so be it. He would happily spend them with Rose if she wanted to, withering along beside her.
He smiled at himself in the mirror. He was human, had only one heart, no TARDIS, sometimes sounded a bit like Donna when he talked, but she still loved him. It was the best feeling in the universe.
He quickly showered and shaved, being mindful of the sideburns he loved so much, brushed his teeth, and styled his hair into its usual sticky-upy manner. He returned to his bedroom and found the white t-shirt and black jeans he acquired from Torchwood (which reminded him that he needed a word with Mr. Peter Alan Tyler sometime that day). The jeans were still clean but the t-shirt had a very unattractive gravy stain on its front. He sighed. Jackie was right, he couldn't go around in the same clothes day after day. He would have to get new ones. But in the meantime he couldn't go around shirtless.
He went over to the wardrobe and found that Mickey had left some clothes behind. Surely no one would mind if he borrowed a shirt from him. There were several t-shirts with pop-culture references printed on them that he didn't understand due to being in a parallel world. He passed those up right away. He found a plain black jumper and settled on it and quickly got dressed. He was just sitting on the edge of his bed lacing up his brand new Converses when there was a knock on the bedroom door.
"Come in!" He didn't look up as he went to tie his other shoe. The door opened and the one who knocked crossed the room without saying a word. The Doctor looked up slightly irritated that whoever it was didn't even say 'hello' before they walked in and was met with a pair of hands lightly gripping his face and soft lips pressing against his. He pulled back to see Rose smiling down at him and his irritation vanished. He stood up and returned the kiss deciding that this was much better than a simple 'hello'.
"Mornin'." He smiled at her after they parted.
"I think you mean 'afternoon'." Rose corrected him. He furrowed his brow and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly 1:00. He blinked. "And you always said I was the sleepyhead." She laughed lightly.
"Well, considering all that happened yesterday I felt entitled to a little sleep. Fighting Daleks and dealing with human biological metacrises is such tiring work." He shot her a mock-frown and she laughed.
"Okay, I'll grant you that. But mum was upset you didn't join us for breakfast. She made banana pancakes and everythin'!" He frowned in earnest this time. "Don't worry, she saved you some." She patted him reassuringly on the arm and realised what he was wearing. "Hold on, isn't this Mickey's shirt?"
"Yeah, had to borrow it. Got a stain on the other one. Didn't think anyone would mind." Rose smiled as she took a few steps away from him and took in his full appearance.
"Y'know if we got you a leather coat, you'd look like…" She gestured at him unsure of how to properly finish that sentence, her smile quickly fading. She turned her face away quickly, hoping he didn't notice.
He did.
He stepped over to her and took her hand in his.
"Rose, look at me." He commanded softly. She looked up at him, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. He stoked her face with his free hand. "I'm still him, remember?" She nodded.
"I know. Sorry. It's just… I kinda miss that version of you sometimes. Is that wrong?" He shook his head and leaned his forehead on hers.
"No. It isn't. I kinda liked being him." He managed the daft old smile that version of him had mastered so well, and Rose couldn't help but smile back. "That's better. A bit of a smile." He laughed before giving her a gentle kiss. Then his stomach growled. Rose pulled away, laughing her head off at him.
"Well, that's one way to ruin the mood…" The Doctor grumbled, causing Rose to laugh even harder. Then before they both knew it they were practically in tears laughing. They didn't notice that someone else had entered the room without knocking.
"Ah, Doctor there you are! I heard you wanted to speak to me." The Doctor registered this as Pete Tyler's voice. His mood switched on a dime and he instantly became the Oncoming Storm. There were no words to describe just how angry he was at the man. And without any words, or much coherent thought, the Doctor punched Pete Tyler directly in the face.
Hehehe. I love a good cliff hanger!
Please review if you like it. It'll motivate me to write even more!
