Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all, I am merely borrowing.
Spoilers: Through The Satan Pit.
Author's Notes:Desperate to save Rose from a body snatching spirit, the Doctor resorted to establishing a forbidden bond between them. Now, he's just as desperate to keep them apart. When they visit a starlight festival for a little fun, he might very well get his wish. The much requested sequel to The Moonlit Cotillion.

"Am I?" she murmured, bravely taking another step closer.

"Rose. Don't. Not now," he pleaded.

"Later, then?"

She was so close, he could feel the heat radiating from her skin. "I shouldn't...we can't..." He shuddered, resting his forehead against hers. "There are things, I need to tell you. And I can't with you...there."

"Oh." She took a step away, but he leaned forward, keeping them close together. "Doctor?"

Startled, he jumped back. "Right. Sorry." He gritted his teeth, studying the floor and the clutter below. "It's my father's ring," he finally said.

"What?" she asked, certain she'd misheard him.

"Don't know why I kept it really. I certainly never planned to use it." He held his hand out, studying the golden band. "Forbidden, you know."

"But, your parents..."

"Bonded? Yes. Broke more than one rule, but that didn't stop them." He sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "I didn't know them all that well. Academy training starts when we're only three. And they were considered a bad influence." He grimaced, expression darkening as his thoughts lingered on his own past. "My father was...punished for his indiscretion."

Automatically, Rose reached out to comfort him, halting when she remembered his need for distance. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Why? He knew what he was doing. Well, mostly. He knew it was forbidden. Bonding hadn't been practiced in...oh, years and years and years. Records were rare even before..." His expression clouded with regret.

"That mean you've been guessing?"

"Guessing?" he scoffed. "Rose Tyler, I never guess. I've been making conclusions based on empirical research. Deductive reasoning, you know. Aristotle would be impressed."

"Right. What conclusions have you made then?"

"We didn't do this the traditional way. There's a connection of minds, that happened when I saved you at the cotillion. An exchange of tokens, bit of a delay before I got mine, but apparently it still counts. And then...well..." he drawled, giving her a look that did not allow for misinterpretation. "With just the necklace, there was only a partial bond. But now...it's too complete. It can't be undone." Softly, he added, "You really are stuck with me."

It had only been a few days since they'd left the impossible planet and Rose was not apt to forget that particular conversation. "That's not so bad," she countered.

"Not so bad? How can you...? Why would you...?" he sputtered, horrified. "I've trapped you. For the rest of your life. 'Til death do us part. An' that's all right, is it?"

"Yeah." She nodded, stepping closer. "Yeah, it is."

He raised a hand to stop her. "If we just stay apart, maintain a certain distance...maybe...I can run some tests and..."

"Doctor..." At least, that was what she intended to say. What came out was something musical and altogether unexpected.

The Doctor froze. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Rose mumbled, confused. "Just...your name."

"That's what I thought you said," he agreed, watching her with astonishment. "But I've never told you. I've never told anyone. It's too dangerous."

"Why?"

He tilted his head and Rose shifted her weight, uncomfortable with the intensity of his gaze.

"Don't you know?" he whispered.

And she did. "I..."

"You mustn't say it ever again," he said firmly.

"But, how did I know...?"

"Oh..." He looked away. "You're very perceptive for a human."

"Doctor..."

"It's the necklace. And the ring. What they're made out of. It's..." He paused, seeking a simple explanation. "Well, it only existed on my planet. In ancient times, it was mined, deep in the mountains. It's a telepathic conductor of sorts. As a telepathic race, we only found it useful when a deeper connection between minds was needed."

"Like bonding?"

"Yes. There's a tiny piece in the TARDIS console actually. It makes it easier for me to connect with her. Especially at a distance. If you were another Time Lord, we'd be almost open books to each other now. But I'm afraid I'll see a lot more of your thoughts than you'll see of mine." The Doctor turned to the ship's controls, flipping the switches that would return them to their last point of dematerialization. "Most of the time, anyway."

"Most of the time?" she prompted, moving to stand beside him.

"There are a few exceptions. Stressful situations, lots of adrenaline..." He grabbed the monitor to check coordinates. "When you were kidnapped, I heard your voice calling me. I wouldn't have known you were in danger so quickly if it hadn't been for that." He glanced at her over his shoulder. "With your tendency for wandering off that might turn out to be quite advantageous."

Rose playfully swatted him and he grinned as he dodged her hand. The tension between them ebbed to something familiar and far more pleasant.

She bit her lip, watching as he finished maneuvering the ship. "Doctor, I..."

"I know," he interrupted wearily, sounding as if he was conceding some long fought battle.

"And you..."

The ship settled and he swiftly turned, reaching for her hands. They both shivered at the warmth that radiated from the simple gesture.

"Does it need saying?" he asked, eyes dark with an emotion she'd only caught glimpses of before.

Rose could feel the truth of it now with such certainty that words weren't as necessary as she'd always thought they would be. She shook her head. She wanted him to, obviously, but she wouldn't force him.

"Thank you," he murmured in response to her unvoiced decision. "I've taken us back to the market. If we hurry, running preferably, we might catch the last fireworks. I did promise them, after all."

"I think..." Rose began, pulling one hand free of his grasp. "...a different kind of fireworks might be in order."

"What?" the Doctor yelped, startled. "I...we..." He looked down at Rose's hand as it carefully smoothed his tie. "Right. Yes. There is that unfinished business with the...bond. But the fireworks are really extraordinary, marvelous, best in several galaxies. It would be a shame to..." He gulped as her proximity caused her to brush against a certain part of his anatomy he really didn't want to consider just now. "They've got palms and crossettes and diadems. Oh! And magnificent heliotropes, Rose. Bet you've never even seen those."

"Lot of things I haven't seen," she quipped, tongue peeking between her teeth.

"Oh," the Doctor groaned. "That's just not fair."

Rose paused, a line of worry crossing her brow, "What's not...?"

"There are a million, no billion, things I should be tremendously concerned about just now, but all I can think about it is how perfectly splendid it would be to deposit you in the jump seat and have my wicked way with you until neither one of us can think straight."

Rose simply stared.

He ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry. That was rude, wasn't it?"

Before he could apologize further, Rose grabbed his tie and kissed him with enough ferocity to render him speechless. The long denied warmth thundered through his body until it took all of his concentration just to remain standing.

The Doctor had not lied when he said he had danced. Not often, but certainly enough to know how the experience was supposed to go. None of it compared to the completion he felt in a single kiss with one Rose Marion Tyler.

Early in his life, he'd been taught that self-restraint was imperative. A Time Lord who lacked the ability to carefully control his emotions would be vulnerable and weak. Easily influenced by the first cause that struck his fancy.

Rose was apparently his cause.

He wanted her more than anything else he'd encountered in almost a thousand years of existence. And if that wasn't enough to terrify him, he couldn't find the strength to stop himself. Rose finally released him to catch her breath and the Doctor was surprised to discover that his own respiratory bypass had been of little use.

"In all my years, I never..." Finding words inadequate, he managed a shaky smile. "The TARDIS will have a fit if there's any sort of...passionate display in her foyer. Might even strand us somewhere unpleasant."

"Better find a room then, yeah?"

"Oh, absolutely," he agreed, tugging her away from the console. Noticing her stunned expression, he paused. "What?"

"Nothing. S'just...you're different."

"You have no idea," he remarked, quickly averting his gaze to examine the inner hallway and the many doors that lined it.

"Not that different," Rose snorted.

A single eyebrow rose at her statement, daring her to explain.

"I put you in those pajamas at Christmas, remember?"

"Bit of a gander is hardly proof, Rose," he retorted. "Most humanoid species look similar...in lots of places. And besides, you humans were modeled after us. Of course you wouldn't have seen anything amiss. In fact, I'm a rather impressive specimen, don't you think?"

"Um..." she stammered, startled by the new frankness in his flirtation.

"Look at that! You're blushing." He grinned. "I rather like making you blush. No wonder Jack enjoyed teasing you."

She sighed. He'd probably be incorrigible once they'd actually... "What's different then? I mean, anything I should know before we..."

"Let me show you," the Doctor interrupted softly, opening a door and beckoning for her to follow.