amberfocus | That Which One Cannot Be Without (6/9)

Title:  That Which One Cannot Be Without (6/9)
Author: Amberfocus
Characters/Pairings: Nine/Rose, Jack
Genre: Romance, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, smut (eventually)
Betas: Amyo67, JeopardyFriendly
Rating: Adult
Warnings: In this story Rose will be having flashbacks to a violent incident where she was beaten by a prison guard and hurt by another man. This is not rape fic and will not touch on that issue at all. I will keep the explicitness to a minimum, but I know this sort of thing can trigger memories in the victims of violence so wanted to post fair warning.
Summary: Rose has lost her equilibrium after a terrible experience and being back on a similar planet is not helping. The Doctor isn't quite sure what to do to rebuild her spirit, but he has to try because losing her is not an option. Neither is letting her go home.
Author's Notes: This fic was written for Wiggiemomsi who won me and 15,000 words in the Support Stacie Auction.
Ch. 1: http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/240768.html
Ch. 2:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/241908.html
Ch. 3:   http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/242739.html
Ch. 4:   http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/242950.html
Ch. 5:   http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/244016.html

Chapter Six: Holiday Assumptions

When Rose woke up a few hours later she stretched languidly then snuggled back up against the Doctor’s body. “Sleep well?” he asked.

“I had the sweetest dream,” she told him.

“Was I in it?” he asked her.

“Might have been,” she said coyly. Her arm slid across his stomach and he sucked in his breath.

“And were you in it?” he continued with great humor in his voice.

“Maybe.”

She slid her hand up to his chest and his eyes closed. “And just what were you and I doing in this dream, Rose Tyler?” he said. Rose felt a rush of warmth flood her body as he said her name. There was something about those three syllables when falling from his tongue that just made her feel like he thought she was important to him.

“We were in a desert,” she said. “The pink ground was cracked and dry. The sky was lit by two moons and you could see a planet with ice rings rising halfway over the horizon. And there were…I don’t know, ribbons of blue and red and gold and green weaving through each other, dancing on the air. All around them were these…well, they weren’t birds. More like fish, but they were flying. They had sparkling metallic scales that shot prisms of light that pierced through the ribbons. And you were standing behind me and I was leaning against you and you had your arms wrapped around me as we watched them dance. They were so beautiful,” she said.

“Sounds like Angaria,” he said

“You mean it’s real? I dreamed somewhere real?” she asked.

“Don’t you dream real places all the time?” he asked.

“Not before I’ve been there,” she said dryly.

“Fair point,” the Doctor said. . The arm around her shoulders hugged her to him. “I’ll have to take you there someday.”

“I’d like that.”

A sudden shift in the hum of the TARDIS had the Doctor pulling reluctantly away from her. “I’ve got to go get the ship ready to land on New Haven,” he said. “You might want to get something to eat. The TARDIS says Jack’s making pancakes.”

“Okay.”

The Doctor slipped from her bed and pulled on his clothes. “Doctor?” she said.

He turned back to look at her just this side of the doorway. “Yes?”

“Did you…did you kiss me? Or did I dream that, too?” she asked him.

A slow, even grin spread across his face. “I kissed you, Rose. Guess I need to do a better job next time. You won’t mistake it for a dream again.”

Rose flushed as she watched the Doctor’s back as he headed into the corridor. Her fingers touched her lips. “Would’ve been a great dream,” she murmured, “but I’m glad it wasn’t.”

With a happy sigh she pulled herself out of bed and got dressed in a pair of Capris and a lightweight t-shirt. After a quick stop in the loo followed by a brief application of makeup and a quick brush through of her hair she went to find Jack. He was indeed making pancakes in the kitchen, wearing tight blue jeans, a kiss the cook apron, and nothing else.

“Isn’t it a bit late for pancakes?” she asked.

“It’s never too late for pancakes, Rose,” he admonished. “Blueberries or chocolate chips?”

“Do we have bananas?” she asked.

“Don’t we always?” Jack asked rolling his eyes.

“I’ll just slice one on top, then,” she said.

“You just want to taste like bananas to tempt the Doctor, don’t you?” Jack teased.

“I think the Doctor’s already lost his battle with temptation, Jack,” she said with a cheeky grin. Jack dropped the pancake turner and turned to stare at her.

“You two didn’t! Did you? You didn’t,” Jack said.

“Does everything always have to be about sex with you?” she asked.

“Pretty much, yeah. So did you?” He bent to retrieve the flipper and dropped it in the sink then retrieved a clean one.

“I don’t think the Doctor would appreciate me sharing our private life with you,” she teased.

“That implies you have one. So there’s something to share then?” he asked shrewdly.

“Maybe.”

“That’s so not fair,” Jack grumbled. “Bad enough you guys won’t let me participate; now you won’t even share the juicy details?”

Rose took pity on him. “There’s nothing to share, Jack. Nothing happened. He held me. I slept.”

“Nothing?”

Rose walked over to the kettle. “This hot?” she asked.

“Yeah, just came off a couple minutes ago.” She retrieved her mug from the cupboard. It had a crack in the handle and a chip in the rim and should have been tossed months ago, but it was from Sorelian Alpha, a planet on the edge of the Horsehead Nebula that the Doctor had taken her to after riding out a plasma storm. It was her first souvenir of their life together and it had been in one of the little touristy shops. When you poured hot liquid in it, images of the plasma storm shot across the surface of the glass. It was ridiculous and corny and Rose loved it beyond belief for the sentimental value of it being the first gift the Doctor had ever given her.

She poured herself some water and put the tea ball in to steep then returned to the table and sat with it, watching the display as it flickered across the outside surface. She sighed in contentment and Jack turned and gave her a searching look. She met his gaze for just a moment and he pounced.

“Something did happen. You do not have a good poker face, Rosie. I can see right through you,” Jack said.

“It’s not like that, Jack.”

“Then how come you’re grinning like a loon?” Jack asked.

“I’m not.” But she could feel the sides of her face practically aching from all the smiling she’d been doing in the last few minutes.

“You are.”

“I’m just happy, Jack.”

Jack turned back to the pancakes, slipping them off the griddle one by one. “That’s good,” he said. “After Drifalia…”

“Yeah.”

He put a plate down in front of her and handed her a banana and a knife. She peeled it and sliced it onto her plate of pancakes and then covered the entire thing in maple syrup. She took a bite and closed her eyes. After she swallowed Rose said, “Forget New Haven. These pancakes just sent me to paradise.”

Jack laughed. “Best recipe in the known universe.”

“Did you really get it off a Jaxorian madam?” Rose asked.

“Nah. Picked it up from a soldier’s widow in mid 20th century Mississippi. She opened a diner on my advice that became a rather famous franchise later on. Doesn’t exist anymore in your time, went out at the turn of the century, but it made her a bundle,” Jack admitted.

“What were you doing in Mississippi?” Rose asked. She sipped her tea and watched him with interest.

“Tracking a missing time agent,” he said with a shrug.

“Did you ever find him?” Rose wanted to know.

“Yeah. I let him stay lost though. He’d fallen in love, with the widow’s daughter. He wanted out, so I…” He glanced at Rose and looked guilty. “I faked his death to my superiors.”

“I’m surprised.”

“Well, it was love. You don’t mess with that, you know? Not when it’s real.” He gave her a long look and she stirred her spoon around in her mug, not wanting to meet his eyes. “Like you and the Doctor,” Jack finally said. “I know I tease a lot, Rose, but I won’t mess with what the two of you have.”

“We don’t…we…I don’t know what we have, Jack,” she admitted.

“Do you love him?” he asked quietly.

Rose took a huge mouthful of her pancakes and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “I don’t know how to answer that, Jack,” she finally said.

“Well, you either do or you don’t. And I’m pretty sure that you do,” Jack said.

Rose sipped at her tea then looked up at him. “I think the Doctor deserves to be the first one who finds that out, don’t you?” she said.

“I suppose so. Just, Rose…be careful on this holiday, will you? Don’t wander off. Don’t get hurt. I don’t think he can take it if something else happens to you,” Jack said.

“Don’t worry so much, Jack. This time out I’m sticking to him like a second skin.”

“Now that sounds promising,” Jack said. “Just don’t wear him out too much. He needs to be able to pilot the ship after this little getaway.” Rose just grinned at him. She was making no promises.

Rose smiled as Jack made his way off into the crowd, the Doctor’s instructions that he not get himself into too much trouble that he’d need bailing out most likely going in one ear and out the other. “We’ll be back for you in a week,” the Doctor shouted after him. Jack gave a careless wave over his shoulder, but didn’t turn back or otherwise acknowledge them.

“I think he needs this as much as we do,” Rose said. She looked around at the hustle of the port city and its Carnival atmosphere. She felt slightly uneasy in the teeming throng, her trust in alien crowds not quite the same as it used to be.

“It’s safe here,” the doctor said. “I promised you that and I intend to keep it.”

“It’s just all these people. I haven’t been in such a populated place since Drifalia. Makes me a bit nervous, I suppose,” she told him.

“Well, we won’t be staying here. I promised you beaches, Rose,” he said. “I’ve booked us a villa on one of the islands. We’ll have it mostly to ourselves. Just the household staff will be there. And the island population is not very large. There’s a marketplace and a fishing village not too far away, but mostly it’s just open sand and banana groves.”

“Sounds lovely.

The Doctor’s hand reached out for hers and he led her back the way they had come. When they reached the TARDIS doors she gave him a questioning glance. “You sure we won’t end up somewhere else you didn’t plan to take us?” she asked.

“Are you questioning my driving skills?”

“A bit.”

He gave her a slight push forward and then followed her into the ship. “It’s just a quick hop from here,” he told her as he set the coordinates. “No time, just space. We’ll get there all right.”

When the ship materialized again a few moments later Rose poked her head out the doors and took in the large white residence in front of them. The Doctor followed her out of the ship, her bag in one hand and a smaller backpack across his back. He said, “It’s ours for the week.”

“We’re really not staying in the TARDIS?”

“This is a holiday, Rose. Thought we’d try going native.” They walked down the hill a bit and around to the front of the villa. The view of the ocean in front of them was stunning. The water was as brilliantly turquoise a blue as Rose had ever come across. It crashed against pale pink sand that stretched as far in either direction as she could see. Sea shells littered the path down to the beach, gleaming in the warm sunshine.

“It’s so pretty.” It was an understatement, but mere words couldn’t begin to match the quiet beauty before her.

“Let’s get checked in with the staff and then we can go for a walk, get to know the area a bit,” he said. They headed towards the front door of the large stucco structure. It was painted red, which the Doctor informed her on this planet meant welcome travelers. Rose smiled.

The door opened under the Doctor’s hand and they strolled into a vast front chamber. “Hello?” called the Doctor, his voice echoing up into the empty room. A door pushed open and a small woman in a bright blue dress with a pale blue pinafore over the top emerged from, judging by the smells and the sounds issuing forth, the kitchen.

“Sonye Doctor Tyler? Sonyia Rose Tyler?” the woman asked.

Rose startled, but the Doctor smiled at her. “Yes,” he said.

She wiped her hands on her apron and held out her right one, palm up. The Doctor crossed it with his and then indicated to Rose that she repeat the gesture. “I am Sonyia Mian, but you may call me Gartrielle. I’ll show you to your rooms.”

“I’m just called Rose,” Rose told her as Gartrielle led them up the stairs.The woman nodded.

“Of course, the entirety of the villa is at your disposal,” she said, “except the servant’s quarters and those are one level down. After I leave here no one will be permitted upstairs except to clean and only with your express permission.”

The top of the stairs opened into a small entryway with white curtained glass doors. They walked down a small hall and through a large archway. “This is the main living chamber.” She pointed out where all of the communications equipment, the viewing screen, computer, and the gaming consoles were, all hidden within various features or pieces of furniture in the room. Rose had no interest in such things. She wanted to forget the outside world, not bring it along with her on holiday.

There was a smaller, private kitchen with a cooler stocked with chilled wines, and an assortment of finger foods. A crusty loaf of bread sat on the counter with a giant basket of fruit. Rose nearly laughed as the Doctor carefully skirted the fruit basket while giving her a wary eye. She certainly hoped she wouldn’t be pelting him with fruit for saying something stupid.

Gartrielle led them next into the sumptuously appointed sleeping chamber. The thick white carpet in the rest of their rooms seemed to double in luxuriousness under her feet in this one. The bed was large, certainly bigger than anything she’d ever slept in before. It’s four posters rose nearly to the ceiling and were draped with a white canopy of netting that hung down along each post. The bed itself had more pillows than they’d know what to do with and the crisp, white duvet covered a very thick mattress. Rose was pretty sure it would be heaven to sleep on even without the Doctor by her side.

Gartrielle excused herself back to her duties with the instruction to ring for her or a man named Clar if they needed anything. The Doctor followed her out and locked the glass doors behind her before returning to Rose. She was standing at the huge window overlooking the bay. The gauzy white curtains blew back into the room from the open sash.

The Doctor came up beside her and took her hand. “You like it?” he asked.

“I love it,” she told him. “So...Doctor Tyler, are you?”

“Well, I might have had to fib a bit to book this particular villa. I wanted the best for you, Rose. After all you’ve been through this month I wanted pure luxury. So, it’s the premier suite on the island, but you have to be married to rent it. Well, newly married. It’s…well, it’s sort of…the honeymoon suite.”

Ch. 7:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/245163.html