#seriously this whole chapter takes place at various seaside resorts

[chocolatequeennk]

Taking Time, 2/5

Summary: Their year with the Master left wounds deeper than they wanted to admit, but now, the Doctor and Rose are ready to take the time necessary to heal.

This is part of the Being to Timelessness ‘verse, falling in between Voyage of the Damned and S4. There’s a lot of emotional hurt/comfort as they work through the trauma caused by the Year That Never Was.

Also, more than any other piece in the series, this one assumes you have read everything that came before it. Chapter 2 references (in order) chapter 34 of Time is Still A-Flying, chapter 25 of To Make Much of Time, and chapter 21 of TISAF. 

AO3 | FF.NET | TSP | Ch 1

Chapter Two: Celebrating the Good Times

The freedom to travel without the pressure to fix the universe made their trip to 1969 a holiday to remember. After parking the TARDIS in London so the younger Rose could benefit from her presence, the Doctor and Rose set out to cover as much ground in Britain as they could in a single month. Rose dug out the camera she’d given the Doctor for their first anniversary, and they took hundreds of pictures of all the sites Rose had never gotten to see as a child. They even went to Wales and saw the investiture of the Prince of Wales.

On their final weekend in the past, they went back to the Isle of Wight and stayed in a similar holiday cottage to the one they’d rented almost two years before. They were lounging on the beach on their last evening there, just like they had on their first evening months and months ago, when Rose started laughing.

The Doctor looked at her over the rim of his sunglasses. “What’s so funny?”

“I was thinking, what must we look like to the locals? Some posh couple with too much money who can afford to take a holiday every other weekend, I suppose.”

He blinked, then laughed along with her. Because of course, none of the locals could possibly know that nearly a year and a half had passed between these two weekends.

Rose shifted on their blanket until she was sitting in between his legs, and the Doctor automatically wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close. She laced their fingers together, then stared at their joined hands for a long moment. The Doctor bit back his question and waited for her to tell him what she was thinking, unprompted.

“Did you really not know how much I fancied you back then?”

He nuzzled the spot where her neck met her shoulder, blessing the halter top that left her shoulders bare. “I’m pretty sure you more than fancied me the last time we were here, love.” He chose one particularly vivid memory and shared it with her, then watched in delight as her skin turned pink. He got flustered so easily, but Rose really didn’t. Making her blush with an innuendo was a victory.

“I mean, back when you were the other you. Before you regenerated.” She twisted her neck so she could look up at him. “You really didn’t know?”

It still took the Doctor a moment to track with her conversation, then he remembered that the last time they’d sat on this beach, he’d called himself her “grumpy alien chauffeur.”

He chuckled, then bent his head and pressed another kiss to her neck. “I assure you, Rose, I had no idea.” He kissed her again, just below her ear, and she shivered in his arms. “If anything, I thought maybe you were intrigued by me—the alien with the space ship and the weird, short wand.”

Rose snorted. “Nothing short about your wand.”

The Doctor laughed and tickled her ribs. “Well, I don’t know what humans think of the sonic screwdriver the first time they see it, do I?”

“Silver tube thingy that saved our lives,” Rose supplied. “But back to my point—you seemed so insulted that I didn’t think you were impressive; I figured you knew how impressive you really were.”

“Well, I thought you weren’t impressed, so I was desperate to impress you,” he countered.

“But you know now?” she pressed.

“What’s this about, Rose?”

Rose sighed, then turned to kneel in between his legs, facing him. “Your dream last night.”

He sucked in a breath. When she hadn’t woken up with him in the middle of the night and hadn’t said anything that morning, he’d assumed she hadn’t noticed his dream. He should have known better.

“It was only a dream,” he said quickly.

“Doctor.” Rose pursed her lips, and he knew she wasn’t going to let it go. “You dreamed that I got mad at you because we kept landing in dangerous or difficult places. In your dream, I told you that I was going to stay on Earth, and you could come pick me up when you’d learned how to drive.”

His throat ached, and he clenched his jaw against the tears that threatened. Watching Rose walk away from him had been agonising, because he hadn’t been able to argue with her. Rose deserved someone who didn’t constantly drop her into danger, and if she’d finally realised that…  

When he’d woken up, tears streaming down his face, Rose had shifted in her sleep until they were barely touching. The Doctor had wanted to wrap himself around her so she couldn’t leave him, but he’d settled for rolling onto his side and resting his hand on her shoulder. Even that touch had seemed presumptuous, but it was the only way he’d been able to slow his racing hearts.

Rose reached out and stroked his cheek before cupping his jaw. “And I need you to know that there’s never been a time when I would have wanted you to drop me off.” She sighed. “There was that week after our trip to the parallel world, when I realised that I could go on without you if I needed to, but from the moment I met you, I never wanted to be without you.”

The Doctor stared down at Rose, then he crushed her to him. He floated on light relief and didn’t bother to check the tears he felt welling up in his eyes. Thank you, he told her as he kissed her softly.

Rose shifted as they kissed, encouraging him to lie back and roll onto his side. She wanted to hold him, but it was hard to embrace when she was kneeling between his legs.

His tears didn’t surprise her; she’d wanted to cry herself when she’d remembered his nightmare this morning, and realised she hadn’t woken up to comfort him. No matter where the TARDIS took them, being with the Doctor was the best part of her life, and her heart ached knowing he was so uncertain about that.

I love you, she told the Doctor once they were lying back on the beach with his head resting on her breast. She ran her hands through his hair. I love being with you—I’ve always loved being with you.

She reached for the hand he’d draped over her hip and laced their fingers together. Better with two, remember? It’s not about the life or the travelling; it’s about being with you. How else could I stand in the basement of a Cardiff morgue and tell you I was glad I’d met you?

A new thought occurred to her, and the hand in his hair paused momentarily, until his head pushed into it, silently asking her to keep stroking him.

What’s bothering you, Rose?

She hesitated. If he said yes, it would mean changing a huge part of the way they interacted on a daily basis. But it would also mean she’d been hurting him all this time, and in that case, she was willing to retrain herself.

Does it… Rose bit her lip. Does it bother you when I poke fun at your driving? she asked quickly.

The Doctor shook his head vehemently, accidentally brushing his lips against the swell of her breast as he did so. Absolutely not. I know you’re only teasing.

Rose nodded, slightly reassured. Still… If I ever hurt you accidentally, promise me you’ll say something.

His answer didn’t come right away, and she prodded him over the bond until he sighed. All right. I’ll tell you.

An older couple walking by looked pointedly at them before tutting and looking away. Rose glanced down at the way the Doctor had wrapped himself around her and sighed when she realised it really didn’t look decent, by contemporary standards. He’d tangled his legs with hers, and his head rested between her breasts, his lips millimetres from kissing bare skin.

She nudged him gently and smiled when he lifted his head to look up at her. “We’re getting a bit of attention,” she said, nodding at the crowd on the beach who were all purposely ignoring them. “Why don’t we get up and walk along the water to our cottage?”

He sighed, but stood up and brushed the sand off his trousers before offering her a hand. Together, they folded up the blanket they’d been lying on. Rose shoved it back in the bag and slung the bag over her shoulder, then reached for his hand.

“So, any brilliant plans after we pack up the flat in London tomorrow?” she asked. She knew he had plans; he’d been carefully keeping something from her all week.

The Doctor swung their hands between them and skipped a little. “Oh, yes! Well, first, I thought we could spend a few days at home, floating in the Vortex.”

“A break from relaxing?” Rose’s tongue poked out from the corner of her mouth.

“Something like that.” He tugged on his ear. “Also, time to run a few maintenance routines I don’t usually get around to. We’ve done well so far, but if we want to continue hitting the destinations we’re looking for, I need to stay on top of her repairs.”

“Oh, then let’s definitely spend some time at home,” Rose agreed. She shot him a sidelong glance. “Now, are you going to tell me what you’ve got planned, or are you going to keep me in suspense?”

The Doctor looked up at the sky and pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. “I don’t know… are you sure you really want to know?”

Her impatience spiked, then disappeared as suddenly. “Nah. I mean, I’ll find out when we get there, right?”

She held her hand up to shield her eyes, and the Doctor squinted into the sun, trying to see what she’d spotted. Ah. A ferry.

“Do you think Ryde has ever used “Ticket to Ride” as a tourism slogan?” Rose asked, referring to the ferry port town.

The Doctor looked down at her, feeling some of his excitement dwindle. Then he caught the way she kept looking over at him, and figured out her game.

Oh no, Rose Tyler. If you want to know where we’re going, you’ll have to ask.

He let go of her hand and shoved both of his into his pockets, then stared out at the ferry, pretending to be deep in thought. “I think they do during the twenty-second century. Beatles mania enjoys a resurgence in the 2120s, and if memory serves, Ryde finally takes advantage of the song.”

They stood side by side at the water’s edge for ten minutes, both of them waiting for the other to give. The Doctor was on the verge of caving when Rose exhaled loudly.

“Oh, my God, Doctor—would you just tell me where we’re going?”

The Doctor threw his head back and laughed. “If you wanted to know, you only had to ask.” He laughed again when she growled his name. “Do you know what next week is?”

Rose’s irritation disappeared and an adorable furrow appeared on her forehead as she tried to work it out. “My birthday is still two months away,” she mumbled, ticking dates off on her fingers. “And we bonded for the first time only a week or so before that…”

She gasped, and he knew she had it. “Five years,” she said, disbelievingly. “Next week will be five years since we met.”

The Doctor grabbed her hand and  waggled his eyebrows. “Run!” he ordered gleefully, then took off for their cottage, hearing her footsteps pound into the sand beside him.  

Ten minutes later, they collapsed, breathless, onto the steps of their cottage. “Okay,” Rose gasped. “So it’s the anniversary of the day we met. But where are we going?”

The Doctor leaned against the door. “Glaurus.” Her mouth fell open, and he tugged at his ear. “I know Henrik’s has been rebuilt, but we couldn’t really find the spot where I first took your hand, since it was blown up less than an hour later. And you said, once, that you’d like to holiday on Glaurus. This seemed like a good time to take that trip.”

Rose chuckled. “Yeah, Henrik’s never was known for being a romantic destination anyway. I suppose Glaurus will do instead.”

oOoOoOoOo

A holiday on Glaurus was as lovely as Rose had imagined it would be three years ago. Instead of landing in the resort town with their favourite restaurant, the Doctor took them to the countryside first. Away from the sea, the ever-present perfume of lemon and lavender hung in the air, reminding Rose of the fields of Provence.

On their fifth anniversary, they moved the TARDIS to the city so they could make their dinner reservations. The Doctor smiled at Rose as they stepped out into the balmy summer evening and held out his hand to her. “Ready to go?”

She took it readily, but the sly smile on her face told him to prepare for teasing. “You’re not going to offer me your arm this time, Doctor?”

He groaned and shook his head. “I really debated that particular piece of advice,” he told her. “Everything else the article said made sense, but we alway held hands. It seemed odd, holding you at a distance like that.”

They reached the restaurant and were seated immediately once he gave his name. Rose smiled at the Doctor once the host had their drink orders and left them alone. “Did you ask for the same table we sat at for our first date?”

“Maybe,” he drawled.

“Do you know what I remember most about that night?”

The Doctor reached for her hand. “You mean something is more memorable than the way I bungled things?”

“You didn’t!” Rose protested. “It was sweet that you cared enough about our first date to try that hard.” The Doctor raised an eyebrow, and Rose shook her head. “I mean it, Doctor. And Mum thought so, too. I told her about our date when I called her right before we ran into the Weeping Angels, and it was the first time I felt like she really understood how much you love me.”

The Doctor rubbed his thumb over Rose’s pulse point. His comment had been more in jest than anything, but her staunch defence was still touching. “Thank you. Now… I think you were going to tell me what you remember most about our first date.”  

Rose’s eyes went soft. “Yeah. It seems appropriate to remember tonight. I told you that I never thought we’d be doing this, and you said—”

“Oh, I think this has been inevitable since run, Rose Tyler.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, shivering along with her at the contact.

Then he turned to the server, who was patiently waiting with their wine and crab cakes. “Thank you,” he told the young woman as he let go of Rose’s hand and sat back so the server could pour the wine.

“Not a problem, sir,” she said cheerfully. “You looked too happy to interrupt.”

Rose turned and smiled at her. “It’s our anniversary,” she explained. “We met five years ago today.”

The woman’s eyes lit up. “Oh, congratulations!” Her mouth twisted into a rueful smile. “My girlfriend and I have known each other about that long, too, but I can’t tell if our relationship is ever gonna move forward.”

The Doctor tugged at his ear. “Well, without knowing anything about either of you, I can say that some of us simply move slower than others.”

Rose took his free hand and squeezed. “And I can say it’s worth the wait.”

Their server smiled brightly. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she promised, then took out her notepad. “Now, are you ready to order?”

Over dinner, the Doctor and Rose reminisced about that first adventure they’d shared. “Were you really surprised when you saw my face through the cat flap?” Rose asked.

The Doctor nodded. “It was a good surprise—I started thinking about ways I could meet you again before I even left Henrik’s—but it was definitely a surprise.”

Rose narrowed her eyes. “Hang on. You told me to forget you.”

“Wellllll…” The Doctor scratched at his cheek. “I wanted to get to know you, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t think you’d be better off without me.”

“Oh, my God, Doctor!” Rose buried her face in her hands to hide her snort of laughter. The whole idea that he’d been working out ways to run into her again, but then had run from her the moment it happened… it was so typical of the Doctor back then.

“But you, though!” The Doctor pointed at her. “You looked me up online, you said. So I wasn’t the only one who was intrigued from the start, at least.”

Rose ran her finger around the lip of her glass. “Well, this brooding, Byronic hero had just stared at me with blue eyes that could look straight into your soul, and he told me to forget him. So, yeah—of course I looked you up.” She smiled at him, her tongue peeking out. “And now here we are, five years later.”

The Doctor reached for her over the bond, pulling her into a telepathic embrace. Here we are, indeed.

Rose’s eyes drifted shut. Did you imagine we’d be like this?

He shook his head. Even as I explained bonding to you, I barely let myself hope you’d be interested in sharing a bond with me. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. When you told me you’d love to live with me in your head… I can’t tell you how much that meant to me, Rose.

She smiled, and a moment later, her touch on the bond deepened. I meant it. I’m so grateful you found the courage to ask. I love you, my Doctor.

After dinner, the Doctor led Rose up to the cliff walk. The sun was reaching the horizon when they got to the viewpoint, and they stopped to watch the sky turned pink and gold. The Doctor was holding Rose close, with his arms wrapped around her waist just like he’d done the last time they were here. Then, the intimacy of the embrace had been new and almost overwhelming, but now it was as natural as breathing.

“Thank you for bringing us here,” Rose told him quietly as she played with his fingers where they rested on her stomach. “It’s been nice, remembering our first date at the same time as we celebrated our first meeting.”

This time, when Rose sighed and leaned her head back against his shoulder, the Doctor didn’t ignore the invitation. Instead, he turned slightly and pressed his lips to hers for three quick kisses before she carded her fingers through his hair and held him in place to deepen the kiss.

I love you, he told her as he moved to embrace her fully. From the day we met, for as long as our forever lasts.

oOoOoOoOo

After their week on Glaurus, the Doctor hesitantly started taking them on occasional day trips with minimal planning. The first time they stepped out of the TARDIS on one of these trips, they both nearly turned right around and flew away. How many times had they thought they’d landed someplace safe, only to end up in the middle of a revolution or palace coup?

But the TARDIS hummed, urging them to explore, so they did. And the market the visited was peaceful—well, it was bustling with activity, but politically speaking, it was peaceful, with no danger lurking beneath the surface.

Following that success, they both threw themselves into their new life as travellers. Rose spent evenings in the library, researching new places to visit, and the Doctor kept a constant eye on the state of the TARDIS’ engines, making sure to keep the ship in tip-top shape.

Rose tried not to count the days down to her birthday. She’d never been the type before, but she knew the Doctor was planning something, and she was dying to know what it was. Somehow, she held back her questions, and simply waited for him to tell her.

When she entered the console room after breakfast the day before her birthday and spotted a packed bag waiting by the door, Rose spun to look at the Doctor, biting her lip in anticipation. “Where are we going?”

The Doctor threw the dematerialisation lever, then leaned against the console as they flew through the Vortex. “Someplace I promised to take you two years ago, and then never followed through.”

A few possibilities occurred to Rose, but they landed before she could start throwing out ideas. The Doctor took her hand, then raised his eyebrows and looked at the door.

“Allons-y, Rose Tyler,” he told her, and she opened the door.

The Doctor stood back with his hands in his pockets, watching as Rose stepped out onto the stretch of deserted beach. In a few minutes, they’d move into the nearby resort town and check into the suite he’d booked for the week, but he’d wanted this to be her first glimpse of the planet.

Rose bent down and picked up a handful of the iridescent sand, then let it trickle between her fingers. “It sparkles, like there’s glitter in it.”

The Doctor could feel her trying to figure out where they were, and he waited patiently for the memories to come together.

The last of the sand fell back to the beach and Rose dusted her hands off. “It reminds me of… Oh! This is where you got the incredible turquoise pigment you gave me for my birthday two years ago.”

“Yep!” He bounced on his toes. “This is Ekbrilon. And if my lady would care to step back inside our carriage, it’s only a short trip into town and to our lodgings.”

oOoOoOoOo

Rose studied the furnishings in their room as they unpacked their bag. The duvet cover had a gossamer, mother-of-pearl sheen to it, and the light caught and reflected off the textured walls, casting rainbows on the floor and the ceiling.

It wasn’t until they were outside again, walking towards the shopping district, that she noticed the clothes. “Doctor,” she murmured.

He squeezed her hand. “I know. Ekbrilon means ‘the one that shines.’ Phosphorescence typically wears off after a short while and needs to be recharged by exposure to the sun. But a unique element in the soil of Ekbrilon allows it to hold the charge longer. As you saw on the beach, the ground itself shimmers, but also, certain things will pick up that trait when exposed to the element. That extends to a particular variety of cotton.” He nodded at a passing woman whose hair was wrapped in a turban made of sparkling fabric. “The natives always wear at least one piece of clothing made from Ekbrilon cotton, as a symbol of their connection to the planet.”  

“I like it,” Rose declared. “I’ll have to get something for myself before we leave.”

The Doctor grinned down at her. “I thought you might. And I’m sure we can find something for you this afternoon, if you like. But first, there’s someplace I know you’ll enjoy, and it’s right around the corner.”

A moment later, Rose stepped into an airy shop, with big windows that let in plenty of natural light. The scent of oil paints hit her, and she clenched her hands into fists. The Doctor brought you here because he thought you’d love it, she reminded herself fiercely. He doesn’t know…

The Doctor turned to look at her, his brows knit together in confusion. “Rose? This is where I bought that pigment for you. I thought you’d want…”

“Yeah,” she managed. She picked up the closest thing to her, which happened to be a palette. “They’ve got really nice stuff here. Thanks, Doctor.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head, and Rose drew a shuddering breath as she set the palette back down. She’d known he wouldn’t be fooled by her act, but she’d really wanted to get out of the shop before she broke down. Tears welled up in her eyes and she tried to blink them back, but after a second, she spun around and ran out of the shop.

The Doctor found her around the corner in an alley, crouched on the ground and pressing her hands to her eyes. As soon as she’d run out of the store, he’d cottoned onto something, and seeing how much his obliviousness had hurt her made his stomach churn.

She needs you now, not your self-recrimination, he reminded himself sharply. Taking a deep breath, he sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“You haven’t painted since we’ve been home,” he said when she was done crying. “I didn’t really realise that until now.”

Rose nodded and hiccupped. “The Master liked to ridicule me for not having any A-levels. ‘And even if you had gone on for further education, Rose Tyler, you were only planning to study English, French, and art?’” She mangled the tissue he’d given her, and little bits of torn paper landed on his leg. “So it seemed kinda silly to paint. I’ve been trying to study more too; the TARDIS has given me some books to read.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” the Doctor asked quietly.

Rose shrugged. “Didn’t seem important, really. I mean, he was right in a way. Art doesn’t matter as much as science.”

The wistfulness in her voice made his hearts ache. “Do you remember what you told Donna?” he asked her. Rose frowned up at him. “How about we don’t start any more sentences with, ‘The Master was right.’ Because even when he came close, he still got it so wrong, Rose.” The Doctor took her hand and held it up. “That gorgeous painting of Makuyu in our bedroom was done by this hand.” He tapped her temple. “The vision came from this mind.” He kissed her. “I look at that painting every day and marvel at your extraordinary talent and creativity. Don’t ever let anyone tell you art doesn’t matter.”

Rose sniffed and brushed tears away. “I’ve missed it,” she admitted. “It’s been a year and a half since I’ve done more than simple sketches, and it feels like part of me is just… shrivelling up.”

The Doctor jumped to his feet and held his hands out. “Then I think I know what we’re doing for the rest of the afternoon.”

A light he hadn’t known was missing entered Rose’s eyes, and this time, she nearly dragged him into the art supply shop. The Doctor stood by the counter and watched as she tore through the shop like a whirlwind, making selections and adding them to the growing pile before diving back in.

“Your wife must love to paint,” the shopkeeper observed.

“She does, and it’s been a while.”  

Rose picked up two tubes of similarly coloured paint and bit her lip as she looked from one to the other. The Doctor recognised her indecision, and nodded from the shopkeeper to Rose.

“Can you make sure she finds the absolute best quality possible of everything she wants?”

Half an hour later, they were on their way to the beach, the Doctor carrying the easel and small canvas Rose had purchased, while she had a bag with all of the paints and brushes she’d chosen for her newest project.

“Sit over there,” she ordered as she set up her easel. “I don’t want you to see it until I’m done.”

The Doctor obediently shook out his coat and sat down on the sand, facing Rose. The colours she’d chosen were mostly shades of blue, and he wondered what she had in mind.

He’d never watched her work before, and the concentration on her face entranced him. After working quickly with a large brush, she bit her lip and picked up a smaller brush, eyeing the canvas as if she were trying to imagine the idea in her head had already come to life.

Finally, she dipped her brush in another colour, and he sighed in relief as happy confidence spread across her face. They were gradually putting their lives back together, and even though he knew this wouldn’t magically make everything better, it was still a major step in the right direction.  

The wind kept blowing a piece of hair into her eyes, and every time she brushed it back, she smeared paint on her cheek.  “I do not look gorgeous,” she said absently. “I’m sweaty, my hair is a mess, and I’ve got paint all over my face.”

The Doctor put his arms behind him and leaned backwards. “You’re happy,” he countered. “You keep looking at me and smiling, and your eyes are glowing. I hate to contradict you, love, but you’re definitely gorgeous right now.”

Rose rolled her eyes, but her smile didn’t fade. Thirty minutes later, she dropped her brush into the jar of water and straightened her back. “I think it’s done.”

She was biting her lip again, so the Doctor pushed a wave of encouragement her way as he stood up and came around to stand beside her.

Then he saw her painting, and he was stunned. The dark blues she’d selected had created a nighttime landscape. A couple walked hand in hand through the darkness, from the nearly pitch black bottom left corner towards the lightest point on the canvas on the far right. She’d used one of Ekbrilon’s special phosphorescent paints to make the sky twinkle with stars.

But it was the couple that commanded his attention. A tall man with brown spiky hair walked hand-in-hand with a blonde woman. They were in mid-stride, and there seemed to be some invisible force making their progress difficult. But as they leaned on each other, the Doctor got the feeling that they would make it, as long as they were together.

“I call it Finding Our Way Home,” Rose said quietly. “Because we still are, even though we’re back in the TARDIS. Figuring out how to pick up the pieces of our old life after a year away… it’s not easy. But you give me the strength to keep trying, when it would be easier to give up and think that this is as good as it’s going to get.”

The Doctor’s throat worked, but he couldn’t get words past the lump there. Instead, he reached for Rose and pulled her close, resting his forehead against hers.

We are going to find our way home, he promised her. I haven’t told you, but I’m so grateful you’re with me right now. I don’t know how I could piece myself back together after the Year That Never Was if I had to do it alone. You give me strength every day, and I love you.

Rose sighed, and he adjusted his hold so she could rest her head on his chest. I love you, too, Doctor. Thank you for pushing me to get back into art today. I feel more like me than I have in months.

The Doctor looked over the top of her head at the painting. “Shall we put it in the study, do you think?” he suggested in a low voice.

Rose nodded. “Yeah, that’s kind of what I was thinking. It’s part of the reason I wanted to do something in blues—so it would match the room.”

She sighed again, and this time, he could feel her weariness.

“I know you probably had some kind of plan for dinner, but would you mind if we went back to our room for the night?” she asked. “This was amazing, but it was draining to create something so fast, after not doing anything in ages.”

“Of course.” The Doctor helped her pack up her paints and brushes. “We could order room service and watch telly, or sit and read.”

Rose pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Doctor.”

He winked down at her. “Well, I want you well-rested for the birthday festivities tomorrow.”  

oOoOoOoOo

“Birthday festivities” turned out to be more shopping, then playing in the sea for a few hours. When Rose got hungry, they dried themselves off and went to an open air cafe for sandwiches.

After they ate, Rose rested her elbows on the table and leaned towards the Doctor. “So…” she drawled. “Do we have special plans for dinner tonight?”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “It’s your twenty-fifth birthday. Of course I have plans for dinner tonight. We have reservations at a restaurant that sits right on the water.” He waved at the expanse of sand surrounding them. “You were too tired last night to experience the full wonder of an Ekbrilon night. I can’t wait for you to see it, Rose.”

She twirled the umbrella from her drink between her fingers. “Since it’s my birthday, would you mind if I spent the afternoon at the spa? I could use some pampering, and then we could meet at the restaurant.”

The Doctor only hesitated for a moment. It was Rose’s birthday after all, and Ekbrilon was perfectly safe. He had no legitimate reason to insist she stayed by his side. And besides… “Well, that gives me time to shop…”

Rose held up her hand. “I don’t need any more gifts, Doctor. You gave me back my art yesterday. That’s the best gift I’ve gotten in years.”

He reached for her hand. I just want you to be happy.

Rose brushed her thumb over his. I am. Thank you.

After a quick shower, Rose headed out for her appointment. She smirked when she remembered how astonished the Doctor had been when he’d realised she’d actually already made plans. It’s good for him to know that he doesn’t catch everything, she thought, though she still didn’t know how she’d slipped in and out of the spa that morning without the Doctor being aware of her absence.

Rose had chosen the salon specifically because it was full-service, including a personal shopping assistant who would select outfits for you to try on while you were in your massage. She told the assistant where the Doctor was taking her, and gave her only one further instruction: “I want him to be speechless.”

oOoOoOoOo

The Doctor paced in front of the restaurant, waiting for Rose to appear. She wasn’t late, but her excitement for the evening had only grown since they’d parted for the afternoon. It was a very specific kind of anticipation that he recognised from other times she’d stunned him with her beauty, and he braced himself at the same time as he eagerly watched the sidewalk.

Nothing could have prepared him for the vision Rose was tonight, though. From the navy blue at the top of the bodice down to the turquoise skirt swirling around her legs, her dress evoked the changing colours of the Ekbrilon sea. And like most things on Ekbrilon, the silk was iridescent—meaning for once, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was radiant.

The silky fabric draped over her body, and for a few minutes, he was entranced by the outline of her legs as the skirt shifted around them. He could make out the familiar shape of her left thigh for a second, even though she was fully clothed. Then she took another step, highlighting her right calf, and he forced himself to look away.

Moving his gaze upward, the Doctor swallowed hard when he realised how revealing this dress was. Even though the skirt brushed along the ground as she walked, the bodice was cut almost to her navel. The fabric gathered in wide straps at her shoulders, and as he watched, she did a quick twirl, revealing that the back was equally low-cut.

Rose’s loose curls settled back around her shoulders when she faced him again. There was an alluring smile on her face, but the Doctor didn’t care if the way he was staring at her gave his thoughts away. She looked magical tonight, and she deserved to know that.

The Doctor’s slack-jawed expression and the awe she felt from him over the bond encouraged Rose to take another step, so she was just out of his reach. “Cat got your tongue, love?”

His eyes wandered over her figure. “I think…” He tugged on his tie. “That our reservation is coming up soon, so we should get inside before they give our table away.”

Rose pouted and grabbed his lapel, blessing the heels that added three inches to her height. “Is that all you have to say about my lovely dress?”

She held her breath when the Doctor reached out and traced the neckline of the dress. A moment later, Rose felt him open up the bond so she could tell exactly how much he appreciated her dress. She put her hand on his shoulder to hold  herself steady and reflected the same love and desire back to him.

His gaze drifted to her mouth, but as he leaned towards her, someone called their names from the door. Hold that thought, love, he told her as he ushered her into the restaurant.

Consider it held, she returned with a cheeky wink.

They were led through the restaurant to a table on the patio. When Rose stepped onto the wooden planks and felt them move beneath her feet, she realised what she’d thought was a deck was actually a dock. The establishment was built right at the water’s edge, and their outside seating floated on the water on pontoons.

“I like the way they did this,” Rose told the Doctor once the server had left. Each table floated on its own section of dock, separated from the others by water on three sides. It provided a sense of privacy and intimacy that was usually missing in outdoor seating, where the tables were all piled on top of each other.

“This is the absolute best way for you to experience the full glory of the Ekbrilon sea at night,” he explained.

Dinner turned out to be one of the most torturous meals the Doctor had ever sat through. Every time Rose moved, her dress caught the light differently, drawing his eyes to her again and again. It wasn’t like he was ever very good at looking away from her, but tonight he literally could not take his eyes off her.

And she was so enraptured by the setting sun that he would have thought she hadn’t noticed how captivated he was, except for the Mona Lisa smile on her face and the buzz of anticipated pleasure coursing over the bond.

As their empty plates were taken away, Rose squeezed his hand suddenly and looked up at him. “I didn’t really think about it, but we had a year of touches to make up for, didn’t we?”

The Doctor swallowed hard. “Yeah,” he said, his voice raspy. Touch-starved didn’t even begin to express how he’d felt when they’d left the Valiant. The loss of Rose’s telepathic presence in his mind had been excruciating, but a year without touching her, without holding her in his arms, had been its own kind of hell.

“I know,” she murmured. “I felt exactly the same way, but I’d never really thought of it like that.”

He nodded, then directed her attention to the water, grateful he could distract her from the painful topic.

The sun had just sank beneath the horizon, leaving the sky awash in purples and deep blues. But for once, the sunset wasn’t the grand finale. Now that the sky was dark, the water put on a show.

“Is the ocean glowing?” Rose asked. She leaned over, reaching out to touch the water.

“It’s the seaweed,” the Doctor told her. “Remember I told you the pigment I gave you two years ago was made from ground seaweed? Well…”

He pointed at the ocean. Tendrils of light danced beneath the surface as the seaweed swayed with the ocean currents. Like a Van Gogh painting, the water nearest the light was bright turquoise, deepening to cerulean and midnight blue until it brightened again as the next strand of seaweed floated nearby and lit the water up.

Their server appeared again, distracting the Doctor from the babbling lecture he’d been about to give. “Can I interest you in any dessert tonight?” the young man asked. “Our specialty is a miniature chocolate torte served with berries. One cake is enough for two, if you would like to share.”

Rose’s face lit up, and a tiny hum escaped her lips. The Doctor chuckled and nodded at the server. “I think the birthday girl has spoken. And coffee for both of us,” he added, suspecting they’d want something to cut the richness of the desert.

Five minutes later, their server put the cake down in front of them with a flourish. Looking at the mountain of chocolate decadence, the Doctor could understand why he played up the presentation. The double layer torte had a thick layer of ganache on top and between the layers. A pile of berries had been artfully arranged on top of the cake and allowed to spill over one edge, as if the cake itself wasn’t big enough to contain all the flavours.

“You first, love,” the Doctor said, gesturing for her to pick up one of the forks. “It’s your birthday cake, after all.”

Rose stabbed through the layers of cake, making sure to catch some of the ganache and one of the raspberries before bringing the fork to her mouth. Her eyes closed in sheer bliss when the first taste hit her tongue, and the Doctor’s hands flexed with the need to touch her.

Rose’s eyes darkened when she caught the direction his thoughts had taken, and a moment later, she loaded the fork with another bite of the cake, but this time, she held it out for him. “We’re supposed to be sharing, aren’t we, Doctor?”  

Sharing that chocolate cake with Rose was possibly the most sensual moment of the Doctor’s life, and when the plate was clean, he was more than ready to go back to their room. But when they left the restaurant, Rose caught a glimpse of one aspect of Ekbrilon’s phosphorescence that she still hadn’t seen yet.

“The sand,” she murmured, staring out at the blue light spider-webbing its way across the beach. A wave washed up on shore, and for a moment, they could see the combination of the shimmering sand and the glowing water. “How is it doing that?”

“All those particles that make it look like glitter during the day make it glow in the dark at night,” the Doctor explained.

“It’s gorgeous. I just want…” Rose bit her lip and looked up at the Doctor. “Can we walk along the water for a ways?”

“There’s no reason we can’t get to our hotel by walking on the beach, instead of the streets.”

Rose stepped into the sand, and the heels of her shoes sank, nearly tipping her forward. “Bloody hell,” she muttered. She flailed a bit, and the Doctor stepped close enough that she could grab onto his arm. “Thanks. Hold still. Yeah—like that,” she ordered, and he watched as she slipped her shoes off, then handed them to him. “You’ve got room in your pockets, right?”

“Of course.”

Shoes taken care of, they set out across the sand. There was something familiar about the image of the two of them walking through an iridescent night together, and the Doctor poked around in his memories until he figured out where he’d seen this before.  

“I know,” Rose whispered, squeezing his hand. “It’s like my painting.”

They were almost to the path that would lead up to their hotel when Rose stopped on the water’s edge. The Doctor followed her line of vision to where the moonlight reflected out over the water, adding another layer of colour to the turquoise and blues.

“I want to wade out into it a bit,” she said suddenly. “I just… I know it’s the same water we swam in this morning, but I’ve never stood in the middle of an ocean that glowed in the dark.”

The Doctor stood back a few steps and watched Rose as she waded into the water. The twin moons of Ekbrilon shone down on her, catching the iridescent quality of her dress and making it shine. The navy bodice blended into the night sky behind her, but the turquoise skirt floated on the midnight water.

Rose looked back at him over her shoulder, a mysterious smile playing with the corners of mouth. Her hair caught in the wind and trailed behind her as she walked toward him, holding her skirts slightly out of the water.

It was too late, though. They’d already gotten wet before she’d picked them up, and when she dropped them and the Doctor saw the way the damp fabric clung to her legs, the tenuous control he’d maintained all night disappeared, scattered on the sea breeze.

To his frustration, Rose picked up on his sudden shift in mood and stopped to look at him, her head tilted as she tried to follow what he was thinking. The Doctor shook his head and held out his hand. “Come here, love.”

Rose’s eyes widened at the rough quality of his voice. She took a step towards him, then another, and then she was close enough for him to reach out and wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her snugly against him.

She bit her lip and looked up at him through her eyelashes. Now that she was in his arms, he could see the way the moonlight danced over her features. “You look like a goddess, Rose.”

“Fortuna?” she guessed as she slid her hands over his chest to link them loosely behind his neck.

The Doctor shook his head. “Tonight, you are Selene, goddess of the moon.”

Her lips turned up in a beguiling smile. “Then the goddess has a command for her devoted follower,” she murmured and leaned into him.

He moved his hands, shifting one so he was touching her bare back, eliciting shivers from her. The other moved down to rest above the curve of her bum. “Your wish is my command, goddess.”

“Kiss me,” she whispered, and she was so close, he could feel her lips move to form the words.  

The Doctor lowered his mouth the few millimetres necessary to follow her command. As soon as their lips touched, the desire that had been building all night went up like dry tinder.

“Rose,” he groaned when he released her lips just long enough to adjust the angle and deepen the kiss.

She arched into him and parted her lips so his tongue could sweep into her mouth. Tasting the rich chocolate they’d shared for dessert straight from her tongue was even more arousing than having her feed it to him had been.

The Doctor kept trying to throw up barriers for himself, reminders that even though it was late and the beach appeared to be deserted, they were still in a public place, not far off the beaten path. But not even his logical Time Lord brain could get ahead of the utter need sweeping through his body. The reminder that they’d gone a year without any touch at all had made him desperate to make up for lost time.

Of its own accord, one of his hands skimmed around to Rose’s chest, following a path he’d mapped out hundreds of times before. Her pale skin gleamed in the moonlight, and like he had earlier, he traced his index finger along the deep v neckline. A light caress over her ribs pulled the same hitch in her breathing it had always elicited, but he was after more tonight. The low neckline of her bodice made it easy to slip his hand inside the dress to cup her breast.

Rose moaned loudly in his arms when his fingers touched her sensitive skin. Doctor. Oh, God—don’t stop. She scratched at his back, then grabbed his bum and rubbed herself against him, completely wanton and completely unaware of where they were.

The Doctor released her lips with a pop, but immediately trailed kisses along her jaw line. “Rose,” he grunted in her ear when the way she moved against him sent a jolt of pleasure down his spine.

“Yes, Doctor.”

The permission implicit in her words tested the Doctor’s resolve, and for a moment, he allowed himself to imagine what it would be like to make love to Rose on the beach. Would the sound of the waves crashing onto the sand be enough to disguise her moans of pleasure? Or would the moons provide enough light for anyone passing by to see what they were doing?

That was the thought that stopped him, in the end. Teasing and flirtation were acceptable in public, but he drew the line at letting strangers see Rose in all her glory. He swallowed and pulled his hand out of her dress. Rose’s eyes fluttered and she looked up at him, the question obvious.

The sight of her lips, glistening and kiss-swollen, tested the Doctor’s restraint, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. She shivered when his sideburn brushed against her cheek, and he couldn’t resist nipping at her earlobe first.

“Doctor…”

He closed his eyes and took a breath, then whispered, “If we don’t go back to our room right now, I’m going to forget all the reasons I don’t want to make love to you in a public place.”

“Oh!”

Her little gasp tempted him, but he held firm. A moment later, he was rewarded when she grabbed his hand and laced her fingers through his.

“Well then, Doctor,” she said, her voice husky. “Allons-y.”