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Somewhere beautiful. That’s what Rose had asked him for when he’d asked where she’d like to go next.
Somewhere beautiful.
It wasn’t such a tall order - at least, it shouldn’t be. There were gorgeous places all throughout time and space. When you got right down to it, every place had its own unique beauty.
But this trip was special.
Jack had asked to be dropped off on a pleasure planet - one of the racier ones that catered to tastes like Jack’s. The thought of her in a place like that, a place that was basically a nonstop orgy, made the Doctor want to destroy the nearest breakable object and then retch until he regenerated of dehydration. But Rose, his sweet Rose, had wanted no part of such a trip, laughing and joking that just landing on the planet might be enough for her delicate system to catch a disease.
He was relieved beyond measure.
Christmas was in three days in Rose’s timeline, and she’d asked to go home to visit her mother for the holiday. There was no way the Doctor could say no to that: hell, he had a terrible time saying ‘no’ to her about anything. So he’d acquiesced, saying he’d be happy to take her, but he wouldn’t be going to any dinners or gift exchanges, ta. What he didn’t tell her was that he would spend the entire two days she was visiting with her mother pacing the TARDIS, barely keeping a lid on the panic that she wouldn’t come back. That she’d change her mind about traveling with him and leave him behind. That he’d be alone again - because if Rose didn’t come back, he wasn’t going to bother with picking up Jack.
Rose had simply put her tongue between her teeth when he’d refused to come to Christmas dinner and teased him about something. He wasn’t sure what; that tongue distracted him from rational thought every single time. He’d offered to take her on one more trip before they landed in London - his own little Christmas present to her. Rose had brightened visibly. “Just you and me?”
He’d nodded. “Just you and me, Rose Tyler.”
Then she’d asked for him to take her somewhere beautiful.
He really could have taken her anywhere. His Rose was so eager, so fascinated by all the things he showed her, she would be easy to please. But he wanted to do more than please her. He wanted to wow her.
Finally, after much deliberation (at lightning speed), he’d nodded. “I know just the place.”
“Oooh. Where?”
“It’s a surprise. You’ll see.”
Rose scoffed. “‘Surprise’, he says. As if everywhere we land isn’t likely to be a surprise.”
“Oi!”
She giggled a little at his outrage, and he fought down a smile.
“What do I wear?”
“Cold weather. Very cold.”
She’d nodded and dashed off down the corridor.
Now he stood in the console room waiting for her, debating about whether or not he’d done the right thing, brought her to the right place. He considered dematerializing and whisking her off to some uninhabited planet with a beach, but shook his head.
No. This was good. She’d love it, and she’d be happy. He loved her, and he’d be happy if she was.
He barely had time to second-guess himself again before Rose stepped into the corridor. Just the sight of her was enough to make him smile. She’d taken his ‘cold weather’ admonition to heart, and was sporting a parka with a fur-lined hood, trousers he was sure were fleece-lined, and thick gloves. He lamented the gloves a bit - how was he supposed to touch her soft skin if she had her hands covered? Then he chastised himself. Surely he could go a few hours without touching her?
But she’ll be gone for two days…
He violently tamped that thought down.
Rose turned her body and raised one arm, striking a pose. “How do I look?”
The Doctor smiled brighter. “Fantastic.”
“Aren’t you going to change?”
“Nah. I’ll be plenty warm. Superior Time -”
“Superior Time Lord Physiology...I know, I know.” She beamed, then practically skipped over to him. “So… where are we going?”
“We’re already there,” he told her, offering his elbow. She slipped her gloved hand through it, curling her fingers around his bicep, and he thrilled at the warmth and weight of her- even through layers of fabric and leather. The door opened under his hand and a blast of cold air made Rose flinch.
“Blimey,” she marveled. “I wasn’t expecting it to be this cold.”
He looked down at her, concerned. “You alright?”
She smiled up at him. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me...I’m with you, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are.”
“Then I’ll be perfectly alright.”
~*~O~*~
The Doctor cast surreptitious glances down at her every few moments, concerned for her comfort and enjoyment. She seemed to be suitably impressed thus far, he thought. It was a landscape he’d always found quite beautiful. He’d always enjoyed the stillness of the planet, as well.
“And it just froze?”
He snapped the fingers of the hand that wasn’t holding hers. “Like that.”
“Amazing,” she breathed, looking up at the wave that curled over them, sparkling like diamonds.
“You like it?” he asked, unable to wait another minute to know what she thought.
“S’gorgeous,” she said, not looking at him right away. “I asked for somewhere beautiful, but I never expected anything like this.”
The smile that spread across his face was delighted. “Not bad for a Christmas present, eh?”
“Not bad at all,” she agreed.
“I’m glad you like it.”
She shivered then, and the smile disappeared. He furrowed his brow at her again. “You alright there?”
“Just a bit cold,” she confessed. “I thought I’d put on enough layers, but it seems like I didn’t.”
“Here,” he said, giving into temptation and releasing her hand. He unbuttoned his jacket and held it open to her. “An extra layer could only help, and this is a warm jacket. Warmer than it looks.”
She looked at him with a confused look for just a moment, then her face bloomed into a radiant smile and she stepped forward, sliding her arms around his waist under the jacket.
Oh, that was heaven. He’d had hugs from her before, certainly, but nothing like this. Her hands slid a little way up his back, her body was flush against his, and he was grateful for the layers of clothing that would prevent her from feeling what her embrace was doing to him.
“Mmm…” she hummed. “It’s nice and toasty under here.”
He chuckled, wrapping his own arms around her shoulders and bringing his lips down to her parka-covered head. “Glad to be able to help.”
They stood like that for a while. The Doctor had no idea how long; his time sense seemed to have deserted him. But he was aware enough to know that not long after she’d snuggled into him, he started rocking her back and forth just a bit, telling himself the motion would help keep her warm. He knew she sighed and nuzzled her cheek against his jumper more than once - and it was a happy sound. He knew holding Rose Tyler under a hundred-foot tall pillar of ice was a moment he would remember until his last regeneration and beyond.
“We should get back,” he murmured into the hood of her parka, wishing it was her hair so that he could smell it.
“I don’t want to let go,” she near-whispered against his chest.
He thought logistics for just a moment. “So don’t.”
She raised her head then and looked at him. “Pardon?”
“Don’t let go. It’s not far to the TARDIS, we’ll walk very carefully, together.”
She laughed, then gave him an incredulous smile. “You’re serious?”
“Very.”
“Okay…”
“Ready, Rose Tyler?”
“Let’s do it.”
Had Jack been able to see them shuffling like a gangly four-legged beast across the frozen terrain of Woman Wept, he’d have laughed himself into an aneurism. But Jack wasn’t there, a fact the Doctor was profoundly grateful for - for several reasons.
They’d nearly made it, were only a few yards away from home, when it happened. He was never sure who slipped or how, but in the space of a heartsbeat, he landed flat on his back with Rose Tyler sprawled on top of him.
“Oh!”
“Are you alright?” he asked automatically, noting that her hands were pinned behind his back.
Even in the dim light, she was beautiful. Tendrils of her blonde hair slipped out from beneath her fur-lined hood, and the laugh she let out in answer was a puff of smoke that tickled his face and made him smile. Her eyes arrested him, though. They flicked from his lips to his eyes, then back down, and then back up.
His hearts hammered in his chest so hard he was sure she could feel it. Every nerve in his body screamed for him to kiss her, to raise his head from the ice and press his lips against her warmth, finally - finally - showing her that he wasn’t a sexless alien, that despite what she’d said in the storage room of a London hospital, he was a man.
A man who was desperately in love with her.
Scenarios and situations played out in his mind while he stared up into her eyes, doing his best to communicate, without words, just how much he loved her; to beg permission to touch her.
Her face softened from its look of surprise into something much warmer, almost a smile.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah?”
Once again, she didn’t answer his question. She simply flicked her eyes down to his lips then closed them, lowering her face a little. He raised his head to meet her, and he barely noticed the tickle of the hair that had escaped her hood when his lips slid against hers.