Pushing the Boundaries (3/3)

[amberfocus]

                                                                 Banner by angelfireeast

                                                                          Chapter Three

The Doctor stood in the doorway to the verandah his eyes hungrily taking in the sight of his Rose leaning against the banister eating the plateful of nibbles she’d brought out with her. He stepped out behind her. “Beautiful night,” he said softly. She jumped and he apologized. “Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Rose turned to look at him and she smiled softly up at him, a smile that almost but didn’t quite reach her eyes. He ached to see the sadness his earlier self had put there. He nervously ran a hand through his hair and his heart skipped a beat as her eyes followed the motion, as they widened and her nostrils flared slightly. He remembered just how much she had always liked his hair after he’d regenerated. Well, he really did have great hair. He ruffled it again.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hello,” he answered, his heart jumping at the old familiar greeting. Of course she wouldn’t know the history behind it. To her it was a simple exchange of words. “Crowd a bit much for you?” he asked her knowing full well what had sent her out here seeking relief.

“Just needed a bit of air,” she admitted. Then hesitantly, “Do I know you? You look familiar.” She sounded puzzled.

Yes, he wanted to scream. Yes, you know me. We’re lovers, lost loves, everything to each other. Instead he said, “My name’s John Noble.”

“I’m Rose,” she said automatically.

“Nice to meet you, Rose. I couldn’t help noticing that you weren’t dancing,” he said bravely.

“Oh, well, no, I wasn’t,” she said wistfully.

“Thought it a little odd, really. You look the sort that can’t get enough of dancing the night away,” he continued.

“I am,” she told him then sighed heavily. “But the man who brought me here isn’t.

“Your boyfriend brings you to a ball and then won’t dance? That’s a shame. And a waste of a very pretty gown,” he said. “Not to mention the very beautiful girl inside it.”

“Are you flirting with me?” she asked him.

He laughed. “I am, a bit,” he admitted. “Can you blame me?”

She flushed warmly under his compliment then smiled up at him with her tongue between her teeth. Oh, he’d missed that smile so much, that smile that promised him and only him, everything. After this night she’d never flashed that particular smile at anyone but him again.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said and there was a strange tone to her voice. He couldn’t quite tell for sure what she thought about that particular statement either. Before this night Rose had always been insisting that they weren’t like that. He’d never really known what she’d thought until he’d pushed her to it, if being romantic with him had ever even occurred to her.

“He’s my…well, whatever he is, we’re not romantic,” she said looking down at her feet. “Sometimes I’m not even sure he likes me.”

His heart nearly broke at that thought. He knew his other self would be changing her mind on that score soon enough, but for her to ever think that he didn’t like her! And he’d already been so deeply in love with her then that it had been killing him inside. Oh, his sweet, precious Rose!

He wished he could comfort her, reassure her of his feelings for her. Instead he smiled at her wryly and said, “You sure about that? He sure had his eyes all over you.”

“He likes the dress,” she said flatly. “He’s always had an eye for a well-fitted corset.” There was a faint touch of bitterness in her voice that hurt him. “But he won’t dance. Not with me.”

“Well, you deserve to dance,” he said sternly. “And if your…not romantic companion doesn’t want to, then may I offer my services this evening?”

“You mean a man as attractive as you are doesn’t have a woman in there waiting for him?” she asked suddenly turning her flirt on to full force at his question. It nearly blinded him having missed it for so long.

He blushed but forced himself to answer her question, trying not to feel too sad at his loss of her when she was standing right there before him. “I…I had someone. Not too long ago. But I lost her. She loved to dance. We’d been planning on coming here together; it was in remembrance of our first…when we first knew we were…well, anyway…she’s gone now. Tonight I came with my…sister and she’s got her sights set on an ambassador so I have been abandoned."

He shook himself, trying to make the wistfulness go away. He needed to enjoy the here and now while he still had this chance to be with his Rose. “Still, there’s music begging our step, Rose, so what do you say?” He felt so lost as he looked down at her, hoping that she’d take pity on him and dance. What a role-reversal this night was for him.

“I say I’d love to dance with you, John.” She smiled that smile again and it chased the sadness right out of his heart and he returned it with his own manic grin. She dumped her paper plate into a nearby rubbish bin and when he held out his hand to her she slipped hers into him. The contact of her skin sent fire racing through his nerve endings and it was all he could do not to pull her into his arms right then and snog her senseless. And if it weren’t for the fact that he’d seriously skew the time lines he’d have done it.

They entered the ball room and he took her into his arms, his hearts thumping so frantically he was tempted to engage his respiratory bypass system. He’d have to be very careful not to hold her too tightly. His hearts weren’t the only system being affected by her pressing up against him.

The music was exhilarating; the dance beat sensual and sometimes animalistic. He whirled her about the floor, bobbing and weaving between the other partygoers with reckless abandon, only to pull her back into his arms when the music turned to a sexy swaying rhythm.

On occasion he’d look up and see the other Doctor watching them darkly, jealousy exuding from him in waves. He was glad of the perception filter and even gladder of the telepathic dampener. As it was he could tell his other self wanted to wring his neck and yank Rose from his arms. The very idea of it caused him to hold her more possessively. This was his time with her and he wasn’t going to waste it.

He forgot about holding her loosely, forgot about hiding his arousal from her. Her eyes widened as she felt him harden against her stomach but she didn’t push him away or beg him to let go. Her eyes did drift to the man against the wall but not quite as often as he’d thought they might and her attention remained on him much of the time. His hands began to wander a bit over her back in little strokes and caresses.

The Doctor held her as intimately as each dance allowed, grateful for the more risqué of dances that allowed the movements of hips pushing into her or hands stroking from waist to hip and back again. When his hands strayed onto her bum she gave him a wide-eyed stare and pushed slightly back from him. She moved his hands back to her waist, but she did not leave him, did not demand that he leave her alone or stop fondling her. He could feel her pulse quickening with each daring touch and it was all he could do not to drag her back to the TARDIS in his own time stream instead of letting her go with his other self.

After an hour of dancing the musicians took a break and he let her go rather reluctantly. He thought for sure she’d leave him then, but she didn’t. She smiled up at him and said something about being thirsty. He led her over to the refreshments and reached for a glass of dark red liquid, handing it to her.

“What is it?” she asked him warily. By this time in their travels she had learned to be suspicious of any alien liquids that could have dire side effects. All of the beverages and foods here were perfectly safe for human consumption, but his other self had not told her that before bringing her to the ball.  His other self had often neglected to give her even the most basic of information and then would rail at her when she ended up in trouble or danger because of those side effects.

“It’s Clorishalin wine, non-alcoholic. It gives a bit of a buzz, but it’s harmless. Tastes a lot like strawberries and bananas,” he told her.

“Bananas are good,” she said softly, “and I quite like strawberries.” She sipped at it carefully and then rewarded him with a smile. That smile. The one she only used on him. “It’s great,” she told him.

He matched her smile with one of his own and picked up a glass, taking a drink. “Could do with a bit more banana,” he said, “but all in all a decent blend.”

“You sound like my…friend,” she said wistfully. “He says it’s not a party without a banana.”

He knew that his time with her was running short, could feel the seconds slipping away and sought desperately to extend the time. “The fireworks will be starting soon,” he said running his hand up and down her arm. She shivered against him but didn’t pull away. “Do you think your boyfriend--,” he backed up at her startled look, “erm, not boyfriend, would mind if you watched them with me? Or, well, would you mind if you watched them with me? I really want you to watch them with me,” he babbled.

He threaded his fingers nervously through his hair and looked at her so hopefully, he felt like a stray pup looking for a hand out from a kind soul. She smiled at him softly, looked as if she wanted to say yes to him, but was reluctant to do so.

“I can’t,” she said and he could hear the regret in her voice. “I really need to get back to my friend. He’s probably missing me right now. Really, he can’t cope very long without me about. He gets so…lonely. He needs me.”

“Are you sure?” he asked even as he saw the time lines getting dangerously cloudy. “Rose, I…well, I’d really like it if you would spend some more time with me. I don’t think your friend would mind.”

“I’d mind,” said the voice of his other self from behind him and he jumped a mile. He whirled to see the earlier incarnation reaching out for Rose and gripping her shoulder tightly.

“Oh, hi, Doctor, this is John. John, this is the Doctor.” He took a step back at the nearly violent look on his own face as he glared himself down.

“It’s time to go, Rose,” the harsh Northern accent grated out.

Rose frowned and her eyes clouded with confusion as she turned to the man in leather. “Go? But I thought we were staying to see the fireworks.”

“And I thought we were spending the evening together. Seems we were both wrong,” he replied jealously.

The Doctor remembered that seething kind of jealousy, the anger that overcame him when anyone else tried to possess Rose. He winced as the other man’s hand slid down to Rose’s arm and held her wrist with bruising force.

“Hey,” he began but the man’s dark look silenced him.

“Let’s go,” snapped the other Doctor. He yanked her arm. Rose looked at him, reluctant and slightly embarrassed at her Doctor’s attitude. “Thank you for the great evening.”

He smiled at her as tenderly as he could. “You are ever welcome. Good-bye, Rose Tyler.” The other man didn’t even give her time to respond as he pulled her roughly from the dance hall and out of sight.

A wave of jealousy overwhelmed him as the memory of the rest of the night washed over him. Yes, it was his past, but he wasn’t the one currently living it. With a snarl on his face he stalked out of the building and back to his own TARDIS. Donna could find him when she was done with her politician.

He strode to the room he had shared for so long with his Rose and threw himself on the bed. He allowed himself to relive the memory, savoring it closely to him and relieving the tension that had built that night. But when he was done, he knew it wasn’t enough. That a bit over an hour with Rose and a fading memory could never be enough. Somehow, someway, some when, he was going to cross his own time line again and find some more time to steal with Rose.

He smiled softly as it came to him. The perfect time and the perfect place, and old big ears would be away from Rose for two days, unable to interfere. He didn’t know how he’d manage it yet, but he’d find a way. He strode to the console room and set the coordinates so that he would be ready to go the minute Donna strode through the doors.

He’d drop her off for a visit with her grandfather and mother and then...then he’d have Rose all to himself.  And damn the consequences.

                                                          ~To Be Continued in The Boundaries of Temptation~

Comments

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Glad you like it.