The Boundaries of Temptation (2/5)

[amberfocus]

Title:  The Boundaries of Temptation
Series:  Crossing Boundaries (#3)
Author:  amberfocus
Characters/Pairings:  Nine/Rose, Ten, Donna, Jackie
Genre:  Romance, Angst, Smut (of the needy, possessive, dominant!Nine variety in chapter 3)
Rating:  Adult
Betas: amyo67, jeprdyfrndly
Summary:  Rose has a wedding to attend and the Doctor doesn't want to go, nor is he ready to come out to Rose's mother about their relationship as lovers.  The Tenth Doctor, still reeling from the loss of Rose and desperately wanting to see her again after one brief hour meddling in his own past, decides that the wedding will be a perfect place to steal time with her again, but Donna isn't so sure.
A/N:  Chapter two of my Support Stacie fic for catyuy.  Sequel to The Boundaries of Consent:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/82661.html and Pushing the Boundaries:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/104382.html.

Ch. 1:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/293332.html

Chapter Two: Stealing Time

 

“Where’s himself?” Rose had entered the area of the resort where the wedding was to be held without realizing it and her mother had bustled up to her. Jackie was looking over her shoulder, expecting the Doctor to appear any moment. Jackie didn’t wait for her to answer. “You look beautiful, sweetheart. When he does get here, you tell him to be on his best behavior. I’ll not have Cousin Jenny’s wedding ruined by one of his alien invasions.”

“They don’t belong to him, Mum,” Rose said returning her mother’s hug.

“Well, I don’t remember any happening before he showed up on the scene. I think he attracts trouble, brings it down on us,” she said.

“Mum, the Doctor isn’t responsible for aliens invading the planet. They’ve always done it. He’s just usually here to stop them. He likes our ‘backward little world,’ as he calls it. Anyway, he’s not coming,” Rose said trying to keep the sullen tone out of her voice on the last few words.

“Why not?” Jackie asked in surprise. “You two are usually attached at the hip.”

“Yeah,” Rose said sourly. “Usually. I think weddings are little too human for him. Maybe I am, too.”

“Oh, Rose, I’m sorry,” Jackie said simply. She reached out and hugged her daughter again and Rose tried not to sink into her or dissolve into tears. She was stronger than that, to let a simple argument get to her so deeply. The Doctor would get over his sulk and they’d be okay again. She just wished sometimes that being in love with him wasn’t quite so hard.

As she let go of her daughter Jackie said, “Well, maybe you’ll find a nice man here today. Someone to take your mind off traveling. Someone you can settle down with so you can stop gallivanting across the stars.”

“I love gallivanting across the stars,” Rose said.

“It’s that Doctor you love, I reckon.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Rose said but she couldn’t meet her mother’s eyes.

“What’s ridiculous is if the two of you think you’re hiding it from me,” her mother said. Rose glanced up with startled eyes. “Oh, I know, I know. You’ll protest until your dying day that the two of you aren’t like that. I’m a mum, Rose, not a fool. I can see what’s in front of my eyes plain as can be. That man’s in love with you.”

Rose snorted. “Yeah? Then why isn’t he here?” She walked a few steps then turned back to Jackie. “Do we have special seats up front because we’re family or do we just sit anywhere on the bride’s side?” Seeing she wasn’t going to get any further on the subject, Jackie let it drop, but Rose could tell it wouldn’t be for good.

Rose knew she was probably overreacting. The Doctor was reticent by nature, and mad as she was at him, she loved him deeply. Storming off in a huff, while it had felt good at the moment, was already a choice she was regretting. She didn’t think he’d go and not come back for her. They’d come too far in their relationship for those sorts of threats to be bandied about, or acted upon. At least she thought so.

It was so hard to tell with him. Most of the time she thought that he loved her. He wasn’t terribly good with words, but he made sure through his actions, usually, that she knew. But it hurt her that he didn’t want to tell the world that they were together as more than just traveling companions or best friends. It wasn’t like she wanted to shout from the rooftops, “The Doctor is my lover!” She just wanted to tell her mum and stop denying it when people assumed. It wasn’t as if Jackie didn’t already suspect. She’d made that clear enough.

She stewed her way through the wedding and by the time it was over she barely remembered any of it. She found her place card at the reception and glared at the empty seat beside her allocated to “and guest.” Even if she had overreacted it wouldn’t have killed him to do this one thing for her. Couples did things for each other. And therein was the problem. Maybe they weren’t really a couple. Maybe she had assumed because they were lovers, it meant that they were together. Maybe she was just a body to keep his bed warm at night; a good friend who he happened to enjoy having sex with. Maybe she was fooling herself into thinking he loved her because she loved him so damn much.

She didn’t ask for much from him. The occasional visit home so her mum would know she wasn’t rotting in an alien prison somewhere or worse yet, dead. She didn’t ask him for spending money when they visited alien bazaars or marketplaces, instead trading her jewelry or sometimes articles of clothing. On occasion he volunteered it, or more often bought her things if he saw that they’d caught her eye; things that were far too expensive to be giving to just a friend. She was cheerful and upbeat and was well able to bring him out of his depression when the burden of the Time War would overwhelm him. She only yelled at him when he deserved it or when one or the other of them was in the mood for particularly angry sex.

Rose closed her eyes. Sex was the one thing that was never a problem. She’d been willing to try whatever he’d suggested in bed, even when she hadn’t ever heard of such a thing, or was unsure of it, or been convinced it wasn’t humanly possible. And it was always good. She trusted him completely with her body. It was her heart that was taking a beating today.

Maybe now that the wedding was over she ought to go back. There was no real reason for her to stay for the whole weekend. True she’d been looking forward to the pampering this weekend provided. Jenny had married a man almost as rich as Roman Abramovich and rented out the whole resort, including use of the facilities for free to all guests.

She’d wanted a massage, a facial, a hair treatment, a manicure, a pedicure and a mud bath and maybe one of those seaweed wrap things. She’d wanted to be girly. Except for the occasional foray into sexy lingerie shops for the Doctor’s benefit, she almost never did anything girly anymore, never did anything just for herself. Was she just being selfish? She knew what a lonely man the Doctor was and knew he was likely pining now instead of sulking, regretting his actions but too…Doctor to come and find her and apologize.

Rose started to scoot back her chair and get up when a voice that was almost familiar said into her ear, “Is this seat taken?”

She glanced up at the softly spoken words and saw an attractive man dressed in a tuxedo talking to her. Great, the help probably wanted to take the chair away. Least if he did it wouldn’t be so glaringly obvious she was alone. Except to her unknown tablemates of course. “No, you can take it away,” she said with a wave of her hand.

“I don’t want to take it away. I want to sit in it,” he said.

Rose frowned. “You’re not a waiter?”

The man glanced around and seemed to realize how similar his tux was to what the staff was wearing. The wedding party had worn white tuxedos and black ties. He chuckled. “No, I’m not a waiter, but I can certainly understand the mistake. I just need a chair.”

“Don’t you have an assigned seat?”

“Truthfully, no. I’m crashing. You won’t tell, will you?” he asked in a cajoling tone.

“You’re not a reporter are you? Or a photographer?”

“Nope,” he said popping the P in a way that triggered something in her memories. She frowned, trying to place it. At her frown he said, “Why, do you want me to be?”

“What? No.”

“Good, cause I’m not.”

“Do you even know Jenny? Or Mark?” she wanted to know.

“I’ve met them a few times,” he said dismissively. “These things always have a few guests that don’t show and with food like this, well, I don’t want it to go begging.” He picked up the place card in front of him. “What was ‘and guest’ planning to eat?”

“Filet mignon,” Rose said with a sigh. She’d chosen it for both of them.

“He’s an idiot,” the stranger said.

“What? Who?”

“Your ‘and guest’ who didn’t bother to show. Not the brightest behavior for a plus one.”

Rose opened her mouth to protest before the words he’d used hit her. Plus one. The only other person she’d ever heard refer to a plus one was the Doctor.  She gave him an odd look. He seemed so familiar. His voice…”Where do I know you from?” she asked.

“You don’t.”

“I think I do,” she said.

“I’ve been told I have one of those faces. You know…”

“Familiar?”

“No, handsome.” He gave her a toothsome grin and she cracked a small smile. “Was that a smile?” he asked.

“No.”

“It was. That was a smile. Girl like you should smile all the time,” he said. “Oh, listen, the music’s starting. Care to dance?” he said.

“I don’t think they’re dancing just yet. Besides, they’re just bringing out the first course. The day I’ve had, I want to eat.”

“Then after dinner?” he pressed.

“I really don’t think I—.” She broke off, remembering what she’d told the Doctor earlier. “Well, maybe just one dance. After dessert. I’m Rose, by the way.”

“John,” he said holding out his hand to shake hers. He held onto her hand a little bit longer than was strictly necessary and she was startled by the sudden depth of emotion she saw in his warm, brown eyes. Again a pang of familiarity passed through her. Before she had to pull her hand away he seemed to realize what he was doing and quickly dropped it.

The man kept up a lively banter of flirting throughout the meal and Rose noticed that two of the bridesmaids at the next table were directing annoyed looks in her direction. As if Cheryl or Janice even stood a chance with a man like him, she thought huffily and glared back until they looked away. He was clever and charming and if she hadn’t been madly in love already she might have considered his interest in her worth pursuing. As it was, though, she decided to simply enjoy the attention he seemed to be lathering on her.

She gave him his dance, more than one actually, and by the end of the evening she found herself breathless and happy and having a great time. She knew she was going to have to call it a night soon. She’d made her decision to go back to the TARDIS and abandon the rest of the weekend. Despite the fun she was having, she wasn’t having it with the right person and she knew it was the Doctor she wanted to be with.

 

“This has been lovely, but I need to go,” Rose said softly. The Doctor tightened his arms around her. The dance was a slow one and he didn’t feel the least bit guilty of taking advantage of it.

“But the night’s still young!” he said enthusiastically.

Rose yawned loudly. “Maybe on whatever planet you come from,” she said tartly a moment later. “But on Earth, it’s late.”

He tensed momentarily. Had she figured it out? Or recognized him from the last time they’d met? No, she couldn’t possibly know. It was just Rose being her sarcastic self. “Don’t want the night to end,” he murmured in her ear.

“John, I don’t know what you’ve got going on in your head right now, but there is a man that I love very, very much and as wonderful a time as I am having here with you there’s not going to be anything more than just dancing happening between us,” she said firmly.

“At least let me walk you to your hotel room,” he said. “I’d feel better knowing you got there safely. These grounds are huge and it’s dark out.”

“John. I don’t think so.”

“You just said you’re in love with another man, Rose. What do you take me for? Your virtue is safe,” he said looking slightly offended.

“My virtue left the building a long time ago,” she said with a snort. “When I met…well, him. Worth it, though.”

“Good man, is he?”

“The best,” she said softly, but then a sad look came into her eyes and she ducked her head down.

“Why isn’t he here then?” the Doctor asked her softly.

She looked back up at him and her eyes were shining with unshed tears. “Because he means far more to me than I’ll ever mean to him,” she admitted.

“Rose, no!” the Doctor said. “Don’t you ever think that! You’re perfect. How could any man not be head over heels in love with you? He’s an idiot not to be here.”

“You don’t know him. He has better things to concern himself with than a stupid wedding. He’s important. He does important things. I’m just…” She gave a soft little gasp of emotion as something seemed to hit her. “I really am just someone who keeps him warm at night.”

She turned away from him and fled. “Rose,” he called after her. “Rose!”

“Don’t know what you said to her, but I think you’ve done enough, Doctor.” Donna had appeared from nowhere. He knew she’d been around, had seen her enjoying herself with one of the ushers or groomsmen…or three.

“I’ve upset her.” He moved to follow her. “Made her question my love…his love for her.”

“You said I needed to stop you if I saw this going wrong,” she informed him.

“Not now. I need to fix this,” he said.

She grabbed hold of his arm. “You need to let it go. You need to let Rose go. It’s over, Doctor. You’ve lost her.”

He pulled away from her and then tugged anxiously at his hair. “Don’t you understand, Donna? It’ll never be over. It’s Rose. I can’t…I can’t let her go again!”

He ran for the door. “Doctor! Doctor, don’t you dare!” she yelled after him, but he was gone. She stared after him in surprise for a moment. “Well,” she muttered to herself. “Nothing for it. Two can play at this game. Time to go and see the rude one with the ears.”

Ch. 3:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/296463.html