I want to thank my amazing, great, wonderful Beta batistaangel15 shes great you guys really.
Ok guys I am sorry for the wait I had a huge tecnical problem at my house, my laptop bit the dust vie energy drink it killed my mother board. and my kindle died the same day it was a sad week for electronics. but I am back up and running got a new computer and a new kindle life is good.
So side note took my 9 year old to her first comic con 2 weeks ago she loved it. we got to meet John Bowerman aka Jack Harkness he was great with her got his Autograph and a photo with him and went to his Q and A. we will be going back in june again and this time we get 12 claira and missy. so happy.
Thanks to everybody who has read and reviewed followed and favorited my story, Once again I am sorry for the wait you should not have to wait long now. I am hoping to do a chapter every week or every two weeks. it just depends on how tired I am with work. but spring brake is in a week.
Allons-y
The Doctor remained frozen in place, his hearts still rested in his chest, barely beating. He finally regained his breath again but he could not help himself as his eyes were locked tightly on the single word inscribed on Rose's skin above her heart. Run. No image to go along with it, no additional words or phrases, nothing else.
A burst of warmth spread inside of him the longer he stared at the black ink, the double rhythm of his hearts reanimating. It was their one word, their special action that was the beginning of their many adventures together across the universes. It carried so much weight with only three simple letters, and she had wanted it to be with her forever, wherever she went. He felt so giddy for some reason. Yes, he was joyful at the sight before him to see how much she really cared about him to actually have something sentimental etched onto her body for the rest of her life, something so meaningful to keep close to her heart—literally. But then again, along with that shred of happiness, came the adjoining partner that was his grief.
It pained him when he imagined everything that his poor Rose had gone through in her time in the parallel world without him, all of the agony and heartbreak that she went through. The gravity of that single word was a symbol how she felt about him, how much she deeply cared about him, and that was what made it hurt even more. He did not know when she exactly had gotten the tattoo, But the one thing he was certain about was that her body had not willed it away or healed the skin around the word as it had done with the rest of her injuries. Well, there was another thing. He would bet that the emotional turmoil that she suffered from being left in that parallel world most likely hurt more than the tattoo itself.
How was he supposed to react? He was completely speechless, really. Should he ask her about it? Compliment her? No, no, he could not do either of those so soon. Although he noted how he has yet to even make a movement since he discovered it in the middle of what has been their most passionate exchange thus far. Before he knew it he noticed that Rose had not said anything either. She seemed frozen as well, unable to get a word out or respond. She was catching her breath, making the word rise and fall with her chest, then one of her hands raised up to cover it.
"No, Rose," the Doctor said softly, reaching over to gently grasp her hand in his, preventing her from hiding it. "Don't cover it."
She did not fight back to make another attempt at keeping him from seeing the word. His gaze remained locked on hers for a moment before falling on the ink. Her skin was beginning to prickle, he noticed. He brought his free hand over to hover over the tattoo then gently pressed a single finger down to her chest, following the groove of each letter with his eyes before slowly tracing them with his digit—first, the 'R', running over the curve of the 'U', and lastly down the 'N'. His finger trailed over to the side as he continued to marvel at the word inked on her chest, his palm resting over it, preserving it, keeping it close to her heart. He let out a deep breath.
"You know," the Doctor began, his voice still soft. His fingers began to tenderly trace over the word again. "I wondered about your wardrobe changes since you came back—your jim-jams, your casual look. I guess I now know the reason why you're not running around the TARDIS in camisoles. You didn't want me to see this."
Rose did not answer, but a soft shade of blush came to her cheeks and her chest. To him, it made her even more beautiful. She averted her gaze from his, looking off to the side as if she were ashamed by that, and he did not want that. She should not feel embarrassed that she had kept this a secret from him.
The Doctor released her hand to frame her face, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her lips. He heard her sigh and attempt to coax his mouth open wider to deepen it, but he gently broke it. She looked at him quizzically as he eased himself down to hover over the word on her skin, very lightly moving his lips over each individual letter that graced her chest. Beneath him he could feel the thumping of her heart increasing, so he raised himself up to claim her mouth again, devastatingly affectionate.
Rose's mind had been racing the entire time the Doctor had loomed over her while he studied her tattoo on her chest, but in a kiss so soft and loving she let her mind fall away and meld into him, feeling her body melt and float off somewhere in the galaxies that swirled around them in the Vortex. She had categorized every kiss they have shared to date as sweet, passionate, and breathtaking, but he had never kissed her quite like this before. Not that the other times were not special, but in this particular moment he was kissing her as if she was the most precious thing in all the worlds. He made her feel so appreciated and loved, and it made her insides blossom in a way she had never imagined. Letting him see the tattoo might not have been part of her plan since she returned, but she knew it was too late now. She could not hide this from him any longer.
He drew back slowly, allowing her eyes to flutter open to find his own full of understanding and questions to be asked. She knew he wanted to talk to her about this, but she had a feeling he would not press this so soon. He would wait until she was willing to tell him, but she also knew that what had been transpiring between them when they had awoken was not going to happen now. That next step had come to a sudden halt. That word had helped her when she was upset and needed comfort so many times in the past, her salvation, but now it had hindered her opportunity of finally having her way with her Doctor. The moment of mindless passion was gone now, the only thing on his mind being her well-being and the tattoo. He would not allow this to continue no matter how much she wished or begged because, in all honesty, at the moment that was just what she wanted to do—to make him hers in every way possible, to ensure that everything between them was real and true.
But he would not do this just yet. His duty to her—and to himself—was to take care of her and let her heal from her emotional scars. Not to allow him to take what she offered freely. He brushed another tender kids to her lips before shifting off of the bed to stand up. He had moved beside the door and stood there.
"Don't overthink this, Rose," the Doctor spoke up. "I don't know know why you have that word on your chest, and I'm not going to push this, but I want you to know seeing that word there—our word—is just amazing, and just…breathtaking." She saw a small smile on his face. "You're breathtaking," he said warmly. "I'll be in the media room when you're ready, okay?"
Rose licked her lips and nodded. "Yeah," she finally said, finding her voice.
With that the Doctor exited the room, leaving behind the warmth in her bed, the evidence that he had been there with her. Rose remained in her spot on the bed, bringing up a hand to run her fingers over the letters on her chest, grinning foolishly to herself. She wondered if he had yet realized that this tattoo had him in such a trance not so long ago, something she rarely saw out of him. She thought that he had somehow not put that information together yet and questioned how long it would hit him until it did. Knowing how his mind worked he was probably thinking that she had another tattoo somewhere on her body that he had not come across yet much like this one. Well, unbeknownst to him, she did. She would not mind if he made attempts to search for it some time in the future, but it was way too soon.
And with this second tattoo that she had, she knew that she would definitely keep concealed in every way she can.
Her first tattoo was for him, only for him. A promise, of sorts. Something that should not have made her feel ashamed to let him see it. However, the second tattoo was just for her and her alone, for no one else to see. A reminder of what and who she was and had been. Unlike the one inscribed on her chest, she got the second one after the second incident that left her stranded on that dreaded beach in Norway in the parallel world, more specifically after his clone had died. It was two words written on her upper thigh in a deep shade of purple. No one else knew about this tattoo except for her and the artist who gave it to her. She would not let the Doctor see the other one, for a long while. If 'Run' on her chest left him flabbergasted and, possibly, worried, then the other words she had would leave an even greater effect on him.
Shrugging it all off Rose removed herself from the bed in search for something to put on. She remembered that she was in the Doctor's room instead of her own, so the only available choices of attire were what she had worn the day before or to venture through his closet and dig something up. She went over and found her graphic top from the day before when they discussed Reinette. Nope. She quickly dropped it. That would be burned along with the one she had worn on that very adventure. It was a petty top and a waste, but she did not care, so she found herself face-to-face with the wardrobe doors. Throwing them open she walked inside the massive space, her mouth falling open in surprise. Even though she knew the TARDIS was bigger on the inside she was still being thrown for a spin.
There were countless racks of shoes ranging from dressy types to simple plimsolls as well as others for hats and various suits. Rose always assumed that he just wore the same suit over and over again, only sonicing it clean and just changed the Oxfords, but obviously she was wrong. There had to be at least a dozen out in the open hanging up neat and tidy and thousands of dress shirts. Moving further into the closet she noticed an unusual assortment on one of the shelves—a bag of jelly babies. She arched an eyebrow. She was aware that he had a sweet tooth, but keeping a bag of candies in a closet? Yeah, that was too much. She grabbed a pair of black sweatpants and tugged them on, followed by a random button-up undershirt that was slung over a chair. Honestly, the alien had interesting tastes in style, some very peculiar when she noticed his groups of socks.
For an old man in a box that has been around for centuries he sure did have similar socks to that of a nine year old boy—Batman, Superman, Harry Potter. In fact, the only thing he did not have was a pair of basic black. She grinned as she took a pair of bold red socks with the Flash on them along with a white top and matching trousers to make an interesting statement. She skipped through the wardrobe with intentions of leaving the bedroom until a striped pattern caught her eye. It was a unique scarf, a long one. Extremely long, probably longer than her entire length. She chuckled. Did he ever really wear this? Her first Doctor clad in leather would have never been seen wearing something so…odd and ornate, and certainly not her pinstriped Doctor. It just was not stylish enough for him, but it was irresistible to her. She looked down at herself, debating.
What the hell, might as well go for it. If she was going to make a statement, she might as well make a big one.
Rose took the end of the elongated scarf and drew it from its spot, wrapping it around her. It trailed behind her, Lord only knew how much further away it was, as she moved around. A small red fez was sitting on one of the shelves, so she snatched it and placed it on her head. She raced out of the room to search for the Doctor, barely realizing that the coat she had picked up was not on her shoulders anymore. She dashed to the media room and came to a halt when she saw the Time Lord sitting on the sofa with a book in his hands, mumbling to himself.
Leaning against the door she just watched him from afar. His dark brown hair was disarray, a style that she preferred and resembled the way he had worn it when he first regenerated before he discovered hair gel. In the dim light its color appeared richer, showing traces of mahogany. If she could see his eyes she would know the look in them as well as she knew her own, like looking into a mirror. His would be filled with a manic energy and a sense of bewilderment at whatever was racking that brain of his. Again, from where she stood, she was reminded just how handsome he was and that somehow he was all hers. Well, at least for the time being.
Rose was no fool, not this time. She was just being thankful for every day she had with him, savoring every second and trying not to think of the endgame. He would regenerate again one day, having another man to take his place, a man that might not want her anymore. That would be the most painful thing for her to feel, worse than what she felt in that parallel world imagining him moving on with other people and forgetting about her. No, she should not be thinking of such things at the moment. He cared about her, and that was enough for now. The rest would happen in its time.
The Doctor must have sensed her presence once he jerked his head up in her direction, his eyes expressing just what she imagined with just a bit of shock in his brown depths.
"I see you invaded my wardrobe," he commented with a grin.
Rose returned it and sauntered over to the sofa where he sat. "You're supposed to compliment me and say I look 'breathtaking,'" she said, tossing the scarf over her shoulder. The fez on her head slid off and found its place in his lap. "Whoops."
"Ah, my fez!" he exclaimed, picking it up and examining it before placing it on his head. "Haven't seen this for a few regenerations. Blimey, it's been a while. Did you happen to find my old umbrella as well?"
"No. Could open up your own shop if you wanted to. I wasn't expecting to find a fez, though. Why do you even have one?"
He arched an eyebrow. "One rule, Rose Tyler, is that you should never pass up a fez. They're brilliant!"
"Is it mandatory?"
"Well, no. Well…maybe not. Either way, I love my fez." He raised his hands and stroked the item on his head.
Rose laughed, noting how ridiculous he looked. A red fez with a brown pinstriped suit was not a stylish combination, but then again this was the Doctor she was talking about. "That's my fez. I took it so I could have something match my socks."
"No, my socks," the Doctor clarified. "And I'm going to want them back when you're done with them. Those are hard to find in my size."
"I'll make sure you get them back, Doctor," she said with a cheeky grin.
"I should hope so, you cheeky woman." He grabbed a hold of the scarf around her and tugged her down on the sofa with him, giving her a quick kiss. "Ready for the next memory?"
The Doctor hated seeing the light leave Rose's eyes at the mention of watching memories, but it had to be done. They both knew this next one would be another difficult one to say the least—the crash landing in Pete's World with the Cybermen. Hard though it was to experience that adventure again, he knew she needed to face it again. Then perhaps he could find out more about her time there and get her to open up a little more.
"Yeah," Rose replied with a quiet sigh.
Nodding, he took out his sonic and aimed it at the screen. It flicked for a moment, then the images came up. There they were, a lifetime ago, laughing on the jump seat while Mickey stood by the console with his finger on a button.
