Fic: Discovery
Title: Discovery
Series: Matchmaker
Author: tardisblue
Beta: The wonderful wildwinterwitch, who is quite wonderful and the superb significant other, who is quite superb.
Characters: Ten/Rose
Rating: T
Summary: Rose relaxes in the bath and contemplates the Doctor.
Author's Notes: A huge thank you to wildwinterwitch for her betaing, support and for her patience with me in this installment. A huge thank you also to the significant other for doing a readthrough for me.
Disclaimer: The BBC owns everything Doctor Who.
Part 1 - Entanglement Part 2 - Enchantment Part 3 - Upon the Brink Part 4 - Discovery
Rose let out a low hum of pleasure as she eased her cold and weary body into the hot steaming bath. Resting her head back upon the high edge of the enamelled tub, she smiled to herself, feeling her tense muscles relax. There was nothing quite like soaking in the bath at the end of a long day. Rose could remember taking long, relaxing baths many times in the small bathroom of her mum’s flat. She could soak for ages, letting her mind wander while enjoying the feel of the hot water around her body. Often, she would bathe for so long that her fingers and toes would wrinkle so much that they resembled prunes. Rose could also remember, quite vividly, her mum hollering at her from outside the door, sharply reminding her that there were other residents in the flat who would like to use the loo, sometime this century. Rose smiled fondly to herself at the memory.
As much as Rose had enjoyed taking baths in the old tub at the flat, baths on the Tardis were another story altogether. The Tardis bathroom, or at least the one that Rose had been using, was spacious, its walls and floors tiled in warm, sandstone coloured marble. Soft, muted olive green tiles, patterned with a twisting, knotting motif, ran horizontal on the center of the walls. Several shining brass candle holders were fixed upon the walls, holding thick, ivory candles, complete with a small packet of matches resting on its ledge. A large, white enamelled tub, accented with gleaming gold plated faucets, sat in the center of the room, encased in the same sandstone marble that covered the walls and floor. Oh, how Rose loved that tub! The shining tub was always clean, never dingy, and had a high backing that was angled just right so that one could lie back and never worry about the discomfort of an aching neck. The water always ran at just the right temperature, and no matter how long Rose would stay in the tub, the water never seemed to cool. And the bubble bath solutions she had found! Violet-scented with rich, foaming bubbles that seemed to last forever. Soft, fluffy white towels were always in abundance, set upon a small wicker chair that sat parallel to the large marble countertop. Baths in the Tardis were something she had never dreamed could be possible. She was sure that no spa, whether it be set in the past, present or future, on Earth, or on some far off alien planet, could ever even come close to what the Tardis could provide.
Rose sighed as she slid lower into the tub, letting her chin and the tips of her hastily upswept hair brush the edge of the steaming water, enjoying the warmth that cocooned her. She was finally beginning to feel warm again. Rose supposed that she had been chilled ever since she and the Doctor had stepped out of the Tardis, expecting Sheffield 1979, only to discover that they had stepped out into the brisk, gusty moors of Scotland, 1879. Rose bit back a grin, remembering the look of disbelief in the soldier’s eyes as he caught sight of her, clad in a t-shirt, short denim dress and knee high boots. And who knew the Doctor could put on such a natural Scottish accent? Rose had loved hearing the melodic phrases of the accent rolling past the Doctor’s lips. In fact, she wouldn’t mind hearing him speak like that more often.
Rose’s smile faded as her thoughts turned to the Doctor. Tilting her head back, she gazed up at the ceiling, letting out a breath. Lately, she had found herself becoming more and more confused with the Doctor’s behaviour towards her. Sometimes, it seemed as if he saw her simply as a mate, a best mate. Best mates who travelled together, best mates who enjoyed encountering the new sights, discoveries and adventures that their travelling life brought them; a hand to hold in the good times and bad. Yet, at other times, especially since the Doctor had regenerated, it seemed he viewed her as more, that he felt just as strongly towards Rose as she had always felt for him.
Rose shivered at the memories of the intimate moments that she and the Doctor had found themselves in. The way the Doctor’s body felt pressed against hers, his fingertips gently tilting her chin towards him as he lay upon her underneath the Tardis console. The indescribable, heated gaze directed at her as they rested in the sweet applegrass of New Earth, his cool fingertips caressing her bare arm, slowly pulling her down towards his parted lips. Rose squirmed, the bathwater gently sloshing against the sides of the tub as she resisted the urge to let her own fingertips explore the curves and planes of her body. No one had ever caused her to feel this way. In the past, she had been intimate with both Jimmy Stone and later Mickey, but nothing could compare to the intensity, the need, the want she felt with the Doctor. In these moments, Rose was sure that he felt the same as she did.
But then why, after they had been interrupted, had the Doctor fled, never again mentioning anything about what had happened between them?
Rose exhaled. Had it been any other bloke, she would have been inclined to think that he was simply not interested and would have called him on it long ago. But with the Doctor, Rose hadn’t even had time to get her own mind around what had happened, never mind trying to find a moment to say something. It seemed that just as she was able to catch her breath, the Doctor was already whisking them off into the middle of another whirlwind adventure. Perhaps he didn’t feel the same as she did.
But the way he looked at her…
Rose closed her eyes, losing herself in the memories of the Doctor’s gaze. She had never been the focus of such an intense gaze before. It was a gaze filled with warmth, with such deep affection. A gaze filled with such longing, such want, need, and love…yet, there was also something else in the Doctor’s eyes. A fleeting glimpse of something that he would quickly hide beneath the surface just before she could catch it. Rose frowned, struggling to place what that something was. But, after much thought and much deliberation, she found that she could not.
-:-
A long while later, once Rose’s skin was pleasantly warm and flushed from the heat of her bath, when all the muscles in her body were fully relaxed, with the pads of her fingers and toes satisfactorily wrinkled, Rose decided that she had bathed for long enough. Looking forward to slipping into a pair of her favourite cotton pyjamas and snuggling into the soft duvet upon her bed, she stretched out languidly, sighing in blissful pleasure. She was just about to ease her body out of the bath when she heard a sharp intake of breath. Raising her eyes towards the entrance to the bathroom, Rose let out a squeak of surprise. There, standing motionless in the doorway, was the Doctor.
Though her initial reaction was to slide herself deeper into the bubbly water to hide her nakedness, Rose found that she could not do anything; she could not do anything but stare back into the dark eyes fixed upon her. Her breath hitched as his gaze slipped from her eyes like a caress, slowly drifting down her face, down her neck, over her bare shoulders, then drifting lower, settling for a moment upon the gentle curve of her breasts peeping out from the water. His gaze then began to slowly make its way back up her body, until his eyes were once again fixed upon her own.
“Rose,” he breathed in a low voice.
Rose swallowed at the timbre of his voice, gripping onto the edge of the tub, her skin pebbling at the naked arousal alight in his eyes.
“Doctor,” she managed to whisper, her throat dry.
He moved forward, as if to draw nearer to her, but then stopped abruptly, his eyes closing. When he opened them again, they were guarded, masked. “Rose,” he said again, beginning to speak very quickly. “I didn’t mean to - I’m sorry - I didn’t know where you were - And your bedroom door, it was open, so I thought - I’m sorry,” he said, swallowing before he began again. “Ah. I’ll…I’ll go now. Tardis needs repairs. I’ll be…I’ll be off repairing,” the Doctor said, backpedalling towards the door. With one last glance at Rose, the Doctor took off, closing the door loudly behind him in his haste.
Rose stared at the bathroom door for a long moment, stunned, before sinking back into the bathwater, willing her pounding heart to slow. Biting her lower lip, Rose squeezed her thighs together, resisting the urge to alleviate the throbbing ache between her legs. The burning need in his eyes, the way his gaze caressed her bare body, the way he had uttered her name…she could not stop the scene from replaying itself over and over again in her mind. The need to touch herself to give her body the release it craved, was unbearable. Her hands were already drifting down her skin beneath the water, tentatively, as if what she was doing was inappropriate and very wrong given the circumstances. Hesitating for a moment, Rose brushed the thought aside, allowing her fingers to continue their journey, when suddenly, she stilled.
There had been something else, something else that in that moment.
Rose frowned, trying to slow the scene replaying in her mind.
She had looked up. She had seen the Doctor. The Doctor had openly gazed at her form, almost whispering her name. He had moved towards her. He had closed his eyes. And then -
Wait. No. It was before that.
The Doctor had openly gazed at her form, almost whispering her name. He began to move towards her and then -
It was in that moment. Right there. Before he had closed his eyes.
She had seen something in the Doctor’s eyes right then. Something that she had seen before. She had seen it beneath the Tardis console. She had seen it in the applegrass of New Earth. She had seen it again, just now.
Not the heated desire, not the want, the need, the… love. It was something else, something dark. Something that had always lurked beneath all that. Something that would suddenly rise up and rear its head, sending the Doctor running. This thing she had seen, this demon -
Rose sat up slowly in realization.
It was fear.
-:-
If the Tardis could have puffed up, she would have puffed up with great pride. Clever girl, that Rose was. Just as clever and brilliant as the Doctor had always said. Of course, the Tardis being the Tardis, she had always known that. Rose had just needed a little help. But now that Rose was beginning to understand the Doctor, the Tardis was absolutely certain that this was one step forward, if not several, in the right direction.