In Love and War, 4/16
Chapter 4
“Let’s go!” Ema shouted over the sound of falling rocks and resounding gunshots.
Rose fell in behind him with her weapon drawn, imitating his low crouch as they ran through the tunnels. They came upon a wide opening in which Ema’s troops were taking heavy fire from King Deuspael’s men. Ema nodded once to Rose before rolling across the floor to a better vantage point. He steadied his gun on the large rock before him and took aim, felling a couple of enemies before shouting over to Ydaravo.
“How many?”
Ydaravo held out his hand and squeezed it into a fist three times to indicate fifteen adversaries.
“Not a fair fight, huh?” Rose shouted.
Ema was surprised to find she had rolled in behind him. “Where are all your men?” she cried over the firefight.
“Up above,” he indicated with a jerk of his head. “Looks like there’s just my private brigade here, but don’t worry, it’s more than enough!”
Rose felt a surge of confidence at his pride in his men. And as she watched them over the boulder, she understood why he felt that way.
Tate was alternately ducking behind small rocks and gaining ground on the enemy while Apael covered her. Ydaravo seemed to pick one enemy off after another. Saor was busy tending to some wounded soldiers, and Rose was surprised to see him caring for their fallen enemies as well. He certainly took his duties as a medic before those of partisanship, and Rose respected that immensely.
Suddenly, Ema stiffened noticeably when a group of ten enemy soldiers came bounding down the mouth of the cave. “Ouror L’Dien!” Ema sputtered, and Rose didn’t need to guess it was a curse.
She thought quickly before aiming at a large stalactite hanging from the ceiling. It only took one clean shot to bring it down over the group of enemies, quickly eliminating the advantage for their side as the rock face came pouring down over them. Ema threw her the widest grin he could manage.
“Aren’t you full of surprises?” he exclaimed before turning back to survey the damage.
The shock of seeing their reinforcements incapacitated so quickly obviously crushed the fighting spirit of Deuspael’s men, who called for a full retreat and ran out of the caves, terrified at the prospect of being buried alive. When the coast was clear, Rose and Ema came running to meet the rest of their party.
Rose checked on the group of soldiers she had immobilized, who were largely unhurt but none too happy about being prospective prisoners of Ema’s men. She helped to pull them out of the rubble before happily shaking hands with Apael and accepting a warm hug from Tate.
Ydaravo had affected a huge grin on his face.
“What is it?” Ema asked curiously.
Ydaravo jerked his head toward the cave’s mouth, and Ema was elated to see a swarm of his troops heading back toward the base, whooping and congratulating each other in victory.
Ema clasped Ydaravo’s shoulder and they both laughed heartily. “This is a great day,” Ema assessed. “If we keep this up maybe we can end this damned war once and for all!”
Tate snorted as she pulled a pair of enemy soldiers up from the ground after binding them together with a black rope. “But then what would you do for fun?” she asked sarcastically.
“Sir,” Apael said, pointing to the lines of men spilling into the cave.
The troops were falling back into formation as they entered, all standing at full attention as if waiting for some further command. Rose stared at them for moment, not understanding why they were all looking at Ema so expectantly.
“Ato L’ara!” Ema cried passionately, and the men repeated him, pumping their hearts with their fists.
“Victory is ours! All hail Prince Emalib!” Apael shouted, and the troops chorused the refrain.
Rose froze as everyone in the cave except her and Ema prostrated themselves on the floor.
Ema turned the top half of his body and caught Rose’s astonished expression. “Oh, yeah,” he sputtered. “There’s that…”
Rose wasn’t exactly sure why, but she was really angry about Ema’s true identity. It wasn’t like he’d lied to her, but he hadn’t been exactly forthcoming as she might have expected from someone who talked constantly about opening up, either. She was stalking through a common living area when he caught up with her, turning her by her shoulder as gently as possible.
“Look,” he started, walking backwards as she kept moving. “I was going to tell you, but I didn’t know how you would react, and also, I didn’t realize you’d be hanging around as long as you have!”
“What do you mean by that?” she spat, stopping in her tracks.
Ema took a step longer to stop moving, thereby colliding with an outcropping of boxes and landing sharply on the floor behind him. He rubbed his side as Rose stepped over him neatly and kept going. He couldn’t suppress an irritated sigh as he scrambled up to follow her.
“I just meant that I thought you were going to be leaving our miserable planet as soon as possible,” he informed her. “I didn’t see a point in getting you all caught up in this mess if you were just going to be running off anyways.” An inelegant choice of words, he realized. He closed one eye as he waited for her tirade.
“Listen here, Prince Emalib,” she said darkly. “I don’t just run off when there’s a spot of trouble. It’s not my style, and it never will be. Furthermore, I don’t appreciate being treated like a child, or kept in the dark about big, huge, important details like I’m hanging out with and…and kissing the sovereign of a nation! Really!”
Ema gritted his teeth, expecting the worse.
“But,” Rose said carefully, “I think I understand why you didn’t tell me.”
Ema frowned. “You do?”
“Yeah,” Rose said seriously. She stopped walking and sat down on a tattered recliner. Ema kneeled before her while gazing up at her expectantly. “I think you were ashamed,” she said.
Ema looked like he wanted to disagree, but he stopped himself and instead tried to consider her meaning.
“You feel responsible for what happened to your people,” she went on. “While you were able to give Princess Azoden her freedom, you also feel like you condemned your planet to a fruitless war. I think that’s why you don’t want to own your identity as the Prince, because it means that you’ll also own the damage that’s been done to this world.”
Rose finished softly as Ema stared up at her with a severe pain behind his eyes. He stood silently and paced awkwardly in front of her before folding his hands in front of his chest.
“Yes,” he said plainly.
Rose stood and held out her hands to him. “Maybe you need some catharsis too,” she suggested.
Ema squeezed his eyes shut tightly as her soft hands met his, breathing an audible sigh of relief as his feelings began to channel out.
Rose closed her eyes and felt the slow rush of Ema’s moods. She was surprised to find that she could process them better now that she’d had some practice. She watched his feelings swirl around her like colored breezes, and as they wrapped around her body, she could choose which ones she wanted to feel for herself. She focused on one and felt the pride of Ema’s royal family. When she let it go, she latched onto another that made her feel the sadness and guilt of his decisions. In yet another, she felt his courage and his confidence when preparing for battle.
Rose was surprised when Ema broke their connection and leaned back with a more relaxed expression on his face.
“Thank you, Rose,” he said quietly, stroking the side of her face.
“It’s the least I could do,” she replied easily.
Ema wouldn’t let her take the moment lightly, however, and he pulled her into his arms in one smooth motion. “I have a feeling there are a lot of amazing things that you can do,” he said earnestly into her hair.
Rose smiled into his shoulder, feeling his strong arms around her body like a fortress. “Maybe I’ll even show you some of them,” she said, blushing furiously.
Ema pulled her away from his shoulder and met her eyes seductively while pulling a strand of her yellow hair away from her face. “Den lior alo’ma, Rose,” he whispered.
“What does that mean?” she asked, feeling him swaying her as if they were dancing without moving.
“It means the unforeseen flame,” he answered. “My people say that when something takes us by surprise, but in a really wonderful way. It’s an old saying that comes from an even older story about a soldier who was wandering the planet’s surface in the dead of winter. He’d been separated from his men, and he had fresh meat but no way to cook it because all the branches he found we’re soaked through. Nonetheless, he gathered the wet wood and piled it together, praying for a miracle. That’s when a storm rolled in, and lightning struck the very spot where his campfire sat. It sparked into flames and he was able to eat and live, and to fight another day.”
“I like that story,” Rose said.
“My father used to tell it to me when I was a child,” he confided. “I never believed him, but he insisted that it was true. I told him that it was impossible for something that fortunate to happen when a man needed it most. I guess you could say I didn’t believe in miracles.”
Rose sighed as her fingers wrapped themselves in Ema’s thick tunic. “But now you do,” she said roughly.
“Absolutely,” Ema answered. “How could I not when I look at you?”
Rose nearly swooned into him as he captured her lips and bent her back into a dip. His tongue traced the outline of her own as his hands sought the curving arches of her lower back and hips. She intertwined her fingers behind his neck as they relished the taste of one another, backing up into a wall and nearly falling over in surprise.
Rose giggled but Ema growled softly, switching her back into serious snog-mode in an instant. She moaned when his head dipped to lick at her neck and trace gentle nibbling movements down her clavicle. Her eyes fluttered open for a second when his fingers traced the waistband of her jeans, and she gasped at the unexpected appearance of the Doctor, who was standing before her on the edge of the room. His expression was despondent.
“Oh, my God!” Rose muttered. She kneed Ema accidentally as she threw herself forward, and the pair ended up as a tangle on the ground.
“What in the-?” Ema started in surprise.
“Doctor!” Rose half screamed as she ran toward him.
The Doctor stared at her like a complete stranger until she flung herself into her arms. “You’re alive!” she cried, tearing up a little at the thought. “We couldn’t find you! How did you survive? How did you get here?”
Her barrage of questions seemed lost on him, as the Doctor stared straight ahead at Ema like he was a Dalek.
Ema scratched his head, half-amused but also puzzled at this strange intruder wearing a full suit and necktie. “Are you Rose’s friend?” he asked uncertainly as he walked forward.
“I’m the Doctor,” he responded coldly. He turned his gaze to Rose and flicked his sonic screwdriver over her a few times before analyzing the results.
“I’m fine!” Rose said cheerily. “What is it?”
The Doctor was still frowning. “That’s odd,” he replied. “It says everything is at normal levels, but you were…I mean, I thought maybe…” He mumbled something about rohypnol and Rose let out an indignant sound.
“Are you kidding?” she asked. The Doctor cleared his throat and half-shrugged.
Ema continued to try and befriend the Doctor, seeing how important he was to Rose. “I’m glad you’re alright,” he said, holding out a hand to shake. “I’m Emalib, the Prince of this region.”
The Doctor eyed the hand wearily as Rose was distracted by the voice of Tate calling for her.
Tate stuck her head the room. “Oh, good, you’ve found your friend!” she said.
The two women began to chat as Ema moved his hand forward another inch, seeking a friendly greeting from the strange man. Did this guy hit his head or something? His face was haunted.
The Doctor stepped forward and took Ema’s hand in his own, and Ema suddenly had the distinct feeling of falling through the universe.
The Doctor stared hard at Ema’s expression, which became stupefied as the Prince felt the full force of the Time Vortex moving through his body. When the Doctor dropped his hand, he smiled overdramatically at the young man.
“Soooo, this is your place, huh? Kind of…damp,” the Doctor said critically. He cast his eyes around while Ema remained frozen on the spot like a zombie.
“I prefer the out-of-doors,” the Doctor continued in a high tone. “Less bats, or gmuzzes I guess you have here. Yeaghh,” he remarked, making a grossed-out face. “Gmuzzes are the nastiest beasties. Nothing worse than strolling around, minding your own business and suddenly you’re contending with a lurky gmuz, gmuzzing about. Lurky? I don’t know if that’s a word. Welp!” he continued, popping the p, “I’m sure Rose will be glad to evacuate this seeping cavity of despair and return to our lovely ship. It’s been such a pleasure meeting you though.”
The Doctor walked over and snuggled himself into Rose’s side as he snaked a protective arm around her waist. “We should really run,” he proposed, ducking his face down to hers.
Tate arched her eyebrows in surprise.
Rose regarded the Doctor with vague confusion. “Did you find the TARDIS?” she asked.
“Oh, yes!” the Doctor assured her. “Right as rain, really. Pretty as a picture! It took a day or so to excavate her, but luckily she’s just peachy and rarin’ to go, now that I think of it. I was thinking we could frolic on the fourteenth moon of Oprah.”
“Oprah?” Rose asked with obvious disbelief.
“Of course!” the Doctor insisted. “You didn’t really think she was a native Earthling, did you? All that power in one person? Come on!” He gave her the most dazzling smile he could muster, but it wasn’t working.
“I dunno, Doctor,” she began, motioning toward Ema. “I kind of thought we could help here, you know? The E’Loda are havin’ this terrible war, and it’s been goin’ on for five years! Maybe there’s something we could do to help?”
The Doctor stared down at his shoes, trying to calculate one of a million things he was thinking. “Allllright,” he said tightly. “Why don’t we stay here for awhile then.” He was more than obviously upset at this idea, but Rose didn’t seem to notice.
She bounded back over to Ema, who was staring morosely at the wall. “Now that my friend the Doctor’s here, we’ll set this mess to rights!” she said confidently.
Ema turned his head toward her. “Huh?” he asked.
“Ema, are you okay?” Rose asked with concern. “Look at me!” She examined his face carefully before turning around to eye the Doctor suspiciously. He was chatting away happily with Tate, who seemed amused at this bizarre man’s manic ranting. “Doctor,” Rose said through gritted teeth. “I think we should talk…in private.”
“Oh,” the Doctor said naughtily as he waggled his eyebrows. “TTYL,” he called to Tate as Rose dragged him off behind her.
“Yech,” the Doctor said. “Remind me to never say that again.”
They reached an enclosed supply closet and Rose unceremoniously shoved him in, closing the door after herself.
“Did you do something to Ema?” Rose asked threateningly.
“Emalib,” the Doctor corrected.
“Ema is his nickname,” Rose retorted slowly. “Answer my question.”
The Doctor sniffed as he pretended to examine his nails. “I didn’t do anything on purpose,” he said haughtily.
“What?” Rose demanded. “Why does he look like he’s been brainwashed?”
“Oh, that!” the Doctor said, finally understanding. “Well, an E’Loda should probably never shake hands with a Time Lord, but he was really insistent. I couldn’t stop him!”
Rose pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. The Doctor tensed, recognizing the pose as Rose’s extremely pissed stance, reserved for only the worst offenses. He couldn’t help but cringe.
“You let him shake your hand, knowing that he was an empath, and that your so-called superior physiology might drive him to the brink of terminal insanity?” Rose’s voice was deadly.
The Doctor backed up a few steps, hiding behind a pile of boxes. “Yes,” he squeaked.
Rose stewed for a moment in her anger before responding. “Why?” she asked.
“I just wasn’t thinking, I suppose.”
Rose could sense his lie, but seemed more interested in the reason for it than the fact that he did it. “Hmm,” she said as she considered his face. “Doctor, it wasn’t because you um…because you walked in while we were…” Rose couldn’t finish that sentence.
The Doctor balked and sputtered in response. “No, no! I mean, whatever you were doing, no! I don’t mind if you, well I mean it’s not my place to, ahem, that is…” He prattled along without really saying anything, so Rose did what she did best, which was to press the issue.
She stepped toward him with one hand on her hip. “So, you didn’t mind seeing me snog another man?” she asked artlessly.
The Doctor made a great show of adjusting his tie as if suddenly distracted by just how crooked it was at the moment. He shrugged a shoulder, but wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Because, after he kissed me, and he was trailing those soft lips of his down my neck, and pulling at the hem of my shirt…” Rose was moving closer to the Doctor, dragging a lazy finger over box tops as she went. “And he kissed down the side of my hip,” Rose continued, throwing her head back to bounce her hair and expose her neck to the Doctor’s enlarged eyes. “I felt this mmm…like a spark going through my body, and I just wanted to… I thought we were going to shag right there!“
The Doctor exhaled sharply, licking his lips but eyeing her with marked agitation.
Rose stopped and watched his face for a moment before letting a tight smile break over her face. He didn’t care. He was probably just really uncomfortable with her talking about this stuff. She shook herself out a little before twisting a pointed finger into the Doctor’s chest.
“If you ever try anything like that again on Ema…” she began.
“I won’t,” the Doctor answered solemnly. “It was wrong of me, Rose.”
She nodded severely. “Quite right,” she said, unsure of how to proceed.
The Doctor’s face transformed into the epitome of contrition as he held out his arms to her. “Please forgive me?” he asked.
Rose ran into his arms without a moment’s hesitation. And if he didn’t see that one coming, then he didn’t know her at all.
(Next Chapter)
“Let’s go!” Ema shouted over the sound of falling rocks and resounding gunshots.
Rose fell in behind him with her weapon drawn, imitating his low crouch as they ran through the tunnels. They came upon a wide opening in which Ema’s troops were taking heavy fire from King Deuspael’s men. Ema nodded once to Rose before rolling across the floor to a better vantage point. He steadied his gun on the large rock before him and took aim, felling a couple of enemies before shouting over to Ydaravo.
“How many?”
Ydaravo held out his hand and squeezed it into a fist three times to indicate fifteen adversaries.
“Not a fair fight, huh?” Rose shouted.
Ema was surprised to find she had rolled in behind him. “Where are all your men?” she cried over the firefight.
“Up above,” he indicated with a jerk of his head. “Looks like there’s just my private brigade here, but don’t worry, it’s more than enough!”
Rose felt a surge of confidence at his pride in his men. And as she watched them over the boulder, she understood why he felt that way.
Tate was alternately ducking behind small rocks and gaining ground on the enemy while Apael covered her. Ydaravo seemed to pick one enemy off after another. Saor was busy tending to some wounded soldiers, and Rose was surprised to see him caring for their fallen enemies as well. He certainly took his duties as a medic before those of partisanship, and Rose respected that immensely.
Suddenly, Ema stiffened noticeably when a group of ten enemy soldiers came bounding down the mouth of the cave. “Ouror L’Dien!” Ema sputtered, and Rose didn’t need to guess it was a curse.
She thought quickly before aiming at a large stalactite hanging from the ceiling. It only took one clean shot to bring it down over the group of enemies, quickly eliminating the advantage for their side as the rock face came pouring down over them. Ema threw her the widest grin he could manage.
“Aren’t you full of surprises?” he exclaimed before turning back to survey the damage.
The shock of seeing their reinforcements incapacitated so quickly obviously crushed the fighting spirit of Deuspael’s men, who called for a full retreat and ran out of the caves, terrified at the prospect of being buried alive. When the coast was clear, Rose and Ema came running to meet the rest of their party.
Rose checked on the group of soldiers she had immobilized, who were largely unhurt but none too happy about being prospective prisoners of Ema’s men. She helped to pull them out of the rubble before happily shaking hands with Apael and accepting a warm hug from Tate.
Ydaravo had affected a huge grin on his face.
“What is it?” Ema asked curiously.
Ydaravo jerked his head toward the cave’s mouth, and Ema was elated to see a swarm of his troops heading back toward the base, whooping and congratulating each other in victory.
Ema clasped Ydaravo’s shoulder and they both laughed heartily. “This is a great day,” Ema assessed. “If we keep this up maybe we can end this damned war once and for all!”
Tate snorted as she pulled a pair of enemy soldiers up from the ground after binding them together with a black rope. “But then what would you do for fun?” she asked sarcastically.
“Sir,” Apael said, pointing to the lines of men spilling into the cave.
The troops were falling back into formation as they entered, all standing at full attention as if waiting for some further command. Rose stared at them for moment, not understanding why they were all looking at Ema so expectantly.
“Ato L’ara!” Ema cried passionately, and the men repeated him, pumping their hearts with their fists.
“Victory is ours! All hail Prince Emalib!” Apael shouted, and the troops chorused the refrain.
Rose froze as everyone in the cave except her and Ema prostrated themselves on the floor.
Ema turned the top half of his body and caught Rose’s astonished expression. “Oh, yeah,” he sputtered. “There’s that…”
Rose wasn’t exactly sure why, but she was really angry about Ema’s true identity. It wasn’t like he’d lied to her, but he hadn’t been exactly forthcoming as she might have expected from someone who talked constantly about opening up, either. She was stalking through a common living area when he caught up with her, turning her by her shoulder as gently as possible.
“Look,” he started, walking backwards as she kept moving. “I was going to tell you, but I didn’t know how you would react, and also, I didn’t realize you’d be hanging around as long as you have!”
“What do you mean by that?” she spat, stopping in her tracks.
Ema took a step longer to stop moving, thereby colliding with an outcropping of boxes and landing sharply on the floor behind him. He rubbed his side as Rose stepped over him neatly and kept going. He couldn’t suppress an irritated sigh as he scrambled up to follow her.
“I just meant that I thought you were going to be leaving our miserable planet as soon as possible,” he informed her. “I didn’t see a point in getting you all caught up in this mess if you were just going to be running off anyways.” An inelegant choice of words, he realized. He closed one eye as he waited for her tirade.
“Listen here, Prince Emalib,” she said darkly. “I don’t just run off when there’s a spot of trouble. It’s not my style, and it never will be. Furthermore, I don’t appreciate being treated like a child, or kept in the dark about big, huge, important details like I’m hanging out with and…and kissing the sovereign of a nation! Really!”
Ema gritted his teeth, expecting the worse.
“But,” Rose said carefully, “I think I understand why you didn’t tell me.”
Ema frowned. “You do?”
“Yeah,” Rose said seriously. She stopped walking and sat down on a tattered recliner. Ema kneeled before her while gazing up at her expectantly. “I think you were ashamed,” she said.
Ema looked like he wanted to disagree, but he stopped himself and instead tried to consider her meaning.
“You feel responsible for what happened to your people,” she went on. “While you were able to give Princess Azoden her freedom, you also feel like you condemned your planet to a fruitless war. I think that’s why you don’t want to own your identity as the Prince, because it means that you’ll also own the damage that’s been done to this world.”
Rose finished softly as Ema stared up at her with a severe pain behind his eyes. He stood silently and paced awkwardly in front of her before folding his hands in front of his chest.
“Yes,” he said plainly.
Rose stood and held out her hands to him. “Maybe you need some catharsis too,” she suggested.
Ema squeezed his eyes shut tightly as her soft hands met his, breathing an audible sigh of relief as his feelings began to channel out.
Rose closed her eyes and felt the slow rush of Ema’s moods. She was surprised to find that she could process them better now that she’d had some practice. She watched his feelings swirl around her like colored breezes, and as they wrapped around her body, she could choose which ones she wanted to feel for herself. She focused on one and felt the pride of Ema’s royal family. When she let it go, she latched onto another that made her feel the sadness and guilt of his decisions. In yet another, she felt his courage and his confidence when preparing for battle.
Rose was surprised when Ema broke their connection and leaned back with a more relaxed expression on his face.
“Thank you, Rose,” he said quietly, stroking the side of her face.
“It’s the least I could do,” she replied easily.
Ema wouldn’t let her take the moment lightly, however, and he pulled her into his arms in one smooth motion. “I have a feeling there are a lot of amazing things that you can do,” he said earnestly into her hair.
Rose smiled into his shoulder, feeling his strong arms around her body like a fortress. “Maybe I’ll even show you some of them,” she said, blushing furiously.
Ema pulled her away from his shoulder and met her eyes seductively while pulling a strand of her yellow hair away from her face. “Den lior alo’ma, Rose,” he whispered.
“What does that mean?” she asked, feeling him swaying her as if they were dancing without moving.
“It means the unforeseen flame,” he answered. “My people say that when something takes us by surprise, but in a really wonderful way. It’s an old saying that comes from an even older story about a soldier who was wandering the planet’s surface in the dead of winter. He’d been separated from his men, and he had fresh meat but no way to cook it because all the branches he found we’re soaked through. Nonetheless, he gathered the wet wood and piled it together, praying for a miracle. That’s when a storm rolled in, and lightning struck the very spot where his campfire sat. It sparked into flames and he was able to eat and live, and to fight another day.”
“I like that story,” Rose said.
“My father used to tell it to me when I was a child,” he confided. “I never believed him, but he insisted that it was true. I told him that it was impossible for something that fortunate to happen when a man needed it most. I guess you could say I didn’t believe in miracles.”
Rose sighed as her fingers wrapped themselves in Ema’s thick tunic. “But now you do,” she said roughly.
“Absolutely,” Ema answered. “How could I not when I look at you?”
Rose nearly swooned into him as he captured her lips and bent her back into a dip. His tongue traced the outline of her own as his hands sought the curving arches of her lower back and hips. She intertwined her fingers behind his neck as they relished the taste of one another, backing up into a wall and nearly falling over in surprise.
Rose giggled but Ema growled softly, switching her back into serious snog-mode in an instant. She moaned when his head dipped to lick at her neck and trace gentle nibbling movements down her clavicle. Her eyes fluttered open for a second when his fingers traced the waistband of her jeans, and she gasped at the unexpected appearance of the Doctor, who was standing before her on the edge of the room. His expression was despondent.
“Oh, my God!” Rose muttered. She kneed Ema accidentally as she threw herself forward, and the pair ended up as a tangle on the ground.
“What in the-?” Ema started in surprise.
“Doctor!” Rose half screamed as she ran toward him.
The Doctor stared at her like a complete stranger until she flung herself into her arms. “You’re alive!” she cried, tearing up a little at the thought. “We couldn’t find you! How did you survive? How did you get here?”
Her barrage of questions seemed lost on him, as the Doctor stared straight ahead at Ema like he was a Dalek.
Ema scratched his head, half-amused but also puzzled at this strange intruder wearing a full suit and necktie. “Are you Rose’s friend?” he asked uncertainly as he walked forward.
“I’m the Doctor,” he responded coldly. He turned his gaze to Rose and flicked his sonic screwdriver over her a few times before analyzing the results.
“I’m fine!” Rose said cheerily. “What is it?”
The Doctor was still frowning. “That’s odd,” he replied. “It says everything is at normal levels, but you were…I mean, I thought maybe…” He mumbled something about rohypnol and Rose let out an indignant sound.
“Are you kidding?” she asked. The Doctor cleared his throat and half-shrugged.
Ema continued to try and befriend the Doctor, seeing how important he was to Rose. “I’m glad you’re alright,” he said, holding out a hand to shake. “I’m Emalib, the Prince of this region.”
The Doctor eyed the hand wearily as Rose was distracted by the voice of Tate calling for her.
Tate stuck her head the room. “Oh, good, you’ve found your friend!” she said.
The two women began to chat as Ema moved his hand forward another inch, seeking a friendly greeting from the strange man. Did this guy hit his head or something? His face was haunted.
The Doctor stepped forward and took Ema’s hand in his own, and Ema suddenly had the distinct feeling of falling through the universe.
The Doctor stared hard at Ema’s expression, which became stupefied as the Prince felt the full force of the Time Vortex moving through his body. When the Doctor dropped his hand, he smiled overdramatically at the young man.
“Soooo, this is your place, huh? Kind of…damp,” the Doctor said critically. He cast his eyes around while Ema remained frozen on the spot like a zombie.
“I prefer the out-of-doors,” the Doctor continued in a high tone. “Less bats, or gmuzzes I guess you have here. Yeaghh,” he remarked, making a grossed-out face. “Gmuzzes are the nastiest beasties. Nothing worse than strolling around, minding your own business and suddenly you’re contending with a lurky gmuz, gmuzzing about. Lurky? I don’t know if that’s a word. Welp!” he continued, popping the p, “I’m sure Rose will be glad to evacuate this seeping cavity of despair and return to our lovely ship. It’s been such a pleasure meeting you though.”
The Doctor walked over and snuggled himself into Rose’s side as he snaked a protective arm around her waist. “We should really run,” he proposed, ducking his face down to hers.
Tate arched her eyebrows in surprise.
Rose regarded the Doctor with vague confusion. “Did you find the TARDIS?” she asked.
“Oh, yes!” the Doctor assured her. “Right as rain, really. Pretty as a picture! It took a day or so to excavate her, but luckily she’s just peachy and rarin’ to go, now that I think of it. I was thinking we could frolic on the fourteenth moon of Oprah.”
“Oprah?” Rose asked with obvious disbelief.
“Of course!” the Doctor insisted. “You didn’t really think she was a native Earthling, did you? All that power in one person? Come on!” He gave her the most dazzling smile he could muster, but it wasn’t working.
“I dunno, Doctor,” she began, motioning toward Ema. “I kind of thought we could help here, you know? The E’Loda are havin’ this terrible war, and it’s been goin’ on for five years! Maybe there’s something we could do to help?”
The Doctor stared down at his shoes, trying to calculate one of a million things he was thinking. “Allllright,” he said tightly. “Why don’t we stay here for awhile then.” He was more than obviously upset at this idea, but Rose didn’t seem to notice.
She bounded back over to Ema, who was staring morosely at the wall. “Now that my friend the Doctor’s here, we’ll set this mess to rights!” she said confidently.
Ema turned his head toward her. “Huh?” he asked.
“Ema, are you okay?” Rose asked with concern. “Look at me!” She examined his face carefully before turning around to eye the Doctor suspiciously. He was chatting away happily with Tate, who seemed amused at this bizarre man’s manic ranting. “Doctor,” Rose said through gritted teeth. “I think we should talk…in private.”
“Oh,” the Doctor said naughtily as he waggled his eyebrows. “TTYL,” he called to Tate as Rose dragged him off behind her.
“Yech,” the Doctor said. “Remind me to never say that again.”
They reached an enclosed supply closet and Rose unceremoniously shoved him in, closing the door after herself.
“Did you do something to Ema?” Rose asked threateningly.
“Emalib,” the Doctor corrected.
“Ema is his nickname,” Rose retorted slowly. “Answer my question.”
The Doctor sniffed as he pretended to examine his nails. “I didn’t do anything on purpose,” he said haughtily.
“What?” Rose demanded. “Why does he look like he’s been brainwashed?”
“Oh, that!” the Doctor said, finally understanding. “Well, an E’Loda should probably never shake hands with a Time Lord, but he was really insistent. I couldn’t stop him!”
Rose pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. The Doctor tensed, recognizing the pose as Rose’s extremely pissed stance, reserved for only the worst offenses. He couldn’t help but cringe.
“You let him shake your hand, knowing that he was an empath, and that your so-called superior physiology might drive him to the brink of terminal insanity?” Rose’s voice was deadly.
The Doctor backed up a few steps, hiding behind a pile of boxes. “Yes,” he squeaked.
Rose stewed for a moment in her anger before responding. “Why?” she asked.
“I just wasn’t thinking, I suppose.”
Rose could sense his lie, but seemed more interested in the reason for it than the fact that he did it. “Hmm,” she said as she considered his face. “Doctor, it wasn’t because you um…because you walked in while we were…” Rose couldn’t finish that sentence.
The Doctor balked and sputtered in response. “No, no! I mean, whatever you were doing, no! I don’t mind if you, well I mean it’s not my place to, ahem, that is…” He prattled along without really saying anything, so Rose did what she did best, which was to press the issue.
She stepped toward him with one hand on her hip. “So, you didn’t mind seeing me snog another man?” she asked artlessly.
The Doctor made a great show of adjusting his tie as if suddenly distracted by just how crooked it was at the moment. He shrugged a shoulder, but wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Because, after he kissed me, and he was trailing those soft lips of his down my neck, and pulling at the hem of my shirt…” Rose was moving closer to the Doctor, dragging a lazy finger over box tops as she went. “And he kissed down the side of my hip,” Rose continued, throwing her head back to bounce her hair and expose her neck to the Doctor’s enlarged eyes. “I felt this mmm…like a spark going through my body, and I just wanted to… I thought we were going to shag right there!“
The Doctor exhaled sharply, licking his lips but eyeing her with marked agitation.
Rose stopped and watched his face for a moment before letting a tight smile break over her face. He didn’t care. He was probably just really uncomfortable with her talking about this stuff. She shook herself out a little before twisting a pointed finger into the Doctor’s chest.
“If you ever try anything like that again on Ema…” she began.
“I won’t,” the Doctor answered solemnly. “It was wrong of me, Rose.”
She nodded severely. “Quite right,” she said, unsure of how to proceed.
The Doctor’s face transformed into the epitome of contrition as he held out his arms to her. “Please forgive me?” he asked.
Rose ran into his arms without a moment’s hesitation. And if he didn’t see that one coming, then he didn’t know her at all.
(Next Chapter)