In her room, Rose changed quickly despite her shaking hands. Look at yourself, she thought with some annoyance. Four years at Torchwood, including a year of jumping, and your hands were always steady. One day back in this universe, and you're shaking.
But she knew why. Putting herself in danger was always easier than knowing the Doctor was in danger. As she packed her suit and towel back in her bag, she remembered the panic attack she'd nearly had on Krop Tor because he'd gone down into the drill shaft and she hadn't know if she would see him again.
On her way to the cafe, Rose stopped at the front desk. "Excuse me, I was wondering about the tour to the waterfalls." The clerk's expression shuttered, and Rose tamped down her concern. "My fiancé is on it, and I can't remember when he said he'd be back."
The woman licked her lips, and Rose could see her debating if she should lie. She tried to look like something somewhere in between the formidable Agent Tyler and a woman anxious to see her lover, and it must have worked, because she finally nodded.
"Well, unfortunately for him but fortunately for you, the bus encountered some mechanical problems about halfway there. We've sent a rescue vehicle, so he'll miss the tour but be back at the resort in about three and a half hours."
Rose bit her lip; that wasn't the best scenario, but it was better than it could have been. "Thank you," she said sincerely, then went to find the cafe.
Donna was waiting for her at a table when she arrived. "I ordered us both what passes for pasta in this galaxy. It should be here any minute."
Rose opened her mouth to protest, but Donna hushed her with a raised eyebrow. "You might be more alien than human, but you've got to eat. This gives us something to do while we wait."
"Fine," Rose agreed, seeing she wasn't going to get anywhere arguing.
"I stopped by the front desk to see if I could learn anything about the Doctor's tour. Apparently, they've had some sort of mechanical problem, and a rescue vehicle is on its way out to get them."
"Well, that's not so bad."
Rose looked at Donna, not bothering to hide her growing concern.
"That's not the thing you sensed, it is?"
Their food arrived before Rose could answer, and for a minute, they were both occupied with thanking their server and taking inventory of their plates. After taking a few bites, Rose set down her knife and fork and looked at Donna.
"No, it isn't, and that's what worries me. I think something caused the mechanical problem, and that something is…" She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to grasp what she was sensing.
"I thought nothing lived on Midnight."
Rose snorted. "Humans," she said, sounding like her first Doctor. "Just because you can't survive on this planet doesn't mean nothing else could. And you'd never know, because you can't go out and explore."
The Doctor's concern was deepening, and Rose could tell he was trying to hide it from her. She clenched her fingers around her fork until her knuckles went white.
"Hey," Donna said softly. "Go easy on that fork. What's it ever done to you?"
Rose laughed harshly. "Something's wrong, Donna. Something is very, very wrong."
After that announcement, both women lost what little appetite they'd had. Donna signalled to the server to take their food away and asked for coffee and tea while Rose focused on the Doctor and the timelines.
"What do you mean, something's wrong?" Donna asked once they had their beverages.
Rose breathed in the familiar aroma of her tea and let it calm her slightly. "I don't know, really. All I know for sure is that this is a What Must Not Happen, and the Doctor is right in the middle of it. And he's worried, which worries me."
A twinge of something else pressed against Rose's mind. She closed her eyes and focused on it, wishing they had a full marriage bond so they could actually communicate.
"Rose?"
"It's like…"
The Doctor's familiar mental presence changed just slightly, and Rose's eyes flew open. "There's something in his mind," she breathed.
"What do you mean?"
"The… creature he's dealing with—there's got to be something there, it can't be a human—it's getting into his mind, but it's so subtle that he's not noticing it." She frowned. "Or he's too focused on the novelty of whatever it is to notice this thing is slowly moving into his head."
Rose gritted her teeth and tried to push a mauve warning over the bond toward the Doctor, but without the ability to actually communicate, she couldn't tell him anything more than to be careful. And without details, he wouldn't know what she'd just noticed.
"I hate being so useless," she ranted suddenly. "Why couldn't I have landed in that bus so I could be there with him right now?"
Donna reached out and took her hand. "Maybe if you were there, the… thing would go for you instead. I can only imagine what the Doctor would be like if something was threatening to hurt you."
"Yeah, but if we were together, maybe we could figure out a way to fight against it."
She turned her attention to the growing presence in her bond mate's mind and tried to force it out. A jolt of cruel amusement shot through her mind, and Rose was pushed to the edge of the Doctor's consciousness.
The Doctor noticed then. Even with their bond stretched as thin as it was, Rose felt his anger at the creature who was tampering with it.
oOoOoOoOo
The next twenty-five minutes or so were a nightmare. The Doctor was slowly pushed into a cage in his own mind, until Rose suspected he could no longer control even his own body. His terror was a living, breathing force in their bond, but when she tried to offer him some kind of comfort, he threw up so many walls it actually gave her a headache.
She was hurt for a few minutes, until she realised he was trying to protect her, to shelter her from the thing inside his mind. Rose had no idea if their bond provided enough of a connection for it to move from him to her, and she made a mental note to ask him about things like that later.
Because there would be a later. She hadn't come all this way only to lose him to some alien creature while he was on a holiday excursion.
The Doctor's terror spiked suddenly, which in turn terrified Rose—she honestly hadn't thought it was possible to be more afraid than he had been already. What is going on out there? She let out a soft moan, then felt Donna take her hands.
For a minute, maybe longer, she trembled on the precipice between sanity and madness. Then suddenly, the presence of the entity in the Doctor's mind disappeared, and he was himself again.
"It's gone," Rose breathed out. "It's gone, it's gone, it's gone." She clutched onto Donna's hands like a lifeline. "He's going to be okay, Donna. He's coming back to me."
"Well I bloody well hope so," she said tartly. "Because I don't intend to be stuck on some leisure planet for the rest of my life."
Rose drew in a breath and let it out slowly, only looking at her friend when she felt like she'd regained some control over her emotions.
"Oh… I could take us home in the TARDIS, if it came down to that," she said. "But I'm so glad I don't have to."
Her throat was tight, and one tear leaked out.
Donna tightened her grip on her hand. "How's that?" she asked, and Rose knew she was trying to distract her from the wait. "I mean, I've helped a little, but there's no way I could actually fly her home."
Rose bit her lip. "I'm actually… Um, do you know how the Doctor flies her? I mean, not just pulling the right levers and everything, but what actually lets him truly pilot the TARDIS?"
"He's never told me, but the way he talks to that ship, like he's known her forever, I figure they must… communicate somehow."
"You're dead clever, you know, Donna?
Donna shook her head. "I'm not anything special. I'm just a temp from Chiswick."
"A temp who can keep the Doctor under control, who's kind enough to try to calm me down right now, and—more to the point—who figured out without being told that the Doctor has a telepathic bond with the TARDIS. You are clever."
Donna started to argue, then she looked at Rose. "Hang on. You brought that up because I asked how you'd be able to fly us home. Are you telling me you've the same kind of connection with his ship?"
Rose smiled faintly. "See? Clever." She tilted her head. "And she's our ship, not just his."
Donna snorted. "How's that work? Or are marital property laws universal?"
That drew a laugh from Rose. "No, that's just the way it is. When you bond with a TARDIS, she becomes yours, and you become hers."
They kept talking until an employee walked up to their table. "Excuse me, ladies, but since you have a friend on the tour bus, I thought you'd like to know the rescue vehicle has arrived and all passengers have been transferred over. We expect their return in an hour and a half."
oOoOoOoOo
"Bus arriving in five minutes."
Rose and Donna looked at each other when they heard the announcement over the loudspeaker. "I'm going back to the TARDIS," Donna said. "I think he's going to need you when he gets back, and if I'm here, he'll feel like he has to talk to me. I'll just… hole up in my room for the night."
"Are you sure?" Rose asked, even though she was relieved by the offer.
Donna smiled. "Yeah. Just knock on my door when you're ready for breakfast."
All the thanks Rose wanted to give stuck in her throat, so she hugged the woman instead. "See you in the morning."
She watched her new friend walk away, then turned back to the bus terminal. The Doctor was close, but his excitement over seeing her again was dulled by the trauma of having the creature attempt to take over his mind. It wasn't what she'd imagined for their reunion, but suddenly she was so glad she'd insisted on coming. Donna was right; he would need her.
oOoOoOoOo
The Doctor remained silent on the whole ride back to the Leisure Palace. There wasn't much conversation going on anyway, and no one wanted to talk to him. If they talked to him, they'd have to confront the fact that they'd tried to kill him.
The silence suited him just fine. His head ached from the pressure the creature had put on his consciousness, and all he wanted was a few hours alone to sort out his thoughts.
He'd been so excited to see Rose again, and he was suddenly deeply angry that the entity had stolen their happy reunion from them. In all the times he'd dreamed about finding her, he'd never been limping back to a spa with a raw, aching mind, needing to rest and heal before he could even enjoy her presence.
Rose would understand, because Rose always understood. But she deserved the reunion of her dreams, where he caught her up and spun her around before dipping her back and kissing her passionately.
When the bus arrived back at the resort, the other passengers looked at the Doctor, and he realised they were allowing him to leave first, as the only apology he'd get. He stepped off the bus and his eyes swept the terminal.
Some of his earlier joy returned when he saw Rose run toward him. He didn't catch her up and swing her around, but he did hold her as tightly as he could, burying his face in her hair.
"I'm so glad you're here," he whispered against her neck, and she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist.
"What do you think it was?" she asked.
He pulled back slightly, but didn't let her go. "No idea."
"Do you think it's still out there?" The affirmative rang loud and clear across their bond. "Well, you'd better tell this lot."
"Yeah." He took her hand and they walked toward the front desk and main office. "They can build a Leisure Palace somewhere else. Let this planet keep on turning round an Xtonic star, in silence."
It wasn't easy to convince the management that they needed to shut down the facility, and the Doctor got the impression that if it weren't for the missing hostess and Rose's commanding presence beside him, they would have refused. But finally they agreed, and Rose and the Doctor walked back to the TARDIS.
"Where's Donna?" he said as they walked into the console room. "I've only just realised…"
"She stayed with me while we waited for you to get back, and then right before the bus arrived, she came back here. Said she was gonna stay in her room for the night, and we could wake her up for breakfast."
The Doctor ran his hand through his hair. "That's… that's Donna."
"She's brilliant," Rose said quietly.
"Yeah. Yeah, she is."
The Doctor turned to Rose. "You know what else I've only just realised? My bond mate has come home after being missing for almost four years, and I haven't kissed her yet."
Anticipation pulsed over the bond. "Well then, you probably ought to fix that."
She smiled at him with her tongue peeking out, and the last of his restraint disappeared. He groaned and swooped down to capture that tongue in a kiss, licking at her lips and relishing her taste.
I've missed you so much, love.
Just as much as I've missed you.
The hand on her waist slipped around to the small of her back and pulled her close. Doctor… please.
The Doctor felt her hand brush through the hair at his temple, and the awareness that she wanted the deeper telepathic contact they'd always shared when they made love shocked him out of the kiss.
Rose looked up at him in surprise. "What is it?"
"I… It was in my head."
She understood instantly, like he'd known she would. "Do you want my help healing the damage?" she asked quietly.
The Doctor swallowed hard. "Please." Her hands slid down his arms until she laced the fingers of her left with his right. He tried to remember how to show her how grateful he was, and he thought he succeeded when she squeezed his hand.
He led her to their room, feeling a little thrill at the pronoun. No matter how upset the day had left him, it had also brought him Rose.
In unspoken agreement, they dressed for bed. The Doctor turned down the duvet and climbed in first, patting her side of the bed invitingly. He felt her disbelief that she was finally home and her fear that she'd wake up and realise this was just a dream.
"You're here, Rose."
The words broke her out of the trance she'd been in, and thirty seconds later, they were both lying down under the duvet, facing each other.
How do you want to do this?
The Doctor considered her question, even though there was really only one answer.
You don't have to hide from me, she told him, once again showing how well she knew him.
He swallowed and nodded, then lifted his hand to her temple. He waited until she was in position, then they both made contact and slipped into each other's minds.
The normal organisation of his mind had been thrown into chaos. He felt Rose's presence, and then she carefully moved to the raw edges of his consciousness, soothing them as best she could while he began to reorder his memories. He'd tried not to think about what the entity had done to him, but looking at the evidence in front of him, he felt violated.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he felt Rose wrap her love around him. I am so sorry this happened to you, Doctor.
It isn't the first time, he told her, giving her a glimpse of some of his darker memories.
He didn't know how long it would have taken him to clear out his mind to a point where he felt comfortable in it again if Rose hadn't been there. The bond and her physical presence gave him a strength he wouldn't have had otherwise.
I think that's good enough, he said when his mind felt like his own again. The rest will heal on its own. The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, they were back on New Earth, reclining on his coat.
They looked over at the cars flying through the sky to the city of New New York. I was so nervous when I brought you here the first time. You'd agreed to come with me, but I didn't know if you really saw me as me yet.
Is that why you mentioned the Earth being destroyed? To see how I'd respond if you brought up something we'd done before you regenerated?
Yep. And you called it our first date. That was even better than I could have hoped for.
Rose shifted closer to him and stroked his face tenderly. No matter how many times you regenerate, you will always be my Doctor, she told him.
The Doctor looked up at his bond mate, taking in the love in her eyes. I'm so glad you were here today, he admitted, his voice cracking a bit at the end.
She traced her finger over his left eyebrow. So am I.
Need rose up in him, finally eclipsing the trauma of the day. He rose up on his elbow to face her and trailed a hand down her side, loving the shudder he drew from her. Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he moved slowly toward her lips until they just barely brushed against his.
Rose tried to press closer and deepen the kiss, but some puckish impulse drove the Doctor to pull back every time she made a move. Finally, after she tried to suck his bottom lip into her mouth and he denied them both the pleasure, he heard a whimper from the back of her throat.
He smiled, then pulled her close and adjusted the angle of the kiss to deepen it. Gentle tenderness went out the window the moment his tongue touched hers—this was hot and wet, and nothing had felt so good in years.
Rose's hand curled around the back of his neck, and she pulled him down until he lay half on top of her, with one of his legs slotted between hers.
oOoOoOoOo
When they slowly slipped back into the physical world, they discovered their clothes had already been discarded as their telepathic embrace had heated up.
The Doctor looked at Rose, his lover and bond mate, taking in every inch of her beauty. "You are just as gorgeous as I remembered," he said hoarsely. "I have an eidetic memory, but sometimes I was afraid missing you had made me exaggerate how lovely you are."
Rose ran her hands over his bare chest. "I missed you so much, my Doctor."
His hands roamed over her body, relearning the texture of her skin and the places that made her shiver. "I believe I promised you a proper reunion shag."
She breathed out a shaky laugh. "Yeah, you did. You gonna deliver on that any time soon?"
"Might do." The Doctor shifted, settling himself on top of Rose. "Would now work for you?"
"Now is—" She gasped when he kissed the hollow of her throat. "Now is good."
oOoOoOoOo
Rose's first thought, when she woke up with her arms wrapped around a pillow instead of the Doctor, was that she'd dreamt it all. She buried her face in the soft cotton pillow case, but before the sobs choking her could escape, she felt the gentle hum of the TARDIS, and better yet, the Doctor's warm happiness.
She shoved the pillow away and sat up, taking in the familiar dark cherry four poster bed and burgundy duvet. The Doctor wasn't anywhere to be seen, but his presence in her mind kept her from panicking over his absence.
I'm bringing you breakfast in bed, he told her, and Rose sighed happily both at the gesture and at his contentment.
While she waited for him to get back, Rose sat up and arranged the pillows against the headboard so they could comfortably sit in bed together and enjoy their breakfast. Their clothes were still scattered around the room, and Rose ignored her own pyjamas in favour of the Doctor's soft undershirt.
She'd only just slipped back under the duvet when she heard soft footsteps outside the door. Metal clinked against glass, and she giggled when the Doctor cursed in Gallifreyan before the door opened.
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Laughing at me when I got up to make you breakfast? That's not very nice, Rose Tyler," he chided as he walked toward her side of the bed.
Rose pulled her gaze away from his bare chest with difficulty. She'd always loved the way he looked in just pyjama bottoms, and judging by the satisfaction she felt from him, he hadn't forgotten.
She gave him the tongue-touched smile she now knew all Doctors would love. "Not nice, maybe," she said in answer to his comment. "But you love me anyway."
The rush of agreement passing over the bond was dizzying. The Doctor stared down at her, ardent love in his eyes.
"I do," he agreed, and the solemn tone of those familiar words made Rose's heart beat faster. After four years, she ached to complete their bond, and maybe the Doctor wanted that as much as she did.
Feeling rusty and out of practice, she reached for the love he was projecting and added her love to it before sending it back to him. When the tray shook a little in his hands, she thought maybe she wasn't as rusty as she'd feared.
"Why don't you give that to me before you drop it?" she suggested, only a hint of teasing in her voice.
To her surprise, the suggestion made him nervous. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and set it down on her lap before moving back to his side of the bed and sitting down beside her, his pyjama-clad legs stretched out on the bed in front of him.
Rose looked down at the tray. He'd made her a full English, and she couldn't wait to take a bite of the tomatoes—something Pete's World didn't have. But as she reached for her fork, something else caught her attention.
"I saw this before," she said, picking up the small, wooden box instead. "In your pocket that day, when I went looking for the psychic paper."
"I'd just gotten it for you on Razda that morning," he told her. "I planned to give it to you after we visited your mother, and then…"
He didn't have to complete the sentence. Rose remembered the heartache of what happened then just as well as he did.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Why don't you open it and find out?" Rose glanced over at him, but the Doctor's eyes were fixed on the box in her hands.
Something about the way he looked at it had butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She grasped the top half of the box, then closed her eyes and pulled the lid off.
"You can look, you know," the Doctor said drily. "It's for you after all."
The solemn mood that had settled in the room broke, and most of the butterflies in Rose's stomach disappeared. She opened her eyes and tipped the contents of the box out into her left hand without looking first.
All the butterflies came back when something small, round, and cool hit her palm. She looked down at the beautiful sapphire ring and then up at the Doctor with wide eyes.
He took the ring from her and held it up between them. "I know we compared the bond we have now with engagement, but when I saw this, I realised there was one thing missing to make it a genuine, human engagement."
"I never expected you to do things the human way, Doctor."
Rose looked up at him as she said this, and the tenderness in his eyes took her breath away.
"But you were always willing to do them the Time Lord way. Can't we do both?" He drew in a breath. "Marry me, love?"
She sniffed. "Yeah. Yeah, 'course I will."
The Doctor took her left hand and slid the ring into place. "If you want a traditional wedding with a white gown…"
Rose shook her head. "Not with Mum in a different universe." She held her left hand out in front of them. "She woulda loved this. Would've yelled at you, mind, but still…"
"Do you know, I've actually missed being yelled at by your mother?" Rose snorted. "No, really I have. I missed everything about you, and that includes visiting Jackie."
She dropped her hand and laced her fingers through his, loving the way that pressed the cool band of the ring into her skin. "Mum was the only one who stood by me when I started working on the dimension cannon," she said. "Everyone else—including Dad—kept saying it was impossible, but she said, and I quote, 'That alien don't know everything, so shut up and help Rose get home.'"
The Doctor laughed and kissed the palm of her hand. "Take note of this day, Rose Tyler, because I'll probably never say it again: I am so glad your mother was right, and I was wrong."
AN: That's the end of this story. After this, the story would essentially converge with the proper timeline, the one where Rose was never lost in Pete's World in the first place. If I continued on with Stolen Earth and Journey's End, it would just give away what I'll do with those stories when I get there eventually.
Thank you everyone for reading and commenting.