In Love and War, 11/16
Chapter 11
Rose could not believe that she was waking up next to the Doctor. She sensed the weight of his leg resting between her calves while his right arm was tucked around her waist, spooning them together in a perfect fit.
The Doctor must have sensed her stirring.
“Are you awake?” he mouthed into her hair.
Rose twisted around in his arms to face him, noticing his reticence to release his grasp on her. She finally settled on her side and giggled as his arm claimed its previous spot. He met her gaze as she stare up at his disheveled hair falling into his bright eyes. She marveled at his exposed chest as he pushed the sheet around him off of his warm body and laid a kiss to her forehead.
“Thank Rassilon you’re up! I was getting bored. The only think I could think to do was to count your endless perfections,” the Doctor stated solemnly. “Your lovely smile, your sensuous curves, your well-plucked eyebrows…”
Rose poked him in the side.
“Stop it!” she said with a laugh.
“Oh no-no-no Ms. Tyler!” the Doctor interceded. “I could go on for days, and I do have lots of days. I could spend them with you if you like…extolling your virtues…perhaps examining them further…for scientific, Time Lord related purposes.”
The Doctor shot her a randy look and trailed off as he kissed lightly along her shoulders and traced lazy lines over the exposed skin of her thigh with his index finger. Rose suppressed a shiver as she snuggled into his embrace, enjoying the heat of his skin.
“So you’re ready to get a mortgage then?” she asked teasingly.
The Doctor froze in mock-horror. “In this market?” he asked disbelievingly.
Rose giggled as the Doctor ducked under the sheet that divided their bare bodies and tickled a path of kisses and nips down her stomach. Suddenly, he emerged unexpectedly from under the covers and eyed Rose urgently.
“Rose Tyler, there’s something extraordinary under here I’ve got to show you!” he cried. Rose laughed again as the Doctor threw the sheet over them both and pressed himself against her body, causing her to gasp with unexpected pleasure. Their lips met and danced around one another as their limbs entangled. She felt the ecstatic rush of desire as he nuzzled into her neck.
His hand squeezed at the flesh of her hip before moving up and rounding over the soft curve of her breast. Rose wasn’t about to let him do all the seducing this morning, however. She quickly maneuvered around and landed on top of him, pinning his arms to the mattress and sucking wetly on his neck. He groaned as she worked her way down, still restraining his arms.
“Oh,” he said softly as her lips met his erection.
Rose let her tongue play teasingly over his flesh until he began to whimper with mounting frustration. She released one of his arms to join her mouth, doubling her efforts to please him.
“Yes!” the Doctor cried, losing his characteristic restraint rather quickly and making all kinds of ecstatic noises as his hips bucked up in rhythm with her movements. His loose hand fisted in the sheets as she quickened her pace.
Rose took it as a compliment when he orgasmed just seconds later with her name on his lips.
Rose straightened up and then stretched herself out next to the Doctor as he stared at her in complete awe. She stifled a giggle.
“That was bloody fantastic!” he murmured through his daze. “How did you learn…no…wait…I don’t want to know that. Why would I even ask that?”
Rose laughed. “Better than what you’ve had before?” she asked a little shyly.
“Before?” the Doctor asked, not comprehending her insinuation. “Oh! No, I’ve never had anyone do that before. What I’ve been missing seems obvious, however.”
Rose felt her incredulous expression precede her. “Seriously? You’ve never?” she asked.
“Nope!” the Doctor inflected, popping the p. “But beware, Rose Tyler. You may have created an addict.”
His gaze turned predatory as he examined her naked body prone beside his. “I had no idea that human relations could be so satisfying, so fulfilling, so absolutely perfect!”
Rose intertwined her fingers with his as they stared at one another for a moment. “Well I’m glad that you’re a fan,” she admitted. “After the last few days I don’t think I could go back to the way it was before, with us denying everything we both wanted and pretending we were just mates.”
The Doctor glowered as he considered the alternative. “I don’t ever want to take the chance of losing you to someone else,” he stated, squeezing her hand. “Maybe I should plight my troth, just in case.” He considered his words introspectively as Rose raised an eyebrow.
“Plight your what?” she asked, getting up from the bed to throw her clothes on.
“Oh, you know. My people had a bonding ceremony to secure common interests and unite disparate houses, typically for political reasons but sometimes for romantic inclinations. Basically, we could get married, Rose,” the Doctor put it succinctly.
Rose froze with her fingers at the clasp of her jeans as she stared dumbly at the Doctor.
“Wha?” she asked in utter shock.
The Doctor rolled out of bed like what he’d suggested was completely commonplace, like where to get breakfast or what destination they should chart on the TARDIS. He threw on his borrowed clothes from Ema before regarding her once more.
“Well…I love you,” he said simply. “More than just a bit. Madly. Wildly. Without boundary.” He fell silent for a moment before regarding Rose’s flabbergasted face.
“I love you with knowing how, or when, or from where,” he recited. “I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way than this: where I does not exist, nor you, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.”
Rose balked. “That’s beautiful,” she said in amazement. “Did you write that?”
The Doctor crossed the short distance between them before holding out his hand for hers. “Nah, 20th Century Earth poet named Pablo Neruda. But the sentiment is the same, I do mean what I said. What do you say, Rose? Would you consider being my mate, my wife?”
At that moment, an alarm shrieked from the interior of the caves and interrupted whatever Rose was about to say. The Doctor switched immediately into Time Lord adventurer mode as he ran toward the door and hit a number of switches on the panel.
“They don’t do fire drills here, I suppose?” he called over his shoulder.
“Don’t believe so!” Rose answered as she knotted the laces on her shoes.
The Doctor was back by her side in a flash. “I hope you’re ready for whatever’s on the other side of that door,” he intoned.
“Always!” she responded with a brilliant smile. “When you’re by my side...”
The couple grinned madly at one another as the door swished open and a billow of smoke poured into the chamber. They kept low to the ground to avoid it and stumbled out into a chaotic scene. Rose recognized Duspael’s men advancing in a tight line from across the cavern while a number of Ema’s soldiers were firing from defensive positions. She rolled to the ground with the Doctor to avoid a series of shots that rang out overhead, and landed roughly on her stomach.
Unlike the last incursion, this battle didn’t look like it was going well for Ema’s side. Duspael’s men were gaining ground every moment. Rose saw Ema from across the smoke-filled room and recognized the terror and sorrow on his face. He was going to be forced to surrender.
Rose grasped the Doctor’s hand as Ema signalled for his men to stand down, calming the firefight and hushing the cave into an eerie silence. After a few minutes went by, Ema stood up with his hands over his head. Tate followed directly behind him waving a white cloth in the air.
For a second, no one moved. But then a single shot rang out and Ema crumpled to the ground. His men screamed in rage, some running futilely toward Duspael’s guard only to be mowed down heartlessly by the opposition. Tate tried to pull Ema back to the protective rock behind her, but was struggling under the weight of his and her additional armor. They weren’t going to make it unless someone interceded.
Rose was about to jump up when the figure of Azoden appeared like a spectre in the center of the room. She was wearing a long white gown that contrasted so drastically with the grime of the cave that she looked like an angel alighting down to earth. Azoden held up one hand as Duspael’s men stared at her in shock, coming as she was from the wrong side of the battlefield. From behind their offensive line, one man broke through and pointed an accusatory finger at her.
“My daughter in the band of traitors!” he cried, shaking with perceptible rage.
Azoden came near to him and stared defiantly under his gaze. “Yes, father,” she announced. “I came to make peace where you saw only war. And even now, I understand how impossible that will be as long as you live. You shoot upon an unarmed man in the name of violence and hatred, all the while pretending to care for the loss of life on both sides. It’s obvious to me now how little you mark the death of our culture for the ultimate taste of victory! What a price you would pay!”
King Duspael sneered at her words, hardly hearing her at all. “You’ve betrayed your King and your people!” he growled. “For this, you will be executed!”
Azoden saw the shock register on the faces of Duspael’s troops. The men shifted uncomfortably behind their King.
“And who would kill me father?” Azoden challenged. “I am the symbol of your war! What would there be left to fight for when I am dead?” Her voice grew more pleading as she continued. “Can’t you see your reign must end if there is ever to be peace?”
Duspael laughed madly before drawing a short dagger and brandishing it in the air. “There is no such thing as peace,” he remarked menacingly.
“We have to stop this!” the Doctor whispered to Rose.
She started to agree until she noticed a stir of movement from the corner of her eye. Ema was struggling to stand up while clutching his side. Even in his wounded state, he wasn’t going to let Duspael murder his own daughter and destroy their only chance for reconciliation. Rose grasped the Doctor’s sleeve and pointed to Ema excitedly.
The King was still leering at the Princess, daring her to defy him, but she wasn’t about to give up.
“There’s a better way, father!” she promised. “Think of what our world could become without all this devastation! Think of what the Council of Elders has told us about the past, before all this death!”
Duspael could hardly contain his wrath as he sputtered a response. “The Council of Elders? Are you really so naïve, girl? They’re the reason this all goes on, from now until the end of time!”
Azoden faltered. “What? What are you talking about?” she demanded.
“The Council manufactured this whole bloody campaign!” he cried. “Don’t you see that? It’s a source of endless production for their economy, it drives their commercial gains and entertains the masses in one fell swoop! And all the while they supply the game, the resources and the tools! They drive us on and on and on until they drive us mad!”
The King was staggering around as he ranted as if he were struggling against an oppressive weight bearing down on him. He fell to his knees and cried piteously for his lot.
“I’m not a King!” he cried. “I’m a pawn piece! We’re all nothing but tokens on the board for their amusement! And I won’t do it anymore!”
With that statement, the King plunged his knife into his own breast and fell limply to the ground. Azoden screamed as Ema appeared beside her, crushing her into his arms protectively.
Rose stifled a cry as the Doctor stared in astonishment, hardly believing his eyes. Duspael’s men stared lamely at their fallen leader, unsure of how to proceed without him. The silence in the cave was deafening.
“Well!” cried the Doctor as he bounded over. “The plot thickens, so to speak!” He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and ran it over Ema’s wound. “Good, just a flesh wound there. Better get you bound up all the same.”
Saor appeared at that moment, breathlessly clutching his medical bag. “I just got here,” he wheezed. “Didn’t miss anything important, did I?”
The Doctor grinned manically. “We’ve just begun, actually! It looks like the Council of Elders is up to more than strict advisory duties. Your war may be entrenched in something deeper than a princess problematic.”
Rose crossed her arms as she considered Duspael’s words. “It sounded like the King was being egged on by the Council,” she said. “If they were just using the regional dispute as an excuse, they must have had some motivation for keeping you all at war. But for what?”
The Doctor bit his lip as Ema sat down to let Saor patch him up. “I’m not really sure,” Ema admitted. “None of us have even been to the Council stronghold since the fighting began. I don’t know what we’re dealing with.”
Azoden put her hands on her hips decidedly. “My father would never have ended his life for nothing. It seemed obvious to me he was driven mad by something dark, if not something wholly evil. I say we go to the source of the problem and find out for ourselves!”
The Doctor agreed excitedly before turning to face the enemy troops. “What do you say men? Tired of killing one another? Ready to form a united front and face the real enemy, the proponent of all this death and misery?”
Duspael’s men wearily nodded, one after another.
“I tire of this war,” a young soldier proclaimed. “I want peace!”
“Peace!” cried another, while still others took up the call.
Rose and the Doctor stepped back as several soldiers stepped forward to shake hands or even embrace. It was a truly powerful moment. Rose realized that many of the soldiers were trading emotional experiences with one another, solidifying an unbreakable bond with their previous enemies. Azoden and Ema took hands once Saor had finished binding the Prince’s wound. The royal couple stood forth amongst their intermingling troops and raised a victorious cry.
“A new day has risen for the E’Loda!” Ema proclaimed before his eyes darkened. “Let us go to the Council of Elders on the morrow and stake our claim! No one will tear apart what we have made today. Tomorrow we will assure it.”
The cave erupted in a joyful cheer while Rose and the Doctor met each other’s gaze. The smile he gave her was unlike any she’d seen from him before. “Such a good day,” he said lovingly as he looked into her eyes. “One of so many to come.”
Rose suddenly felt an overwhelming anxiety and astonishment washing over her. Did he really just ask her earlier to marry him?
(Next Chapter)
Rose could not believe that she was waking up next to the Doctor. She sensed the weight of his leg resting between her calves while his right arm was tucked around her waist, spooning them together in a perfect fit.
The Doctor must have sensed her stirring.
“Are you awake?” he mouthed into her hair.
Rose twisted around in his arms to face him, noticing his reticence to release his grasp on her. She finally settled on her side and giggled as his arm claimed its previous spot. He met her gaze as she stare up at his disheveled hair falling into his bright eyes. She marveled at his exposed chest as he pushed the sheet around him off of his warm body and laid a kiss to her forehead.
“Thank Rassilon you’re up! I was getting bored. The only think I could think to do was to count your endless perfections,” the Doctor stated solemnly. “Your lovely smile, your sensuous curves, your well-plucked eyebrows…”
Rose poked him in the side.
“Stop it!” she said with a laugh.
“Oh no-no-no Ms. Tyler!” the Doctor interceded. “I could go on for days, and I do have lots of days. I could spend them with you if you like…extolling your virtues…perhaps examining them further…for scientific, Time Lord related purposes.”
The Doctor shot her a randy look and trailed off as he kissed lightly along her shoulders and traced lazy lines over the exposed skin of her thigh with his index finger. Rose suppressed a shiver as she snuggled into his embrace, enjoying the heat of his skin.
“So you’re ready to get a mortgage then?” she asked teasingly.
The Doctor froze in mock-horror. “In this market?” he asked disbelievingly.
Rose giggled as the Doctor ducked under the sheet that divided their bare bodies and tickled a path of kisses and nips down her stomach. Suddenly, he emerged unexpectedly from under the covers and eyed Rose urgently.
“Rose Tyler, there’s something extraordinary under here I’ve got to show you!” he cried. Rose laughed again as the Doctor threw the sheet over them both and pressed himself against her body, causing her to gasp with unexpected pleasure. Their lips met and danced around one another as their limbs entangled. She felt the ecstatic rush of desire as he nuzzled into her neck.
His hand squeezed at the flesh of her hip before moving up and rounding over the soft curve of her breast. Rose wasn’t about to let him do all the seducing this morning, however. She quickly maneuvered around and landed on top of him, pinning his arms to the mattress and sucking wetly on his neck. He groaned as she worked her way down, still restraining his arms.
“Oh,” he said softly as her lips met his erection.
Rose let her tongue play teasingly over his flesh until he began to whimper with mounting frustration. She released one of his arms to join her mouth, doubling her efforts to please him.
“Yes!” the Doctor cried, losing his characteristic restraint rather quickly and making all kinds of ecstatic noises as his hips bucked up in rhythm with her movements. His loose hand fisted in the sheets as she quickened her pace.
Rose took it as a compliment when he orgasmed just seconds later with her name on his lips.
Rose straightened up and then stretched herself out next to the Doctor as he stared at her in complete awe. She stifled a giggle.
“That was bloody fantastic!” he murmured through his daze. “How did you learn…no…wait…I don’t want to know that. Why would I even ask that?”
Rose laughed. “Better than what you’ve had before?” she asked a little shyly.
“Before?” the Doctor asked, not comprehending her insinuation. “Oh! No, I’ve never had anyone do that before. What I’ve been missing seems obvious, however.”
Rose felt her incredulous expression precede her. “Seriously? You’ve never?” she asked.
“Nope!” the Doctor inflected, popping the p. “But beware, Rose Tyler. You may have created an addict.”
His gaze turned predatory as he examined her naked body prone beside his. “I had no idea that human relations could be so satisfying, so fulfilling, so absolutely perfect!”
Rose intertwined her fingers with his as they stared at one another for a moment. “Well I’m glad that you’re a fan,” she admitted. “After the last few days I don’t think I could go back to the way it was before, with us denying everything we both wanted and pretending we were just mates.”
The Doctor glowered as he considered the alternative. “I don’t ever want to take the chance of losing you to someone else,” he stated, squeezing her hand. “Maybe I should plight my troth, just in case.” He considered his words introspectively as Rose raised an eyebrow.
“Plight your what?” she asked, getting up from the bed to throw her clothes on.
“Oh, you know. My people had a bonding ceremony to secure common interests and unite disparate houses, typically for political reasons but sometimes for romantic inclinations. Basically, we could get married, Rose,” the Doctor put it succinctly.
Rose froze with her fingers at the clasp of her jeans as she stared dumbly at the Doctor.
“Wha?” she asked in utter shock.
The Doctor rolled out of bed like what he’d suggested was completely commonplace, like where to get breakfast or what destination they should chart on the TARDIS. He threw on his borrowed clothes from Ema before regarding her once more.
“Well…I love you,” he said simply. “More than just a bit. Madly. Wildly. Without boundary.” He fell silent for a moment before regarding Rose’s flabbergasted face.
“I love you with knowing how, or when, or from where,” he recited. “I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way than this: where I does not exist, nor you, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.”
Rose balked. “That’s beautiful,” she said in amazement. “Did you write that?”
The Doctor crossed the short distance between them before holding out his hand for hers. “Nah, 20th Century Earth poet named Pablo Neruda. But the sentiment is the same, I do mean what I said. What do you say, Rose? Would you consider being my mate, my wife?”
At that moment, an alarm shrieked from the interior of the caves and interrupted whatever Rose was about to say. The Doctor switched immediately into Time Lord adventurer mode as he ran toward the door and hit a number of switches on the panel.
“They don’t do fire drills here, I suppose?” he called over his shoulder.
“Don’t believe so!” Rose answered as she knotted the laces on her shoes.
The Doctor was back by her side in a flash. “I hope you’re ready for whatever’s on the other side of that door,” he intoned.
“Always!” she responded with a brilliant smile. “When you’re by my side...”
The couple grinned madly at one another as the door swished open and a billow of smoke poured into the chamber. They kept low to the ground to avoid it and stumbled out into a chaotic scene. Rose recognized Duspael’s men advancing in a tight line from across the cavern while a number of Ema’s soldiers were firing from defensive positions. She rolled to the ground with the Doctor to avoid a series of shots that rang out overhead, and landed roughly on her stomach.
Unlike the last incursion, this battle didn’t look like it was going well for Ema’s side. Duspael’s men were gaining ground every moment. Rose saw Ema from across the smoke-filled room and recognized the terror and sorrow on his face. He was going to be forced to surrender.
Rose grasped the Doctor’s hand as Ema signalled for his men to stand down, calming the firefight and hushing the cave into an eerie silence. After a few minutes went by, Ema stood up with his hands over his head. Tate followed directly behind him waving a white cloth in the air.
For a second, no one moved. But then a single shot rang out and Ema crumpled to the ground. His men screamed in rage, some running futilely toward Duspael’s guard only to be mowed down heartlessly by the opposition. Tate tried to pull Ema back to the protective rock behind her, but was struggling under the weight of his and her additional armor. They weren’t going to make it unless someone interceded.
Rose was about to jump up when the figure of Azoden appeared like a spectre in the center of the room. She was wearing a long white gown that contrasted so drastically with the grime of the cave that she looked like an angel alighting down to earth. Azoden held up one hand as Duspael’s men stared at her in shock, coming as she was from the wrong side of the battlefield. From behind their offensive line, one man broke through and pointed an accusatory finger at her.
“My daughter in the band of traitors!” he cried, shaking with perceptible rage.
Azoden came near to him and stared defiantly under his gaze. “Yes, father,” she announced. “I came to make peace where you saw only war. And even now, I understand how impossible that will be as long as you live. You shoot upon an unarmed man in the name of violence and hatred, all the while pretending to care for the loss of life on both sides. It’s obvious to me now how little you mark the death of our culture for the ultimate taste of victory! What a price you would pay!”
King Duspael sneered at her words, hardly hearing her at all. “You’ve betrayed your King and your people!” he growled. “For this, you will be executed!”
Azoden saw the shock register on the faces of Duspael’s troops. The men shifted uncomfortably behind their King.
“And who would kill me father?” Azoden challenged. “I am the symbol of your war! What would there be left to fight for when I am dead?” Her voice grew more pleading as she continued. “Can’t you see your reign must end if there is ever to be peace?”
Duspael laughed madly before drawing a short dagger and brandishing it in the air. “There is no such thing as peace,” he remarked menacingly.
“We have to stop this!” the Doctor whispered to Rose.
She started to agree until she noticed a stir of movement from the corner of her eye. Ema was struggling to stand up while clutching his side. Even in his wounded state, he wasn’t going to let Duspael murder his own daughter and destroy their only chance for reconciliation. Rose grasped the Doctor’s sleeve and pointed to Ema excitedly.
The King was still leering at the Princess, daring her to defy him, but she wasn’t about to give up.
“There’s a better way, father!” she promised. “Think of what our world could become without all this devastation! Think of what the Council of Elders has told us about the past, before all this death!”
Duspael could hardly contain his wrath as he sputtered a response. “The Council of Elders? Are you really so naïve, girl? They’re the reason this all goes on, from now until the end of time!”
Azoden faltered. “What? What are you talking about?” she demanded.
“The Council manufactured this whole bloody campaign!” he cried. “Don’t you see that? It’s a source of endless production for their economy, it drives their commercial gains and entertains the masses in one fell swoop! And all the while they supply the game, the resources and the tools! They drive us on and on and on until they drive us mad!”
The King was staggering around as he ranted as if he were struggling against an oppressive weight bearing down on him. He fell to his knees and cried piteously for his lot.
“I’m not a King!” he cried. “I’m a pawn piece! We’re all nothing but tokens on the board for their amusement! And I won’t do it anymore!”
With that statement, the King plunged his knife into his own breast and fell limply to the ground. Azoden screamed as Ema appeared beside her, crushing her into his arms protectively.
Rose stifled a cry as the Doctor stared in astonishment, hardly believing his eyes. Duspael’s men stared lamely at their fallen leader, unsure of how to proceed without him. The silence in the cave was deafening.
“Well!” cried the Doctor as he bounded over. “The plot thickens, so to speak!” He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and ran it over Ema’s wound. “Good, just a flesh wound there. Better get you bound up all the same.”
Saor appeared at that moment, breathlessly clutching his medical bag. “I just got here,” he wheezed. “Didn’t miss anything important, did I?”
The Doctor grinned manically. “We’ve just begun, actually! It looks like the Council of Elders is up to more than strict advisory duties. Your war may be entrenched in something deeper than a princess problematic.”
Rose crossed her arms as she considered Duspael’s words. “It sounded like the King was being egged on by the Council,” she said. “If they were just using the regional dispute as an excuse, they must have had some motivation for keeping you all at war. But for what?”
The Doctor bit his lip as Ema sat down to let Saor patch him up. “I’m not really sure,” Ema admitted. “None of us have even been to the Council stronghold since the fighting began. I don’t know what we’re dealing with.”
Azoden put her hands on her hips decidedly. “My father would never have ended his life for nothing. It seemed obvious to me he was driven mad by something dark, if not something wholly evil. I say we go to the source of the problem and find out for ourselves!”
The Doctor agreed excitedly before turning to face the enemy troops. “What do you say men? Tired of killing one another? Ready to form a united front and face the real enemy, the proponent of all this death and misery?”
Duspael’s men wearily nodded, one after another.
“I tire of this war,” a young soldier proclaimed. “I want peace!”
“Peace!” cried another, while still others took up the call.
Rose and the Doctor stepped back as several soldiers stepped forward to shake hands or even embrace. It was a truly powerful moment. Rose realized that many of the soldiers were trading emotional experiences with one another, solidifying an unbreakable bond with their previous enemies. Azoden and Ema took hands once Saor had finished binding the Prince’s wound. The royal couple stood forth amongst their intermingling troops and raised a victorious cry.
“A new day has risen for the E’Loda!” Ema proclaimed before his eyes darkened. “Let us go to the Council of Elders on the morrow and stake our claim! No one will tear apart what we have made today. Tomorrow we will assure it.”
The cave erupted in a joyful cheer while Rose and the Doctor met each other’s gaze. The smile he gave her was unlike any she’d seen from him before. “Such a good day,” he said lovingly as he looked into her eyes. “One of so many to come.”
Rose suddenly felt an overwhelming anxiety and astonishment washing over her. Did he really just ask her earlier to marry him?
(Next Chapter)