From This Day Forward - Chapter Eight [8/9]

[erthechilde]

“If you could touch the alien sand and hear the cries of strange birds and watch them wheel in another sky, would that satisfy you?”

DISCLAIMER & OTHER WARNINGS

‘D’you mind telling me what’s in your head?’ the Doctor demanded. ‘You said you wanted out of here!’

‘I do!’ Rose insisted. ‘It’s just… I can’t leave Chi here to deal with that Tane bloke or anyone else who tries to have a go at her!’

‘And what d’you intend to do with the girl after the wedding? Is she supposed to come with us? Cos I don’t do spouses or girlfriends or whatever you expect her to be. You want her, you stay here with her - and don’t think I’m going back and explaining to your useless lump of a boyfriend what happened!’

‘What do you know about divorce on this planet?’ she countered, ignoring the dig at Mickey.

‘I don’t think it exists.’

‘Well… well, if you can come up with something else to do, go ahead!’ Rose shot back. ‘I don’t want to be married, but I also don’t want Chi to get left to that other tosser. Especially when it’s my fault in the first place.’

‘Well, if you hadn’t stalked off in a high dudgeon -’

‘You were being an arse!’

‘And you were being closed-minded! Accusing me of - of -’ He foundered for a moment, before continuing, ‘Telepathy isn’t mind control, whatever they say in the films!’

‘How would I know that? It’s not like getting a straight answer out of you is a picnic! You should’ve told me from the beginning.’

He opened his mouth, possibly to retort angrily, but something stopped him. He appeared to be struggling with himself for a moment before he finally spoke again.

‘Perhaps,’ he granted her. ‘If it’d occurred to me, I would’ve. But what you need to understand is that I’m… my people are - were…’ He trailed off, catching and holding her gaze. ‘I will never spy on your thoughts, Rose Tyler. Not unless you gave me permission to. Even then, that sort of thing is too…’

For a flickering instant his eyes went completely unguarded. In that rare instant of openness, she saw total honesty, mixed in with all the grief and anger and pain he’d been holding in.

And then it was gone again.

‘Okay,’ she said, a little more gently this time. ‘Okay, glad we’ve got that sorted.’ Rose took a breath and went on. ‘And on the topic of things you shouldn’t do, how about not treating me like I’ve got no idea what I’m talking about cos I’m human?’

‘Well, you don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he answered, but seeing her expression added, ‘Compared to me.’

‘Gelth?’ she reminded him pointedly.

‘That was…’ he winced and shook his head. ‘That shouldn’t have happened. And it won’t happen again. I got caught off-guard.’

‘Because of the Time War.’

‘… Yeah.’

‘You’ve never really explained -’

‘And I won’t. All you need to know is it wasn’t me who started it, but for all the good it did, I ended it. And countless species, like the Gelth, were caught in the crossfire.’

‘If there were other aliens like the Gelth who snuffed it, I’d say you saved more people than you hurt.’

‘Rose -’

‘No, Doctor, they were bad news. Maybe once upon a time they was good, but not when we met them.’

‘The Gelth were the victims of -’

‘They were going to kill us and take over our bodies! And they were going to kill an entire planet of innocent people that hadn’t done nothing to them, for no other reason than to use them!’ Rose shot back. ‘That’s not victims, Doctor.’

He looked like he wanted to argue with her, like he was desperate to make her understand something, but instead he changed tracks. Obviously she had gotten enough emotion out of him for one day because now he leaned back with his arms crossed and smirked at her.

‘You’re awfully clearheaded for someone about to get married.’

She blinked.

So that was how it was going to be? Subject changes whenever he decided they’d talked enough about something?

Fine, Doctor, go ahead and do that. It’s not the last we’re talking about it, whatever you might think, she decided defiantly. She wasn’t Jackie Tyler’s daughter for nothing.

Out loud, she answered, ‘Well, it’s not a real wedding, is it? I always figured it only counts if you both mean it, and I’m just doing it so we can get out of here,’ She made a face. ‘How are we gonna do that, anyway?’

‘With a little help,’ he answered, manic grin making a quick return. ‘Isn’t that right?’

There was a small gasp, and then the thin sliding door opened to reveal a quivering Chi.

‘I-I wasn’t listening in!’ she squawked hurriedly. ‘I only just got here. I’m not supposed to be talking to either of you right now. But I told everyone I was feeling overwhelmed, so…’ she trailed off, shook her feathers and turned an imploring gaze upon Rose. ‘I’m so sorry, Rose, I didn’t mean for all this to happen! Thank you so much for what you said you’d do, but… but I don’t want to trap you in this. If you want, I can make a distraction and help you both get away -’

The Doctor held up a hand, looking a bit amused. ‘And here I thought you were a quiet one…’

‘Chi, I don’t want to leave you in trouble here. It was my fault for taking your hand. Probably for Tane even noticing where you were, come to think of it.’

The Velopssian’s odd eyes didn’t exactly water, but they did fill with emotion. Rose now knew she was doing the right thing, and even the Doctor appeared to thaw a bit.

‘I can think of a few places that might suit you better than here,’ he told her. ‘Different planet, of course, but open-minded enough that you would do well.’

Rose took up where he left off. ‘If you have somewhere in mind, we could take you there after the ceremony and get you settled, and you could say we, er, fell of a branch or something.’

‘Thank you, but no,’ Chi shook her head. ‘I may not like some of the customs here… but this is my home, and I can’t picture myself anywhere else. Even if you leave, as long as I remain here, people will have witnessed my marriage. I will be considered a widow without you, but it will give me more freedom than I had before.’

‘Then it’s settled,’ the Doctor declared. ‘We’ll have a few quick ‘I Do’s, a round of banana daiquiris, and we all go home. No harm, no fuss.’

‘I must return before they notice I’m here,’ Chi said, looking around furtively. She shot them one more grateful look. ‘Thank you so much for this!’

And then she was gone.

‘If they don’t have chips, I doubt they’ll have banana daiquiris,’ Rose pointed out.

‘A man can hope,’ he answered blithely. ‘Though they do have yiwan. Strong stuff, that, even for my physiology. Drink too much of it and you’ll forget more than the night before the morning after. They use that sometimes in ceremonies. If they do in yours, don’t even wet your lips on it unless you want to get poisoned - or at the very least forget your own name.’

‘Right,’ Rose answered. ‘So what are we going to do about that gift I’m supposed to be giving Chi?’

‘I can find something in the TARDIS,’ the Doctor shrugged. ‘They’ll likely let me come and go as I please now that things are more or less settled.’

For a moment she was struck with the irrational fear that he might decide she was too much of a bother after getting into this whole mess with Chi. That he might decide to leave.

Something must have showed on her face because he offered her a comforting look. ‘I’m not going anywhere without you. Now buck up and get ready for your big day.’

Momentary insecurity eradicated by his promise, she pointed a finger at him. ‘No one ever hears about this, yeah?’

‘I’ll take it with me to the grave,’ he promised.

· ΘΣ ·

As he’d expected, the Doctor was permitted to move to and fro before the ceremony. He left Rose for a little while to fetch the TARDIS, intending to park it within running distance. If their little charade failed, he had a feeling they would be needing it.

He had been hesitant to try to move her at first. The navigational systems and the time differential were still acting up, and he didn’t like the idea of accidentally leaving Rose behind.

Especially not since he’d almost done just that the day before.

Luckily the TARDIS seemed to be in a better mood this time. She set them down close enough to the little village to be accessible, but far enough to not be noticed by anyone too curious.

After that, it was just a matter of digging up something for Rose to give her bride-to-be. He eventually found a golden and bejewelled monstrosity that Montezuma had given him several incarnations before. It had been collecting dust in a broom cupboard since then, but would appeal to the visual nature of the Velopssians.

‘Looks like some of the costume stuff my mum wears to parties,’ Rose said when she saw it, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

‘But it’s genuine, which is what’s important to this lot,’ the Doctor had replied, handing it over to her. ‘I bet what they give you will be even more flashy.’

He was proved right about that at the ceremony later when Chi’Ko’Ba handed over a clunky beaded clunky necklace of woven ropes around uncut gems.

‘I accept the offering of my intended,’ Rose intoned, repeating the same words the Velopssian girl had said when she took Rose’s gift. The gaudy necklace now rested atop her throat plumage. As Rose allowed Chi’Ko’Ba to set the chain over her head, the Doctor could tell she was fighting back giggles.

The Doctor shot her a warning look, but couldn’t help being struck by how well she was taking the sudden, unwanted nuptials. He’d had other companions that wouldn’t have been so keen on undergoing such a ceremony, even if it might save someone in need.

The officiant, an old, grey-feathered avian with the watery blue eyes of a blind man, held out a cup to both Rose and Chi’Ko’Ba; standing beside Rose as he had been all the ceremony, the Doctor could easily smell the ethanol and honey scent of the yiwan nectar.

As she reached out to take it, the Doctor caught Rose’s eye again, offering her another silent warning. She winked at him, like she understood, and raised to cup to her face, and took an exaggerated gulp that he assumed to be false. As she passed it to Chi’Ko’Ba, he saw that her lips remained dry.

He nodded approvingly.

‘By the power accorded unto me by the spirits of this forest, I declare the ceremony ended and these two female nest mates,’ the reedy voice of the officiate declared. The surrounding Velopssians let out a cawing, crowing din that almost shook the branch they were all standing on.

‘So’s that it?’ Rose questioned, her voice quiet enough that only the Doctor and Chi’Ko’Ba would hear. ‘Can we get going now?’

‘We must stay for the feast,’ Chi’Ko’Ba answered quietly. ‘But afterwards, yes.’

Now that the wedding was over, Rose could sit with Chi at the high table, and as the Doctor was her former guardian he was seated beside her. It gave him a good vantage point for figuring out what would be the best way to sneak away from the celebration. However, it also ensured that he and Rose were under the beady eyes of Chi’s parents.

Not optimal, he thought as the wedding guests took their seats along the provided tables for the feast. There was still an air of excitement in the air which would only calm when the silent meal began.

As they waited, Rose nudged his shoulder.

‘So I’ve been meaning to ask…’ she mumbled, her eyes on the events like she too was looking for the best opportunity to make a run for it. ‘This happen a lot?’

‘Hm?’

‘Go visit a pretty planet, end up engaged?’ Rose clarified.

‘It happens.’

‘Have you ever been married, then?’

The Doctor had, in fact - too many times to count. None of the so-called weddings had meant much to him beyond trying to escape a sticky situation. Well, except…

But he didn’t have the strength to remember without feeling a rising pain in his chest. Instead, he pasted a grin on his face and answered, ‘Oh, yeah, loads of times. Sort of an occupational hazard.’

‘Good to know,’ Rose snorted, reaching for the goblet of fruit juice beside her. ‘I’ll add it to my list of things to watch out for - living plastic, psycho flaps of skin, gas zombies and shotgun weddings. Anything else?’

‘Carnivorous trousers,’ the Doctor told her seriously.

Rose paused, drink inches from her lips and stared. ‘Really?’

‘No idea. But it’s something we should investigate, don’t you think?’

‘Definitely!’ She beamed at him, and he suspected if they hadn’t been surrounded by dozens of tradition-driven avians, she’d probably have reached out and squeezed his hand. ‘I’ll drink to that!’

‘Actually, you’re supposed to wait until everyone’s seated to -’

The words died in his throat as she swallowed, and he realised a split-second too late that something terrible was about to happen.

‘Rose!’

She choked suddenly, the goblet falling from her fingers as she clutched for her throat. The Doctor was already moving toward her as she dropped to her knees, her cheeks draining rapidly of colour and her fear-filled eyes trained on him.

· ΔΩ ·

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