DW Fic: Stars
Title: Stars
Author: Rambling Rose / irishlullaby
Beta Babe: crimedoc1
The Prompt: Per 25moments #24 - Time of Day
Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing/Characters: TenII/Rose
Rating: PG13
Summary: Time marches on for The Doctor and Rose in Pete’s World.
Rose and the Doctor signed their names with a flourish. These were the last papers Torchwood forms they would ever sign. They closed the beige folders simultaneously and slid them across the desk to Tony. “Congratulations on your retirement,” Rose’s little brother said with an affectionate smile. Rose had always thought he looked like a more masculine version of herself, a harmony of Jacqueline and Peter Tyler.
“Everything has its time,” the Doctor replied with a faint smile.
Tony looked at them with a stern expression. “Just don’t forget, the pair of you have two grand-nieces and a nephew on the other side of the Tyler Estates who love you dearly. In addition to all the grandchildren you have to visit -- you’re expected to make the rounds, you know, now that you’re footloose and fancy free.”
“And my little brother doesn’t love me dearly?” Rose teased, sliding her arm around the Doctor’s waist and snuggling into his side.
“I’m sure your little brother wouldn’t mind if the two of you met him for lunch or popped in for a visit to the office on occasion. He is, after all, the boss,” Tony replied, affection glowing in his eyes as he smoothed the front of his suit. He pushed away from his desk and used his walking stick to help him stand. He had suffered from an infarction in his youth and had to endure years of being a paper pusher to achieve his current position as head of Torchwood. He made no secret of the fact that he was quite envious of his sister’s position as a field agent, one that allowed her to get, as he called it, “real experience”. But he had worked hard under the careful guidance of both Pete and the Doctor, so Torchwood was in good hands. “On behalf of Torchwood, the British Empire, and the planet Earth, I thank you for your dedicated service,” he said, grinning at the two of them. They rolled their eyes at him before grinning happily.
Tony shook the Doctor’s hand and then Rose pulled him into a warm hug and kissed his cheek. “Tell Martha I’m bringing her favourite for dinner tonight,” she said cheerfully. When Tony had first fallen ill, he had been taken to the Royal Hope Hospital instead of the usual Torchwood’s medical department because it was considerably nearer. He had remained in the hospital for several months before being discharged and had developed a bit of a fixation with the young doctor assigned to him.
Tony sighed. “I know she’s told you more than once Rose, you’re not supposed to bring anything for your retirement party… The two of you are supposed…”
“…to sit around and look pretty. We know,” Rose finished, smoothing Tony’s coat. “You should both know by now that the Doctor and I refuse to just sit around looking pretty.”
“So I’m guessing I should be expecting the pair of you to come out of retirement next week then?” Tony teased.
“Nah,” the Doctor replied, waving his hand dismissively. “We’ve got thirty-one grandchildren, including Boudica’s newest adoptee, who are looking forward to lots of hugs and kisses from Gran and Granddad. Not to mention we’re going to be very busy planning our seventh attempt at a wedding. No, I think we can keep ourselves occupied without having to resort to Torchwood.”
With a cheery wink, Rose and the Doctor left Tony’s office, left Torchwood, and went home from work for the last time.
88888
They hadn’t even been retired for twenty-four hours before they discovered that they honestly had nothing to do. So they came up with a long and detailed to-do list. The back garden needed tending, an old outdated radio needed repairing, and the kitchen cabinets needed cleaning and reorganizing. And they really needed to run naked through the house at random hours throughout the day. Every day.
Both found it ridiculously easy to lose track of the date, and even the time of day, when they had no place they had to be. But as the days turned into weeks, wedding plans were finalised, invitations were sent out, and Rose and the Doctor went shopping for their wedding attire. Separately of course, since the last six times they had tried to get married, the Doctor had seen Rose in her dress before the wedding, and if superstition was to be believed, had therefore brought untold misfortune down upon their wedding day.
Rose also spent plenty of time with Martha. She really liked Tony’s wife, who was almost her own age. The fact that Martha was an alternate version of someone who had travelled with the Doctor had quickly endeared her to Rose. She recalled how, when Martha first became involved with Tony, a full ten years after his infarction, she had fretted over the age gap, telling Rose on several occasions that she was concerned about being “so much older” than Tony. Rose had had a very hearty laugh over that, and had explained the age difference between herself and the Doctor. As she pointed out, twenty-odd years was a much smaller age gap than nine hundred years.
She’d made the same point to Jackie, fearing that her mother would object to Tony’s relationship with an older woman, but had discovered her fears were unfounded. The fact Martha had turned down all of Tony’s early attempts at “courting” her had also endeared her to Jackie, who was afraid that her son would fall for someone more interested in the Tyler fortune than in Tony Tyler himself.
Martha was a widow; her first husband, a doctor named Tom Milligan, had died in a car crash five years before Tony had begun to pursue her romantically. The two had not had children and Martha had believed she was incapable of becoming pregnant. However, thanks to the help of a good fertility specialist, Martha and Tony now had two lovely daughters and handsome son who were starting families of their own.
When they weren’t off visiting grandchildren or spending time with Tony and his family, Rose and the Doctor stayed home, happily finalising their wedding plans. Neither had ever realised how exhausting planning a wedding could be now that they no longer had Jackie to snatch the portfolio from them and tell them to leave it all to her. But thankfully the kids had all pitched in to help. Boudica and Zephyr were tending to the décor and food, Chelsea claimed to have found the perfect photographer, Samantha was arranging to have some of London’s finest as security, and Bianca and Bridget helped Rose choose the perfect dress.
The Doctor had sulked a bit about her refusal to allow him the briefest of peeks at her dress before deciding that, if he was not allowed to see her dress before the wedding, then she could not see his wedding finery until the ceremony either. Rose was extremely relieved that Briton, Ender, and Val had gone along to “help” him select his attire. At least with Val there, she knew that, despite the Doctor’s less-than-stellar taste in clothing, he would appear at the altar in something appropriate.
Tony was going to be the Doctor’s best man. The oldest granddaughter was the maid of honour, while the two youngest who were able to walk were the flower girl and ring bearer. Five more grandchildren -- three girls and two boys -- were picked at random to be bridesmaids and groomsmen. Preparing the dresses and tuxedos for all the grandchildren in the wedding party also kept the Doctor and Rose quite busy.
The time passed in a flurry of preparations but eventually, despite various alarums and panic attacks, mainly on the part of the Doctor, everything was organized and they could take a deep breath and relax. One night, a week before the wedding they spent several hours laying on a blanket in the back garden, gazing up at the night-time sky. Rose huddled close to the Doctor, her head resting on his arm, as he pointed out specific stars for her.
“There’s the twins’ stars, Samantha and Briton,” he said, pointing at two tiny specks of light very close together. “They were named for Samantha Jane Briton in the year 5229. She was the first female star fleet commander to lead Earth into battle against an alien race and she used those two stars as her primary references while zooming across the cosmos. It was one of her descendants that named them after her…”
Rose hummed with approval and cuddled closer to the Doctor as he continued, pointing at an area of sky that was dark, with no visible stars. “If you go about twenty light years further than you can see in that direction, you’ll find the stars Bianca and Clementine. Those actually get named through that ‘name a star’ programme, in about two decades by Bridget Ty-- Oh.” He broke off suddenly.
“What?”
The Doctor chuckled. “I’ve just realised that the stars I named Bianca and Clementine after will actually be named after them… by Bridget. That’s a lovely little paradox, don’t you think?” He smiled and then pointed to a very bright star. “About three thousand light years past that star, you will find the Chelsea system. It’s one of the first life sustaining solar systems found by humans. Lovely people. They mistake the explorer Beauregard Chelsea for a god, and it eventually becomes known as the Chelsea system.”
Next the Doctor pointed between two of the stars in Orion’s belt. “If you go that way, about halfway across the universe you will run into the Boudica Cluster. It was named by a bloke obsessed with Celtic and Welsh mythology. It’s only got about two hundred stars and planets in it… each one named after a god, goddess, or important person from the mythology.”
He hugged Rose and then continued his litany of stars. “The Zephyr Nebula,” he said, pointing at a random spot in the sky. “A stellar nursery. Right now it’s just starting to burn, but it will be in full production by time the captain of a luxury star cruiser comes upon it and his young daughter declares it the most beautiful thing in space because it’s pink. So he names it after her because he thinks she is the most beautiful girl on his ship.
“And last but not least… the Wiggin System. It has three primary stars: Peter, Valentine, and Ender. Obviously named by an Orson Scott Card fan,” the Doctor said, smirking. “You know, if we’d had another girl we could have named her Valentine. But, I think we managed pretty well with the two boys. Peter Valentine Tyler and Andrew Ender Tyler still uses all three names, yeah?
Rose sighed happily. “Yes, although Peter has always preferred going by Val. I think it has something to do with his not growing out of enjoying being dressed up like a princess by his sisters…” She was quiet for a long moment. “Do you ever miss it?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” the Doctor said firmly. “I do. And I know you do too. But if he were to come back tomorrow and offer to take us away, to give that life back to us in exchange for what we have had here… I wouldn’t exchange it for what we’ve had. And what we still will have.”
Rose laughed and hugged him tightly. “And you were so worried that you couldn’t give me the stars.”
Author: Rambling Rose / irishlullaby
Beta Babe: crimedoc1
The Prompt: Per 25moments #24 - Time of Day
Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing/Characters: TenII/Rose
Rating: PG13
Summary: Time marches on for The Doctor and Rose in Pete’s World.
Rose and the Doctor signed their names with a flourish. These were the last papers Torchwood forms they would ever sign. They closed the beige folders simultaneously and slid them across the desk to Tony. “Congratulations on your retirement,” Rose’s little brother said with an affectionate smile. Rose had always thought he looked like a more masculine version of herself, a harmony of Jacqueline and Peter Tyler.
“Everything has its time,” the Doctor replied with a faint smile.
Tony looked at them with a stern expression. “Just don’t forget, the pair of you have two grand-nieces and a nephew on the other side of the Tyler Estates who love you dearly. In addition to all the grandchildren you have to visit -- you’re expected to make the rounds, you know, now that you’re footloose and fancy free.”
“And my little brother doesn’t love me dearly?” Rose teased, sliding her arm around the Doctor’s waist and snuggling into his side.
“I’m sure your little brother wouldn’t mind if the two of you met him for lunch or popped in for a visit to the office on occasion. He is, after all, the boss,” Tony replied, affection glowing in his eyes as he smoothed the front of his suit. He pushed away from his desk and used his walking stick to help him stand. He had suffered from an infarction in his youth and had to endure years of being a paper pusher to achieve his current position as head of Torchwood. He made no secret of the fact that he was quite envious of his sister’s position as a field agent, one that allowed her to get, as he called it, “real experience”. But he had worked hard under the careful guidance of both Pete and the Doctor, so Torchwood was in good hands. “On behalf of Torchwood, the British Empire, and the planet Earth, I thank you for your dedicated service,” he said, grinning at the two of them. They rolled their eyes at him before grinning happily.
Tony shook the Doctor’s hand and then Rose pulled him into a warm hug and kissed his cheek. “Tell Martha I’m bringing her favourite for dinner tonight,” she said cheerfully. When Tony had first fallen ill, he had been taken to the Royal Hope Hospital instead of the usual Torchwood’s medical department because it was considerably nearer. He had remained in the hospital for several months before being discharged and had developed a bit of a fixation with the young doctor assigned to him.
Tony sighed. “I know she’s told you more than once Rose, you’re not supposed to bring anything for your retirement party… The two of you are supposed…”
“…to sit around and look pretty. We know,” Rose finished, smoothing Tony’s coat. “You should both know by now that the Doctor and I refuse to just sit around looking pretty.”
“So I’m guessing I should be expecting the pair of you to come out of retirement next week then?” Tony teased.
“Nah,” the Doctor replied, waving his hand dismissively. “We’ve got thirty-one grandchildren, including Boudica’s newest adoptee, who are looking forward to lots of hugs and kisses from Gran and Granddad. Not to mention we’re going to be very busy planning our seventh attempt at a wedding. No, I think we can keep ourselves occupied without having to resort to Torchwood.”
With a cheery wink, Rose and the Doctor left Tony’s office, left Torchwood, and went home from work for the last time.
88888
They hadn’t even been retired for twenty-four hours before they discovered that they honestly had nothing to do. So they came up with a long and detailed to-do list. The back garden needed tending, an old outdated radio needed repairing, and the kitchen cabinets needed cleaning and reorganizing. And they really needed to run naked through the house at random hours throughout the day. Every day.
Both found it ridiculously easy to lose track of the date, and even the time of day, when they had no place they had to be. But as the days turned into weeks, wedding plans were finalised, invitations were sent out, and Rose and the Doctor went shopping for their wedding attire. Separately of course, since the last six times they had tried to get married, the Doctor had seen Rose in her dress before the wedding, and if superstition was to be believed, had therefore brought untold misfortune down upon their wedding day.
Rose also spent plenty of time with Martha. She really liked Tony’s wife, who was almost her own age. The fact that Martha was an alternate version of someone who had travelled with the Doctor had quickly endeared her to Rose. She recalled how, when Martha first became involved with Tony, a full ten years after his infarction, she had fretted over the age gap, telling Rose on several occasions that she was concerned about being “so much older” than Tony. Rose had had a very hearty laugh over that, and had explained the age difference between herself and the Doctor. As she pointed out, twenty-odd years was a much smaller age gap than nine hundred years.
She’d made the same point to Jackie, fearing that her mother would object to Tony’s relationship with an older woman, but had discovered her fears were unfounded. The fact Martha had turned down all of Tony’s early attempts at “courting” her had also endeared her to Jackie, who was afraid that her son would fall for someone more interested in the Tyler fortune than in Tony Tyler himself.
Martha was a widow; her first husband, a doctor named Tom Milligan, had died in a car crash five years before Tony had begun to pursue her romantically. The two had not had children and Martha had believed she was incapable of becoming pregnant. However, thanks to the help of a good fertility specialist, Martha and Tony now had two lovely daughters and handsome son who were starting families of their own.
When they weren’t off visiting grandchildren or spending time with Tony and his family, Rose and the Doctor stayed home, happily finalising their wedding plans. Neither had ever realised how exhausting planning a wedding could be now that they no longer had Jackie to snatch the portfolio from them and tell them to leave it all to her. But thankfully the kids had all pitched in to help. Boudica and Zephyr were tending to the décor and food, Chelsea claimed to have found the perfect photographer, Samantha was arranging to have some of London’s finest as security, and Bianca and Bridget helped Rose choose the perfect dress.
The Doctor had sulked a bit about her refusal to allow him the briefest of peeks at her dress before deciding that, if he was not allowed to see her dress before the wedding, then she could not see his wedding finery until the ceremony either. Rose was extremely relieved that Briton, Ender, and Val had gone along to “help” him select his attire. At least with Val there, she knew that, despite the Doctor’s less-than-stellar taste in clothing, he would appear at the altar in something appropriate.
Tony was going to be the Doctor’s best man. The oldest granddaughter was the maid of honour, while the two youngest who were able to walk were the flower girl and ring bearer. Five more grandchildren -- three girls and two boys -- were picked at random to be bridesmaids and groomsmen. Preparing the dresses and tuxedos for all the grandchildren in the wedding party also kept the Doctor and Rose quite busy.
The time passed in a flurry of preparations but eventually, despite various alarums and panic attacks, mainly on the part of the Doctor, everything was organized and they could take a deep breath and relax. One night, a week before the wedding they spent several hours laying on a blanket in the back garden, gazing up at the night-time sky. Rose huddled close to the Doctor, her head resting on his arm, as he pointed out specific stars for her.
“There’s the twins’ stars, Samantha and Briton,” he said, pointing at two tiny specks of light very close together. “They were named for Samantha Jane Briton in the year 5229. She was the first female star fleet commander to lead Earth into battle against an alien race and she used those two stars as her primary references while zooming across the cosmos. It was one of her descendants that named them after her…”
Rose hummed with approval and cuddled closer to the Doctor as he continued, pointing at an area of sky that was dark, with no visible stars. “If you go about twenty light years further than you can see in that direction, you’ll find the stars Bianca and Clementine. Those actually get named through that ‘name a star’ programme, in about two decades by Bridget Ty-- Oh.” He broke off suddenly.
“What?”
The Doctor chuckled. “I’ve just realised that the stars I named Bianca and Clementine after will actually be named after them… by Bridget. That’s a lovely little paradox, don’t you think?” He smiled and then pointed to a very bright star. “About three thousand light years past that star, you will find the Chelsea system. It’s one of the first life sustaining solar systems found by humans. Lovely people. They mistake the explorer Beauregard Chelsea for a god, and it eventually becomes known as the Chelsea system.”
Next the Doctor pointed between two of the stars in Orion’s belt. “If you go that way, about halfway across the universe you will run into the Boudica Cluster. It was named by a bloke obsessed with Celtic and Welsh mythology. It’s only got about two hundred stars and planets in it… each one named after a god, goddess, or important person from the mythology.”
He hugged Rose and then continued his litany of stars. “The Zephyr Nebula,” he said, pointing at a random spot in the sky. “A stellar nursery. Right now it’s just starting to burn, but it will be in full production by time the captain of a luxury star cruiser comes upon it and his young daughter declares it the most beautiful thing in space because it’s pink. So he names it after her because he thinks she is the most beautiful girl on his ship.
“And last but not least… the Wiggin System. It has three primary stars: Peter, Valentine, and Ender. Obviously named by an Orson Scott Card fan,” the Doctor said, smirking. “You know, if we’d had another girl we could have named her Valentine. But, I think we managed pretty well with the two boys. Peter Valentine Tyler and Andrew Ender Tyler still uses all three names, yeah?
Rose sighed happily. “Yes, although Peter has always preferred going by Val. I think it has something to do with his not growing out of enjoying being dressed up like a princess by his sisters…” She was quiet for a long moment. “Do you ever miss it?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” the Doctor said firmly. “I do. And I know you do too. But if he were to come back tomorrow and offer to take us away, to give that life back to us in exchange for what we have had here… I wouldn’t exchange it for what we’ve had. And what we still will have.”
Rose laughed and hugged him tightly. “And you were so worried that you couldn’t give me the stars.”