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Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 |
Chapter 17: Spring
‘And then, for the love of the Princess Rose and the lessons she had taught it, the scary pepper pot monster destroyed itself. And she rushed into the arms of the daft looking knight and he carried her away from that place with her new pet poodle, Adam, in tow.’
The Doctor looked at the timer. ‘Right, time for your medicine, Rose. We’ll continue the adventures of Princess Rose later.’ He reached for the elixir once more; this was the last dose. His fingers trembled slightly as he removed the stopper. This was the final assault. If this failed then Rose would be lost to him. Swallowing hard, his face rigid and eyes stormy, he shifted Rose against his arm, tilting her head back and dripping the liquid between her slightly parted lips. She swallowed reflexively, a positive development at least. Her heartbeat was slower, too, and the colour in her cheeks healthier. But the poison was pernicious and until she woke, he could not let himself be confident. Even then he would need to assess the degree to which she could feel her limbs and the clarity of her mind.
As he gently positioned Rose back against the pillows he noticed how tangled her hair was. She’d be horrified if she could see it. He frowned, casting about for a brush. There was a hum and one appeared on the implement table. He grinned and picked it up. It wouldn’t do for Princess Rose to wake with bed hair. Settling himself beside her he carefully began to brush the tangles from her hair, letting his fingers trail through the silky strands. No wonder the Phosians had tried to sacrifice her to Hades, she truly was the most beautiful creature he had ever beheld. He lent forward a pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, before resting his forehead against hers.
‘Wake up, Rose.’ He whispered. ‘Please wake up. Don’t make me face your mother alone!’
He sighed when she didn’t stir; sleeping beauty woke with a kiss and he’d spent so long spinning fairy tales for her he’d almost allowed himself to believe. He flung the hairbrush onto the implement table in angry frustration, unheeding of the ensuing clatter, fighting a growing sense that Rose was sleeping the sleep of the dead. He felt as if he had lost her. His hands balled into fists, a roar growing in his throat.
His treatment of Rose had led them to this. He’d made her seem unimportant, he’d let Adelphos and Helen believe she would go unlamented. But even before then, he had never told her how important she was to him, had he? He’d let her think he’d leave her. He’d called her a stupid ape. But she’d been stronger than him in the end; it had been her force of her will that had driven them through the underworld. He had almost given up before they had really begun but her tenacity in the face of pain and sickness had humbled him. She couldn’t have come all that way to fall now, could she? Didn’t she understand that he needed her? He didn’t want to do his without her. She was his Persephone, his light, his promise of rebirth, the spark that brought life where there had been only death. Without her there was only the dark.
He forced himself back to her bedside, supplicating himself before her still form. Grasping her hand, he rested his head by her hip, her enfolded hand held before his lips.
‘Wake up, Rose. Please. You said I was sad and you were right. I know I can’t hope to be the most important man in your life, Rose, but you are the most important person in mine, so please, you can’t leave me. Not now.’ He closed his eyes, his expression pained, ‘You’ve made me domestic, for Rassilon’s sake!’
The fingers within his twitched and he shot to his feet.
‘Rose?’ He gripped her face between his palms as her eyelids fluttered and slowly opened.
‘Doctor?’
He grinned at her like a lunatic. ‘That’s me.’ Before she could respond he swooped down and pressed a brief euphoric kiss to her lips before standing, to contemplate her seriously. He grabbed a small scanner from the implement table and held it towards her. Everything looked to be in order. Still, where Rose was concerned he wasn’t taking anything for granted. The scanner indicated the poison was eradicated but he needed to be sure that there were no lingering side-effects.
‘Right, how many fingers? What’s your name and where are you?’
‘Three, Rose and the TARDIS, I think.’
‘Excellent. Small ape brain appears to be in working order. Now, can you feel this?’ He pinched her leg.
‘Ouch! Yes I bloody can! What was that for?’
‘Nerves appear undamaged. You, Rose Tyler, appear to be fine!’
‘What the … oh. Adelphos. You got the antidote then? And you can see?’
‘Ah, that’s my Rose, queen of stating the obvious!’
‘Oi!’
He beamed at her, leaning nonchalantly beside the bed, his blue eyes studying her carefully.
‘Now, we have a new addition to the list of TARDIS rules. You will not allow yourself to become a sacrifice in the indigenous population’s religious rites. Is that understood?’
‘No fair! I didn’t exactly volunteer you know!’ She pushed herself up, intent on punching him, only to sway dangerously, her face draining of colour. The Doctor’s jovial countenance fled in an instant as he moved to catch her, landing on his knees by her bed, catching her tight against his torso.
‘Rose?’
‘Bit dizzy.’ The hand that lifted her chin was trembling and his blue eyes were pained as they studied her, noting her pallor with mushrooming alarm. As he opened his mouth to speak there was an almighty growl. He snapped his mouth shut in surprise as Rose blushed, then, as the growl was followed by a rumble, giggled.
‘I think I might be hungry!’ She chortled.
He squeezed her tight for a moment, closing his eyes, before releasing her and grinning madly, ‘Fantastic!’ Grabbing her hands he pulled her to her feet then, as she wobbled, lifted her into his arms and made for the kitchen.
He popped her down at the table, ensuring she was comfortably settled, before turning and bustling about the kitchen. His relief that she was going to be fine, once she had some food inside of her, was intense. So too was his need for everything to go back to normal.
‘Pancakes?’ He asked. Rose nodded, bemused. The Doctor never cooked. Either she cooked or they stopped off for a take-away. This was new. This was a little unsettling.
‘What?’ He asked, catching her expression.
‘You’re cooking!’
‘So?’
‘You don’t cook. It’s domestic.’
He looked at her carefully and for just a moment there was a flash of vulnerability in his eyes. Then he smiled.
‘For you, Rose Tyler, I cook.’
Finis
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I read this today while I worked, in the background... it was a nice distraction for a horrible day.
Thank you!
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The entire story was wonderful, full of touching and heartrending lines, but this just tore me up:
‘Wake up, Rose.’ He whispered. ‘Please wake up. Don’t make me face your mother alone!’
The Doctor is just so vulnerable here. It was very vivid.
Will you be posting this at Teaspoon?
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I'm so glad you enjoyed this - I was nervous of writing nine! Thanks for commenting :-)
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I love the Doctor's line "For you, Rose Tyler, I cook makes me smile:D
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More fodder for the idea that Nine = Claude on some level! :-) But Adam is a poodle, even more useless than Peter, which is some feat.
‘For you, Rose Tyler, I cook.’
I've always thought Nine had a secret yen for domesticity. Resented the hell out of it, yes, but a yen nonetheless.
Really nice adventure story, and a realistic ending to tuck us back into canon should we so wish. Although I'd still quite like to smack their heads together and tell them to sit down and talk.
Thank you!
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Thank you for reading and commenting and enjoying :-)
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I'm not even sure he thinks of it as being weak, I just think he's so vulnerable at this stage he's protecting for all he's worth. I don't even think he'd mind being vulnerable with Rose (or even, later, Jack), if he just felt they wouldn't hurt him. Basically, he's not had enough time to uncurl, and as we know, sadly, he's going to die just as he reaches that point, which makes for great drama but a damned unfair regeneration!
And heh, I just started reading the sequel - was Adam = pet poodle the inspiration for Sniff? Although I'm imagining him more as one of those dustmop terrier types.
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"Can I just say... Traveling with you? I love it."
And that's so true! All of your stories are such fun to read. The angst is there, but it's not so overwhelming that it bogs down the storyline, and the adventure is always nail-biting. I simply adored this story.
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