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After Rose and her human Doctor, or John Noble as he was officially known in Pete’s World, had been left together by the full-Time Lord Doctor on Bad Wolf’s Bay, they agreed that even though they had fond memories of each other, they were now two completely different people than they had been before their separation. In fact, he literally hadn't even existed until the Metacrisis Event caused him to become a blend of the other Doctor with an interesting streak of Donna added, as well. Meanwhile, Rose had spent five whole years in Pete’s World honing and training her mind and body with her work at Torchwood before she found him back in the Prime Universe with the Dimension Cannon.
Consequently, they realized that they shouldn’t rush into anything. Instead, they should take their time to get to know each other again and all of the idiosyncrasies of their new bodies and lives before they decided the best way to move forward.
It was a good resolution. Nevertheless, it lasted only as long as it took them to get off of the beach and to the nearest hotel while they waited for Pete to arrange their travel back to London. Jackie, for one, certainly wasn’t surprised at all the next morning to find out that Rose’s room had gone completely unused the night before or to see that the new Doctor had a goofy grin plastered across his face when they finally came down to breakfast. Apparently, he had found that certain aspects of being human were very much to his liking!
Rose and the Doctor were never far apart from each other after that, either. Despite his full-Time Lord self’s professed abhorrence of domestics, John realized that he was a natural. He moved into Rose’s flat immediately upon their arrival, learned to cook, and even proudly helped her to pick out new curtains and bedding for their room. He also decided to join her and work at the Torchwood in their current universe – despite the pain that its parallel version had caused them. Together Rose and the Doctor made a formidable team there…just like they always had…and they were respected by both humans and aliens alike for it.
~~~~~
The two of them never lost their passion for travel, either…even though they had to do it on the slow path in their new life. Therefore, a couple times a month, they took a weekend to explore their beautiful country and the rest of the British Isles – all while they delighted in discovering the little differences between their old universe and the one they both now called home.
On this particular occasion, however, as they lazed together in the bed that they had shared ever since that day on the beach, they started to plan a longer trip in order to celebrate the anniversary of their first year together in Pete’s World. They just had to decide on a location.
“I know!” the Doctor suddenly exclaimed. “France! Let’s go to this Paris. We can throw ourselves in, eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double, and end up kissing complete strangers. Well…maybe not that last part. I don’t think I could bear the sight of you kissing anyone else.” He smiled warmly at her since he knew that she would remember that conversation from back when he had big ears and wore leather.*
However, instead of sharing a moment of nostalgia with him, Rose’s sunny smile quickly dropped from her face to be immediately replaced by a thundercloud instead. “No!” she said firmly as she climbed out of their bed. She paused only long enough to grab her dressing gown before she stormed out of the room, leaving him alone and confused behind her.
He didn’t understand what was wrong at first…and he wracked his still impressive (even in human form) brain to figure out the problem. Oh! It was then that he was hit by the memory of Reinette, the girl in the fireplace who had grown up to become Madame Pompadour.** She was the one whom the full-Time Lord version of himself had first snogged (and then boasted loudly about it). She was also the one for whom he had left Rose stranded in a derelict spaceship in the future…and the one who he promised to take traveling with them…despite how awkward that would have been – especially for Rose. Worst of all, he had done all of that after he had promised Rose during the Sarah Jane incident*** that he would never abandon her.
The part of him that had been Donna’s contribution to his new biology gave him a mental slap over his horrific mishandling of that entire situation (just like the brassy redhead would have done in person). He then felt his human heart sink as he finally realized just how terrible that whole incident probably made Rose feel…even though the other him had never discussed it with her afterwards. John knew, however, that he would have to rectify that situation immediately as he jumped out of bed to follow her – barely remembering to don his own dressing gown in his haste to get to the woman he loved.
He found her in the kitchen. She was making a pot of tea in the careful, time-consuming way that she always did whenever she was upset about something. She had previously explained to him (when he had first arrived in Pete’s World and was struggling to sort out the confusing human emotions that came with his new body) that the process gave her time to think…and prevented her from making rash decisions that she might later regret. At the memory of that conversation, the Doctor felt another pang of guilt as he also remembered that she had made a lot of tea that way in the galley of the TARDIS in the days after their time in the future spaceship/18th century France.
At the realization, he ran his hand nervously through his already wild hair. “Rose, I am so sorry. I just realized…I mean...I didn’t know back then…” his voice trailed off, uncertain about how to explain that it took becoming human himself for him to finally realize the terrible way he had treated her then.
Rose just sighed, however. “It’s alright, Doctor. I know that it wasn’t really this you,” she replied.
“It’s not alright,” he proclaimed adamantly, “but it’s true that this me could never do something like that to you now. However, I feel like I need to explain that me didn’t really mean to hurt you either. Back then, that me was struggling with feelings for something I thought I could never have – a future with you – and I recklessly tried to prove to myself that it didn’t really matter by…”
“Acting like a complete arse?” Rose interrupted calmly even though her eyes were still shadowed with doubt as she handed him a mug.
“Well…yes,” he answered sheepishly as he took a sip of his tea and noted that she had made it just the way he liked it, as always. That was his Rose, caring and thoughtful, even in the midst of her own pain. Before he could thank her, though, she continued to speak.
“It hurt, you know.” Her quiet calm was gone and she whispered in a broken tone. “Even more than when you sent me away from the Gamestation.**** At least then I knew that you did it because you cared. What happened in France, though, was just so incredibly unlike you, any version of you, that I just didn’t know what to think for the longest time after. I forgave you…him...of course. However, I just couldn’t forget. Pete’s World happened soon after that, though…and then Canary Wharf…and it just didn’t matter anymore. Nothing did for a while. Then, even after I crossed universes to find him, he abandoned me…abandoned us…back here again...without even asking.” She paused to shrug. “Sometimes, I wonder if he ever really cared about me after his regeneration…or if I was just a convenient companion.”
“He did care!” her Doctor proclaimed with conviction. “After all, our life here is proof of that. He gave me what he could never have…and it was his way of showing you how much he cared…even though I know it broke his hearts to give you up again. I can promise you that. After all, I was still part of him the first time he lost you. It almost destroyed me then…as you saw in Donna’s alternate pocket universe.”*****
“That was because of me?” Rose asked incredulously and the thought of the Doctor’s death in the aborted timeline made her shudder.
“You were one loss too many. Life just wasn’t worth living anymore without you,” he answered honestly. “It would’ve happened in this timeline, too…if Donna hadn’t been there to stop that me from going too far. That would’ve been a shame, too, because then we would never have experienced any of this happiness then.”
“Oh, Doctor!” Rose cried out, suddenly overcome with emotion at the thought of how much he…both of him…had…and did…care for her – despite the Reinette incident. She also realized how close that she had come to losing him permanently, so she quickly set down her cup and jumped into his arms.
~~~~~
They spent most of that day in bed together as a way to reassure each other of their continued existence, reaffirm their love, and plan for their future together. Consequently, it was not until much later that they resumed their vacation plans.
“I think we should go to France,” Rose admitted to the Doctor’s extreme surprise – especially after their recent conversation.
“Rose, we don’t have to…” he demurred, but she interrupted him.
“No, Doctor!” she said firmly. “I don’t want that one episode in our past to always hang over our heads and cast a shadow over our life together. I think that you were right. We should go to Paris and do all of those things that you suggested to that Adam idiot back when you were my first Doctor with the sexy Northern accent and the leather jacket.”
“I had a daft old face back then,” he interjected, still flabbergasted by her sudden change of heart.
“I loved that daft face,” she replied seriously and the Doctor felt a surge of affection for her when he remembered how much that him in that body, born from battle, had grown to care about the woman who had saved him from himself. “Just like I loved the one that came after it,” she admitted. “I still love that face…and the new man with the human body that comes with it...and I want to make new memories with him. Our relationship…this you and me…what we have now doesn’t deserve to be tainted by the old memories of what happened, intentionally or not, with the other you.
The Doctor didn’t know what to say…so he just told her the truth. “I love that idea,” he answered simply, “and I love you.”
Rose had always been grateful that this him had never been afraid to say the words that definitely needed to be said…and she loved him all the more for it.
~~~~~
In the end, they did make many of those much-needed new memories together. While in Paris, they enjoyed seeing all of the “touristy” sights. However, they also made a point of doing the things that her first Doctor had suggested were necessary for real travel.
They threw themselves headlong into the culture by staying in a residential neighborhood rather than a hotel. They also talked to the locals, and visited all of the “hidden treasure” spots that they suggested, rather than just the ones that the guide books recommended. They ate the food – not only in restaurants, but also from street vendors and small family-run shops where they bought the individual ingredients before putting them all together for picnics on the banks of the Seine. They used the wrong verbs frequently – especially since the TARDIS was no longer there to translate for them – and as brilliant as the Doctor was, he just couldn’t remember every word from every language. However, the mistakes they made were often hilarious, rather than mortifying, so they didn’t really mind. They also didn’t complain about the exorbitant cost of croissants and cappuccinos at the cafés located in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower – even though they were roughly twice the price of the ones near their lodgings.
Out of everything, however, their favorite piece of the Ninth Doctor’s travel advice was definitely the “end up kissing complete strangers” one.
One evening Rose and the Doctor had decided to stroll across the Pont Mirabeau to honor Apollonaire’s poetry and to see the statues there. While they crossed the bridge, however, they were captivated instead by the heartwarming sight of an elderly couple who shuffled hand-in-hand across it in the dusky twilight. The thought that they could actually grow old together and be that couple one day… thanks to what Rose now knew was the full-Time Lord Doctor’s gift to them…touched their hearts. By unspoken agreement, they approached the couple and charmed them thoroughly while they escorted them arm-in-arm safely to the other side of the slope. They then kissed their wrinkled cheeks with affection before they moved swiftly off into the night themselves – obviously wrapped up in the warmth of their own feelings for each other.
The elderly couple watched them go with bemusement before the man turned to his wife. “Jeunes amoureux ... que puis-je dire? La ville les rend tous un peu fous,” he said before he shrugged and took her hand again. Then he winked at her. “Peut-être les anciens aussi." ******
~~~~~
Rose and the Doctor also visited a lot of museums on their trip and he kept her amused with stories about how, in a few of his previous bodies, he had met some of the artists whose works were featured there. He told her about going to the ballet with Degas and how he had fallen into Monet’s water lily pond in Giverny. Therefore, Rose thoroughly enjoyed the visits…and the stories. However, her favorite part of the trip remained the visits to the French gardens.
In those frantic days when she and her team had been testing the Dimension Cannon in a race against time to find the Doctor and let him know about the disappearing stars, Kensington Park had become a refuge for her in her rare moments away from the chaos. Since John had come back to Pete’s World with her, they had been much too busy with each other and Torchwood to go to the gardens very often. However, she had missed them desperately. Therefore, she was determined to visit as many gardens as she possibly could while she was on vacation in Paris.
They had already experienced extremely pleasant visits to both the Luxemborg and Tuileries Gardens. When they were in the process of admiring the peacocks and roses in the Bagatelle Park, though, they were approached by another British tourist who had overheard them discussing how lovely everything was.
“If you think these gardens are beautiful, then you really should see the ones at Versailles,” the woman suggested kindly.
The Doctor felt Rose stiffen beside him at the mention of the palace where they had met Reinette all of those years ago. A few Gallifreyan curses flew through his mind as he realized that the making new memories plan (which had been going so well up to this point) had just been completely derailed with one word. He responded immediately with a reassuring arm around Rose and pulled her near, before he replied politely to the woman’s suggestion. “Thank you for the idea, but I don’t think that we'll have time to stop there on this trip.” The woman just nodded with understanding and rejoined her family.
“I’m sorry, Rose,” he whispered into her hair as he again mentally cursed his full-Time Lord self’s inconsiderate actions. Rose, however, once again denied that he had any reason to apologize, but she remained subdued and thoughtful as they finished touring the garden…and throughout the rest of the evening, as well.
~~~~~
His cheerful Rose was back the next morning, however. Upon awakening, he was greeted by her tongue-touched smile…and he knew instantly that she was up to something. Nevertheless, he was still extremely surprised when he heard her plans for the day.
“I want to go to Versailles,” she said matter-of-factly. At his incredulous look, she clarified. “Not to the palace! However, I really would like to see the gardens. In addition to that, if I am ever going to move past this completely, I will need to make some new memories to associate with that place, yeah? Lucky for you, I think I know the perfect way to do that.” She then sent him such a heated look that he experienced an immediate and very physical reaction to it.
“Lucky for me, huh?” he managed to croak out when it became obvious that he was fighting a losing battle to will the reaction away.
“Very lucky for you!” she confirmed with a suggestive smile that did nothing to help the situation.
“Rose Marion Tyler, you can’t possibly mean…”
“Oh yes, I most certainly can! I can also promise you that I won’t be dressed appropriately for the occasion, either! I suggest that you do the same…easy access and all that, you know!”
With that last bit of advice and a very provocative wink, she went to prepare for their upcoming risqué adventure.
Blimey! he thought with a very human response of both extreme nervousness and overwhelming desire about her plans for a naughty romp somewhere in the Versailles gardens. Making new memories, indeed!