CHAPTER THREE
The trip into London was peaceful enough. Rose had acquired her own car and had driven them to an area where they could walk to several different shops. Being partial to suits, the Doctor had asked if Rose knew of a good tailor where he could have one or two things fitted. She had laughed as he'd picked out a dark suit with light blue pinstripes.
"You've got one like that, haven't you?"
"Had one," he corrected. "What I've got on is all I've got now. Why? Don't you like pinstripes?"
"They're brilliant," she smirked, teasingly.
"What do you like then?"
"I'm kidding, you stupid git."
"Resorting to name calling, have you? You think you know a person…" he teased as he looked at several other colors and patterns for suits.
"I like the brown one," Rose offered, picking up the sleeve a light brown suit with even lighter brown pinstripes. "And it's got stripes."
He smiled at her and had the tailor order up the brown with pinstripes as well. With the order in—ready in a week's time—and the Doctor all measured up, the pair left the tailor's shop hand in hand.
"Do you ever wear casual clothes? Jumpers? T-Shirts? Denims?"
"I have. I suppose I could do with a pair of casuals. Can't wear a suit all the time." He teased with a smirk, as he had-mostly-done just that in his time as the Doctor.
"Come on, I get to pick this lot." She tugged his hand as she moved faster through the crowd on the street. She took him to a small outlet with name brand clothing, graphic tees, hoodies and pullovers, and all types of denims imaginable. She'd gone through the store, picking out shirts and pants and piling them in his arms as they went.
"You've done this once or twice." He noted how she seemed to know his size and what he might find stylish for casual clothes. He was impressed.
"I worked in a shop before, remember?" She commented, still plucking items off racks and shelves. "I used to help people pick out clothes all the time."
She shoved him into the dressing room, sneaking in with him before the attendant caught them. His ears went pink again. "I'm not changing clothes with you here."
"Why? You're not shy are you?" She teased, her eyes automatically traveling down his torso to the front of his pants. Her eyebrow quirked up before she met his eyes again. His blush deepened.
"No… but…well…" He'd never been concerned about nudity before, and wasn't quite sure why he was now. It was natural, after all. All creatures were born naked.
She laughed softly, interrupting his thoughts, and picked a pair of denims and a tee from the pile he'd placed on the dressing room bench. "Here, put these on. I'll turn around until your done."
It took nearly an hour of trying on clothes before he and Rose agreed on 3 different pairs of jeans, a handful of shirts of varying sleeve length, and one grey hoodie with Fitch across the chest. They made their way to the another store where Rose let him pick out boxers, pajamas, and socks, then finally to a shoe store where he spotted his favored chucks. He settled on a pair of white low tops and black high tops after having marveled at the various colors, designs and patterns.
"I'm starved," Rose said as they left the store, their hands filled with packages and bags. "Let's stop by the car to drop these off, then grab a bite to eat, yeah?"
"Sure," he replied, having more fun shopping with her than he thought he might, though he still felt guilty that he wasn't able to pay for anything. They passed a shop with eyewear and he paused, looking at one of the displays. "Think I should get a pair of glasses? The other Doctor and I have the same eyesight, and he's got the glasses."
They popped in and—knowing his prescription right off—he told the woman behind the counter what he wanted. She led him over to a glass case where he found a pair of frames similar to the ones his counterpart currently had. The woman smiled as he tried them on.
"You look quite smart in that pair," she told him. "We could have them ready within the hour if you want to wait."
"We'll just pop back by if that's alright?"
The woman nodded and disappeared and the two finally made it back to the car to leave their purchases.
"God, I want some chips." Rose said.
The doctor couldn't help but smile. Rose had always loved chips, they were her favorite food and anytime they'd come to Earth, it was one of the first stops she made. They found a cozy little place that served mainly fish or hamburgers, and of course chips, and settled down at a table on the patio. It was warmer here than it had been in Dårlig Ulv Stranden. Rose sipped a diet soda while he had tea.
"So, you really can't tell me your name?" She asked after their chips arrived.
He picked one up, biting into it before answering. "What is it with humans and names? Even Shakespeare wondered 'what's in a name?'"
"It's how we identify each other, it's something unique to all of us. We've all got a first, middle and last name."
"What's your middle name, Rose Tyler?" The Doctor asked, not remembering just then if he'd ever heard it.
"Not until you tell me at least part of your name."
He sighed and looked at her steadily for a long minute as she chewed on a chip. "Give me a pen."
"What?"
"A pen, I'll write it down. It doesn't translate well into English and if I do, you'll want to see it written to understand. Gallifrey's language is based in mathematics, therefore our names are mathematical."
Rose quickly reached into her small bag and pulled out a pen. The Doctor plucked a paper napkin from the holder on the table and laid it between them as he wrote out his name: ϑ³∑x².
"I wouldn't know where to begin to know how to pronounce that." Rose admitted after staring at it for a moment."
"In English, it's Theta Power-Three Sigma Ex Power-Two. In Gallifreyan it's actually pronounced de Lœngbærrow." He spoke it quickly, slamming his eyes shut as he did it, afraid of what would happen now that he'd spoken it. After a moment, when nothing happened, he opened one eye and looked at her. She was gawking at him.
"Can you say that again…slower this time?"
"Chrístõ-davõreen-diamondhært-mallõup-dracœ-fire-delún-miancuimhne de Lœngbærrow," he said slower. "Most of my friends at university called me Theta Sigma, or Thete. Hardly anyone called me Chrístõ. Of course, when I left Gallifrey, I gave all of that up and became The Doctor."
"Chrístõ," Rose said softly. "I think it's beautiful. Would it be alright if I called you Thete? I'll have to practice saying it in Gallifreyan. You might have to write that down as well."
He felt a well of emotion in his heart. It had been so long since anyone had said his name, had acknowledged him as anything but The Doctor. A lump formed in his throat and he could only nod in response.
"de Lœngbærrow," Rose repeated curiously, dribbing vinegar on a chip before popping it into her mouth. "Is that like a last name or somethin'?"
"There's no real first, middle, or surname for Gallifreyans. It's more a…designation, just like Britain assigns you a National Health Service Number. Well, since Gallifreyan is based on numbers, our identification numbers are our names." He pointed at the paper with his name. "Think of the Greek Alphabet—Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Zi, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi, Omega— Each of our designations has two letters of the alphabet. For me, Theta and Sigma. Everything is based off of the cycle we're born in. Earth has 12 months in a year. Gallifrey has 24—what you would call—months, that correspond with the Greek alphabet. Each month has 6 cycles. I was born in the third cycle of Theta: ϑ³. The second letter represents how many births there were that month. So ∑x² means that they had gone from Alpha to Omega once already, and had come back around to Sigma again when I was born."
He took a sip of tea to wet his throat. "de Lœngbærrow denotes the Gallifreyan year that I was born."
"What happens if two babies are born at the same time?"
The Doctor considered this for a moment. "I dunno, it's never happened before, but I'm sure they'd find an equation for it."
"But why did Gallifrey use the Greek alphabet?"
"Well, they didn't always. There are two ancient languages in Gallifrey—Old High and Old Low Gallifreyan. Old High Gallifreyan had—oh, I dunno—somewhere around 10,000,000 letters and characters. They adopted a shorter Omegabet that was considered Modern Gallifreyan and it consisted of only about 1,000,000 characters. This language was more mathematical than alphabetical but it wasn't considered very practical by a lot of people. You've seen the symbols on the navigation screen in the TARDIS? Those are Modern Gallifreyan. It wasn't until the Greek mathematician Diophantus started making advances with algebraic equations, that our Senate realized it was the perfect marriage between the alpha and omegabet, and adopted it. The Time Lords have always had a great interest in the Earth." He smiled softly at her.
"It's no wonder you're as clever as you are. A whole world based in mathematics. I can barely figure up how much I'm saving when I see a 20% off sale sign in a shop."
The Doctor laughed, looking at her with a loving expression. "Ah, but there's more cleverness to you than mathematics, Rose Tyler. And you still haven't told me your middle name."
"Marion," she smiled, pleased that she finally knew the Doctor's name.
"Rose Marion Tyler," he smiled back at her as they finished their chips.
-
After a quick stop by the market to pick up toiletries, the pair finally made it back to the Powell Estate. Jackie had come out to help them carry in packages, her eyes nearly popping at all the sacks.
"I hope you left something for the other shoppers out there," she teased.
"He needed everything, Mum," Rose replied as they carried things up to the spare bedroom that would be the Doctor's. The pair of them collapsed on the bed, exhausted once again from their trek around London shops. Jackie shook her head at them.
"Look at you lot, worn plum out. Dinner's ready soon; wash up and leave this here. I'll have the ladies come up and sort it out."
The Doctor fell back on the bed as Jackie left, pushing a shoe box out from under his head. "I wish she wouldn't waste the servants on me, I can take care of myself."
"Mum's gotten used to having them around," Rose replied as she laid down next to him, resting her head on his chest. "I think she feels like they should be doing things in order to earn their pay."
He tucked his arm around her shoulders, sighing softly and closing his eyes. Rose fidgeted with the lapel on his jacket. "Do you think you'll be happy here?" Her voice was quiet and worried.
"With you? Absolutely."
"Not just with me, but…being human. On Earth. Without the TARDIS. I remember what it was like when I came here, knowing I couldn't travel again with you, never see the wonderful places out there in the universe… It was awful…and you've been doing it for 900 years."
"Well, not quite 900," the Doctor said softly. "But you have to remember Rose, this is completely new for me. A new Earth, new history, new people. There's so much to learn here, and I can do it all with you. The question is…can you be happy with me? I'm not him, I don't even know how much of my Time Lord essence is left, or how that effects me now…if it even matters at all."
Rose didn't answer him verbally, instead she rolled over, maneuvering her body so that she was straddling his hips, her hands braced against the mattress on either side of his head as she leaned down and kissed him deeply. After a long moment, she pulled back and looked at him. "Does that answer your question?"
-
It wasn't particularly late when everyone had gone off to bed. He'd taken the time to have a shower and a shave after he and Rose had bade each other goodnight and parted ways. Lying alone in the guest bed, with the house completely still and quiet, gave the Doctor time alone with his thoughts…which were turning gloomier by the second.
He missed the sound of the TARDIS, the constant hum of it in his veins. He missed Sarah Jane, Donna Noble, Martha Jones and good ol' Captain Jack Harkness. He even missed Mickey and Wilf Mott. He'd never see any of them again. He'd never visit a new planet, meet a new species, save a new civilization, have a new adventure. He'd told Rose he'd be happy, but now he really found himself wondering. The Doctor could have left him and Rose in the same universe as the others, why hadn't he? He could have taken Jackie back home to Pete...sure Rose would never see them again, but they'd still be among friends.
The Doctor realized how completely selfish that thought was, but part of him didn't care. Here, he had Rose...but if she grew tired of him, if she couldn't accept him as a human after all, then where would they be? He'd have nobody. He'd be alone on an alien planet with no friends, no money, no way off. At least, if nothing else, he'd eventually die, but that was a grim outcome at best. He remembered Sarah Jane telling him how awful it was to be left behind after getting a taste of what was out there. He'd always been sorry about that—truly he had—but now he was the one who had been left behind by the Doctor and it hurt. It really hurt.
There was soft knock at the door before it was pushed open. His eyes had adjusted in the darkness enough to see Rose's blonde head poke in. "You still awake?" She whispered loudly.
"Yeah," he replied softly, shifting over to one side and pulling the covers back in invitation to her. "Can't sleep?"
"No." She admitted as she shut the door behind her and crawled into his bed. "You?"
"No." He agreed, then hesitantly, "Rose, I really am so sorry if I ever made you feel like I was leaving you behind. I'd gotten so used to my companions coming and going that it just became normal. I stopped considering how they might feel about it."
"To be fair, you didn't have a choice with me. Neither of us wanted it to happen, but…" her hands found him in the dark and she pulled herself closer, curling into his body. "At least I found you again. I'm never letting you go."
"I don't want you to." He replied softly, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her temple.
"Tell me again," she said softly. "The way the sentence was going to end."
He turned on his side, looking at her in the dark. Her eyes had finally adjusted as she looked at him, breathing heavily and waiting his response.
Echoing her own muted tones, the Doctor leaned in closer, whispering, "I love you."
A smile broke out on Rose's face and she closed the remaining distance between them, pressing her lips to his. His hands found her body beneath the sheets, and he pulled her flush against him as he happily returned the kiss. She tasted of mint toothpaste and cherry lip-gloss and for a moment he thought perhaps it was the most wonderful flavor combination ever.
Pulling back from the kiss, Rose asked a question that had been on her mind for a while. "That girl…Martha Jones…when I told her who I was…you told the others about me?"
"Oh yes."
"But, you've never mentioned anyone before. Not even Sarah Jane."
"I've never loved anyone as much as I love you, Rose. No one."
"What about your wife back on Gallifrey?"
He hesitated for a long moment, but softly shook his head. "I loved her, of course, but what I feel for you scares me. I never cleared your stuff out of the TARDIS. I moved it to my room so that no one would touch it."
She smiled softly, her eyes watering. "And all this time, I though you didn't fancy me."
"Oh, Rose Tyler, I've probably fancied you too much, right from the moment I told you to run."
She laughed softly and he grinned. Rose tucked herself against the crook of his arm, closing her eyes. "Tell me about Gallifrey."
He was caught off guard by the question, but then had a thought. He moved so that he was laying on his side, facing her. "I don't know if this will work, but I can try to show you…if you want?"
"Show me?" She looked at him quizzically. "How?"
"Time Lords have the ability to see into people's minds. See their thoughts. I never believed that it could go both ways with someone who wasn't telepathic, but it happened once, with Madame de Pompadour. I'm not even sure I can do, being human and all, but I could try."
"What do I need to do?" Rose asked, anxious.
"Just…trust me," he said as he placed his fingers along her temple and looked deep in her eyes, concentrating. As a Time Lord, this only required minimal effort, but now he was only part Time Lord, and it took a great deal of effort.
A door once opened… Madame de Pompadour had told him.
He could see into Rose's mind, hear her thoughts as if they were his own.
"Oh my God," she said softly, her voice shaking slightly. "I can feel you in my head."
"If it gets unpleasant, I can stop." He told her with great seriousness.
"No," She said almost too quickly, as if he'd threatened to take away something of great joy to her. "Please, don't."
"Try and step into my mind, think of it as a doorway." He told her, still not truly understanding how Rennette had done it, but after a few moments, he could feel Rose…just there. It was almost overwhelming at how intimate having her in his mind felt. She was gentle, ever so careful, her thoughts like a gentle caress to his weary mind. He shivered involuntarily, almost unable to hold the connection open. After a long moment to recompose his thoughts, he began to think of Gallifrey—the organge-yellow planet he called home. He thought of the burnt orange skies at night, the silver-leafed trees that tinkled like wind chimes in the breeze, the deep-red grass and snow covered mountains. He thought of the twin suns and the copper moon. He thought of his childhood home on the mountain side, remembering how he used to run down the side of the mountain, amazed by the rich reds and purples and golds of the rocks. He thought of the Flutterwings and Tafelshrews, the dome-covered citadel and Mount Perdition.
"It's so beautiful." Rose said, tears running down her face. After a moment's consideration, the Doctor showed Rose the memories of his past life-his days at university, his parents, wife, children, grandchildren, and... A sharp pain in his temple severed the connection. Rose gasped and looked at him, obviously having felt the stab of pain as well.
"What happened?"
"Oh, hello…" the Doctor said, a bit startled, as he rubbed the side of his head. "That's new."
"What?" She asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"
"Never gotten a headache from doing that before. Guess I still have a few abilities left, but this human shell doesn't have the tolerance for them."
Rose pressed a gentle kiss to his temple. "Thank you for showing me."
He closed his eyes, genuinely exhausted mentally and physically. "I'm glad I could." He admitted sleepily. Rose settled back in against him and the pair quickly drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note: The Doctor's name is all based on speculation and popular theory. His name has been shown as ∂³∑x² , however ∂ is the Greek letter for Delta. I have corrected the name to show Theta instead in this fic (ϑ³∑x²). My theory on how they are named is purely my own speculation and thoughts.