A/N: Two fictions in one night… wonder what I did to deserve this kind of attention from the muse! Ah well, if there are any huge glaring errors, I apologize, it's 2:30 in the morning but the muse won't let up until this is up and posted. Please read and review as always - reviews = love, love = happy Rose/Doctor gushiness, no reviews = In Silence, Prayer.
Disclaimer: I so obviously don't own Doctor Who; I just like to borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are pains in the arse, but they're all I have.
The Right Direction
By: Danae Bowen
She was a tease, plain and simple. Through out his life, he'd made some questionable decisions - in the last two lives alone he'd probably earned his share of bad karma - killing Cassandra, sacrificing Gwyneth, exterminating the Slitheen and Daleks, and leaving Jack Harkness behind on Satellite 5 was perhaps not his best moment. This life hadn't been so harsh - he'd tried to save Cassandra - and failed. Tried to save Queen Victoria - allowed her to be infected with the werewolf virus. Tried to save Reinette - ended up disappointing her more than anything else in her life by not being there for her death. The only person he'd not completely let down in this life was Rose. Rose Tyler. Rose Marion Tyler. Rose Marion Tyler - the tease. Rose Marion Tyler, the tease who was currently sitting on the control console just to the left of him, watching him tinker below, blissfully unaware that her long legs were completely distracting him from his task.
Turn on screwdriver, initiate welding process, allow eyes to travel from welding line to her ankles, her ankles to her calves, her calves to her knees, her knees to her thighs... ow, blimey that hurt! Return gaze to welding line.
She grinned down at him, shaking her head as he burned himself, thinking him uncareful with his tools - that's just the Doctor. Her smile was carefree, those soft brown eyes of her sparkling beyond the brightest of suns, a simple moment on a rare simple day enjoyed to it's most sublime ability. She had no idea the importance of her existence, perched up there, smiling down at him - he'd taught her to believe the lie - just a human, stupid ape, someone that could be left behind at any moment. His hearts thumped out of synch, the spanner crossed his finger again and he winced, hissing, his eyes returned to his work as he sighed softly. A simple human being with a Time Lord at her feet - that made her the most powerful creature in the universe.
His breath caught in his chest when she shifted, jumping down off the control console and joining him on the floor. She lay on her back beside him, grinning as she rested her hands behind her head.
"So, Doctor, what great emergency has kept you with your head under here all day?"
He licked his lips softly, his body tightening at her proximity even as he struggled to shake the cloud of Rose from his mind. "Oh, I don't know, Rose, maybe I thought we both could use a quiet day after everything we've done in the last bit, yeah?"
"And exactly what'd your fighting hand do to deserve this kind of punishment? Or the TARDIS for that matter." She winked at him knowingly even as he jerked his hand back, a wisp of smoke rising from his index finger.
"That was rude," he wagged his still smoking finger at her in good humour, twisting as he backed out of the small alcove, resting his cheek on her raised knees, losing himself in the soft lines of her features.
Master of Time and Space - could go anywhere, see anything, do anything he wanted, and all he wished for was to slow down moments like these. The perfect moment in time, just the Doctor and Rose in the TARDIS, laughing, touching, being together in whatever way their situation will allow.
Would this moment allow more?
"Where should we go to next, Doctor?"
Where indeed, Rose, where indeed.
"We could visit the triple moons on Primari IV; the tides move in three directions on that planet, gorgeous to see; in fact, in human history you have a story of the parting of the seas? The water spread to each side and allowed passage through, yeah? On this planet you can see it happen if we arrive at the right time. Once a year all three moons rise in unison, pulling the tides out, and for a very brief period anyone can walk between the walls of water. Absolutely brilliant!"
She grinned, her eyes sparkling as her tongue peeked out at the corner of her lips. "And if we arrive at the wrong time? What'll happen then? Running from the surf, that's what. What else you got, Doctor?"
He huffed in mock offence, knowing his aptitude for missing his landing zone by enough to throw off their day. "Are you saying you don't trust me, Rose Tyler?"
She giggled, shaking her head. "Nope, I trust you implicitly. But you know how loud Mum'll get if I bring home laundry covered in dried salt water again. Broke her machine last time, we did. Y'know what happened after that..."
"Ah, absorbaloff."
"From Clom."
"Sister planet to Raxacoricofallapatorius."
"Do you really wanna put ourselves in a position to chase around absorbaloff Slitheens again?"
He rolled his eyes, "As if that would happen twice."
"As if I'd take the chance, what with our luck, Doctor. We'll be lucky not to find Daleks and Cyberman on Earth next time we go 'round Mum's, and you know we've wiped them out at least twice."
"Sang a song and they ran away."
"With your singing voice, there was no doubt."
"Rude!"
She grinned, reaching a hand out to ruffle his unruly hair. "I gotta admit, it's much improved this time around. In your last body you sounded more like a bleating sheep than you did someone singing a tune."
The Doctor flashed her a loopy smile, and for a brief moment found himself filled with courage and daring he'd not yet allowed. "So tell me, Rose Tyler - you like my hair better, and I can't blame you, it's really great hair. You like my voice better - much more your style, not so northern. This body's a bit younger, a bit thinner, I'd say a bit sexier, how about you?" He winked. "Tell me, what do you miss about the old me, if this me is made so soundly for your benefit?"
She lifted an eyebrow, "You don't want to know, Doctor."
"But I do, Rose."
"Nah, it'll make you jealous."
"Can't be jealous! That's ridiculous! What kind of man is jealous of himself?"
"Clark Kent was jealous of Superman..."
He blinked, frowning. "Wait, so now I'm a clumsy reporter and the last me was a superhero?"
"If the jumper fits..."
"Rose Tyler... I swear if you don't tell me... I'll... ah. I'll take you back to the battle of Troy and force you to study human history at it's finest."
She rolled her eyes, grinning up at him. "I miss... your jacket."
"My jacket?"
"Your jacket."
"All you miss about me is that dirty old leather jacket?"
"And maybe the ears."
"Ears?"
"Oh and you had the sexiest blue eyes..."
"Oi!"
"Oh and Doctor, you could dance like no one on earth!"
"That's it!" The Doctor flung himself to his feet, charging to the console, flicking a switch, grinning to himself as Rose's laughter rang through the room.
"You're mad! What're you doing?"
"Taking you someplace we've not yet been."
"Oh, finally getting to see Barcelona, am I?"
He frowned and paused momentarily. "Have we still not gone? I could've sworn we... no, that was Sarah Jane. Oh, we went when we... oh, no, that was Jack - that weekend you were with your mum."
"Oi, you took Jack?"
He grinned sheepishly. "Was better than hanging around your mum's waiting on you." At the look on her face he ran his fingers through his hair and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't look at me like that, the woman's terrifying!"
Rose rolled her eyes, laughing at him lightly. "Back at it, Doctor, where're we going?"
"Somewhere I can prove to you it wasn't just Superman with all the moves," he grinned. "After all, it was Clark Kent that Lois Lane married."
Rose lifted an eyebrow, poking her tongue out between her teeth, the pull of her lips radiating the sheer joy she felt in their teasing conversation. "If a girl didn't know you, Doctor, she could take that as a proposal, you know."
For once the Doctor didn't bluster, he didn't blush and he didn't avoid; instead, he met her gaze with a dead serious expression even as he pulled a lever and pressed a button sending them whirling into the Vortex with barely a bump. "And what exactly does a girl who does know me make of this conversation then?"
Rose blinked, licking her lips nervously, shifting uneasily as she grinned uncertainly and shrugged. "She'd probably think you'd gone mad, and if she had any kind of intelligence she'd ask you to drop her 'round her mum's where it's mostly safe... some days."
He flashed her a wink as the TARDIS jerked to a landing, catching her as she stumbled against him, losing himself for a long moment in her beautiful eyes. "How about the girl who knows me best? What'd she say?"
"Show me your moves?" she whispered gently, her tongue darting out to wet her suddenly dry lips.
His face broke into the brightest grin she'd seen and she found herself suddenly planted firmly on her feet as he rushed around the console, stuck his head out the door, turned back and disappeared down a corridor. "Then tonight is your night, Rose Tyler, where anything can happen! Get on your best pair of dancing shoes, 'cause I'm not bringing you home till you agree that some things just get better with time!"
As she watched him disappear into the wardrobe, what started as a small smile spread wide across her face, radiating her pleasure into every corner of the TARDIS. The ship mirrored the hum of energy flowing between her biological companions, and for just a single moment the entire ship lit up with her approval. A night where anything can happen, words that echoed through Rose's mind as she wrapped her arms across her chest with excitement. Little black dress, red silk shawl, and her favourite pair of shoes laced to her knees.
Anything can happen.
Anything will happen.
She'll probably end up running for her life being chased by something wanting to eat her, kill her, or at the very least marry her.
Well, the last wouldn't be so bad, she reckoned.
Yep, anything can happen.
Allons-y.
~~~Fin