{Theta'Amor} Red Tides are Calling

[door_to_tomorrow]

Title - {Theta'Amor} 

Characters - Nine/Rose

Summary - Months after Rose was left in a parallel universe with her mum and dad, Rose has finally in some capacity moved on from the Doctor. Now, as the winter months roll into the British countryside where her new home resides, Rose and her family celebrate their first Christmas and New Years together. Through times great design, something has been set into motion that will once again test Rose's heart. All of it happens on a fateful New Years Day...

Genre - Romance - Drama - AU - Angst - Fluff

Rated - T

To Rose it seemed like she would never see the inside of the TARDIS again. The TARDIS had placed itself in hibernation while the Doctor recovered from his whirlwind trip from lord knows where into her new reality; with neither of them able to open her up even with a key. But at last, the TARDIS had let them inside; the Doctor guessed right in that the TARDIS wanted to keep them out while it synchronized itself to this alternate reality. To travel around in an unsynced TARDIS was a surefire way of getting oneself ripped out of time; a very unpleasant experience for those who have dared to try.

Although in all honesty the Doctor was grateful for experiencing linear time; he needed the chance to heal. The much needed rest gave his body time to settle down from the chaotic mess it had been; travelling through time was one thing but crossing from one reality to the next was far more harsher than he had ever realized. Not only that, but it gave him time to sort out the heavy emotional baggage he saddled himself after the Time War. For Rose, it was only about a year or so in her timeline, but for him it was eons stretched into a thousand millenia which all meshed together in a dull washed out and blurred focus. But in that solitary confinement between reality and subspace, he had found ample opportunity to do some soul searching. 

He had learned that yes, he was deeply in love with Rose Tyler on various levels of intimacy. Whether it be as her travelling companion, her lover, her best friend, her soulmate. Although, what he had with Rose went beyond conventional titles and the like, and he liked that the lines blended together like that. That his relationship with Rose wasn't boxed into any specific categories and how thrilled he was to be taking the rocky and messy road through life holding hands with her. To be back in her orbit was so comforting and so soothing that he felt as if time itself was cradling him in this effervescant glow. And for the first time in a long while he felt like he deserved it, that his happiness didn't come with a price. 

If his older companions from decades gone by could see him now, on the verge of marrying again and dipping head first into domestics he would be laughed out of the TARDIS. Actually, come to think of it, they would most likely be glad that he had found someone special to settle down with. He could just imagine Sarah Jane elbowing him in his side wearing a broad smile that seemed to say 'looks like you struck gold with this woman, make sure that you treat her right or else I'll make you regret it Doctor' followed by her giving him a congratulatory hug. Some of his companions would probably be in shock considering that some of them considered him celibate. 

Well, that may have been true for some of his former selves, but this model of his body craved more human experiences than he had in the past. Which comprised of actually taking part in romance rather than reading about it from Shakespeare, Tolkien and watching his companions flirting and getting married to each other. And that included everything,  foreplay, seduction, and something he found most satisfying was having a libido that heavily agreed with having Rose's naked body up against his. In all honesty, he felt like a man who was going through a second round of puberty. Desire and attraction were things he hadn't felt in so long and to finally fall in love...He really had turned into a hopeless old romantic, hadn't he? How could he not with Rose, she was like a woman from a dream. Intoxicating, desirable and oh so beautiful. Not to mention had a good head on her shoulders, who always spoke her mind which he always admired. 

So even though his mind would never fully recover from the blow the Time War left, he wasn't going to let it stop him from enjoying this new lease on life. He would battle through the pain and darkness, he would survive to fight his sorrow instead of it taking hold of him again. It was going to be a step by step process, but damned if he wasn't determined to try to save as many lives as he could so that nothing that awful could ever happen again. In the time he spent in limbo, he once again strengthened his resolve so that the moment he arrived in his new reality he would guard this universe like a restless knight. 

"It feels like a lifetime ago since we were last in here, don't you think Doctor? I missed you so much, you beautifully majestic ship!" Rose said. Her arms wrapped themselves tight around one of the coral support beams, and the TARDIS responded back with cheerful hum echoing Rose's affectionate welcome. 

The Doctor watched with wonderment over how much Rose and the TARDIS got along, to see the most important parts of his life coming together like this almost made him weep that he had been given one more shot to do this living thing right. His fingers itched to get going on a new adventure, it was calling him like a pulsar revolving faster and faster with each rotation. But before he made a decision he wanted to ask Rose first, after all, that was the foundation on which marriage was formed on. Making these kinds of choices together, but in actuality, even if they weren't married he would still want Rose to choose where she wanted to go.

"So..." The Doctor began as he looked over the TARDIS moniter checking on its condition for travelling

"What do you feel like today Rose? The roarin' 20's, how 'bout the world premiere of the first James Bond movie back in '62 or how about the 1980's where acid washed jeans were all the rage? The world is your oyster, love!" The Doctor said excitedly, wearing the most endearing of smiles on his face while he stood there at the ready for Rose's request. Rose leaned up against the coral support laughing alongside the Doctor, she pulled out the book from her purse that she had been reading for the past few days and responded cheerfully

"Let's go on a friendly journey to Prince Edward Island. I want to meet the writer of Anne of Green Gables and tell her that I'm a huge fan of her work, I've just gotten hooked on her stories lately. What do you say to that?" Rose asked. She sidled up to him, her hands rubbing his chest which damned near melted him on the spot. The Doctor let out a low but mirthful chuckle, he leaned forward and kissed Rose square on the nose and then began to input their coordinates.

"Prince Edward Island it is then. Home to red sands, bustling fish markets, and hearty potato fields. Rose, I've been there before; they call it the 'Gentle Island'. And it is, you know? It's a beautiful spot to take a load off. I think you and Lucy Maud will get along just fine."

And with the flip of the switch, Rose felt the TARDIS spring into life with a triumphant crescendo. The two of them looked at each other in excitement as the TARDIS began its journey through time, feeling the familiar adrenaline rush take over once again.