FIC: A Bit Distracted
TITLE: A Bit Distracted
AUTHOR: Talepiece
RATING: 15 cert.
PAIRING: Rose/Romana II
DISCLAIMER: Characters not mine.
CONTINUITY: Follows on from The Wrong Universe and links in with The Lost Children.
Gallifrey was time locked in this universe too. There really was no doubt, though Romana was spending a great deal of time and energy in finding a way around it. Rose wasn't sure to what end but it didn't really matter; Romana needed to try so she would let her. In the meantime, Rose simply watched her. She wanted to think that she was keeping an eye on Romana so that she could pull the woman back when she reached the edge of that obsessive madness that Time Lords seemed prone to. But she wasn't. She was watching Romana's face, the bright eyes, the lips that would flash in to a smile. She was wondering what those lips would feel like under her own, what that mouth would taste like. How it would feel to run her fingers through the long, blonde hair...to pull them down over Romana's chest, lingering at the small breasts...to move them around to Romana's back and pull her close...to drag her fingers over Romana's hips and dip lower....to --
'Rose? Rose? Rose, are you feeling all right? You've gone terribly red.'
Rose blinked out of her fantasy and realised she hadn't been watching the real Romana at all. The woman was standing right in front of her, a worried expression on her face. Her hands were held out, reaching for Rose but not quite touching. Rose wished they were touching her. She swallowed hard against the thought and shook her head violently.
'Sorry,' she said in a husky tone. She cleared her throat and tried again, 'Sorry. I was just...anyway, I was miles away. Are you OK?'
Now those lips really did flash in to a bright smile. Rose couldn't help but answer it with one of her own. God but she wanted to lean forward and --
'Rose? You've gone again, girl. Honestly, are you coming down with something?
I wish, Rose thought. She said, 'Just feeling a bit, er, distracted. Bit weird,' she added quickly before Romana could ask exactly what was distracting her. 'So,' Rose said on a sigh, 'what's going on then?'
'I think I've found it.' Rose raised a brow in question and Romana went on, 'A way to see Gallifrey. It's not going to be like going home, obviously, but I would like to see the place again. Just once. Just to make sure there's,' she trailed off with a vague shake of her head.
'OK then.'
And that was it. Rose didn't need to hear any more, certainly didn't want to hear the dangers involved -- there were bound to be dangers involved -- or the techy stuff about how they were going to do it. She would have been happy for Romana to just get on with it. Of course that wasn't going to happen; Romana was a Time Lord and they did like to give you all the details of their brilliant plans. The gist of it, as far as Rose could tell, was to jump forward in time to the very end of the universe. At that point the time lock would be disintegrating at such a rate that they could just nip in and have a look around. Rose was fairly sure it wouldn't be that simple but she liked the idea that it might be. It didn't really matter anyway; she'd go anywhere with this woman. She really had fallen that hard for her. For a Time Lord -- another bloody Time Lord!
It had all started when Gregory refused to help them. He'd been civil to Romana but not really friendly. It was like he didn't want to be reminded of what he was. Or what he wasn't. The more Rose saw the two of them together, the more she was remained of what he was. Just a man, a man with a strange genesis but a fairly normal sort of bloke all the same. And she was remained of what he wasn't. He wasn't the Doctor. He wasn't her Doctor. Neither was Romana, admittedly, but she was all the things that Rose had loved about him, all the things Rose wanted Gregory to be. Perhaps if Gregory had needed her, really needed her, the way that the Doctor and Donna had obviously assumed he would. Perhaps then it might have worked. At least she wouldn't have found herself feeling like a spare wheel in her own life. Romana didn't make her feel like that at all.
So when Romana had suggested they "borrow" the Tardis, Rose had agreed immediately. And Gregory had refused. Refused point-blank. No room for discussion, no interest at all. There had been a blazing row, words had been said. Unpleasant words. Romana had quietly withdrawn from the room and left them to it. Rose found her sitting in the little garden, head back, eyes studying the stars above. There was a long silence.
'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble for you two.'
Rose sat down beside her, 'It's not you. It's us. He's not,' she trailed off.
'Not the Doctor,' Romana finished for her.
Rose didn't correct the mistake, didn't say that it wasn't the Doctor who played on her mind at night. Instead, she said, 'I have an idea. About the Tardis.'
Romana had turned to her, brow lifting in question, smile already shaping her lips, and Rose had divulged her plan. It wasn't the most fleshed out plan ever but they filled in the blanks as they travelled north. It had taken some quick talking and at least two punches to get to the Tardis but after that it had been remarkably easy. Rose had a feeling that the Tardis just didn't like being locked up. Didn't like being caged in the Torchwood labs, studied, poked and prodded. There was almost a sigh of relief as they walked in to the newborn console room. It wasn't like the Doctor's Tardis but Rose was glad of that and she thought Romana was too. The outside looked like the coral that the whole thing was grown from. There wasn't a door, just a gap that repelled all attempts to pass through until Rose and Romana had barrelled towards it. Rose was casting worried glances at Romana as they ran through the lab at full tilt. Romana just kept her eyes forward, wild grin on her face, hair rising up behind her like some Greek goddess. Then they were at the entrance...then they were inside. Rose had looked back to see armed Torchwood personnel bouncing off the invisible barrier that the Tardis had activated once more.
The Tardis wasn't fully formed though. There was the console room with an almost finished console at it's heart and the still-forming struts growing over their heads. Beyond that there were only two rooms. One was a rudimentary bathroom that looked like it had been grown in a hurry, the other was a tiny living space. It was a good job they were both small people, Rose had thought as they poked their heads round the door and looked inside. Back in the console room, angry hands were still pounding at the invisible barrier from outside. Romana ignored it all and studied the console. Her hands played over the coral, tracing the living patterns, lingering on the controls that were sprouting from the surface all the time. That was when Rose's thoughts had turned a bit more-than-just-friendly.
She had expected to be on their way immediately but things hadn't quite gone to plan. The Tardis was welcoming but it wasn't ready to fly. Romana had talked to it, coaxed it, eased it's birth in to the world. Rose had stood back and watched, increasingly jealous of the attentions that Romana was lavishing on the thing. She kept looking at the entrance, watching the efforts of Torchwood and UNIT to get inside. None of it worked but Rose started to worry that they might hurt the Tardis.
'Don't worry,' Romana had said, her fingers tickling at a newly formed control, 'she's doing just fine. We'll be able to go soon, I think.'
'Where?' Rose asked and Romana just shrugged.
Then Gregory was there, outside the barrier. His face was pressed in to it, hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes as if it would help him to see inside. He banged on the barrier with the palm of his hand for a while, then let his head fall against it. He said something but Rose couldn't hear the words. She was glad of that. Even more glad when her parents had shown up. Though, from what little she could lip read and the smile on his face, she was fairly sure that her father was wishing her well. He was her father, despite the obvious, and she would miss him. Her mum too, most of the time. But, god, she wanted to get out of here. Just her and Romana in this brand new Tardis. Travelling the universe.
'Well,' Romana had said from behind her, 'I think we're ready to go. Care to do the honours?'
She lead Rose to the console, indicated the controls and gave a decisive nod. Rose glanced back to the barrier. Her mum and Gregory were having an argument. Her father was standing behind them, shouting at a very angry UNIT General. Rose turned back to the console, lifted her head to smile at Romana, then dropped her eyes again. She took a gentle hold of the control, patted the console with her other hand, 'Here we go gal,' and pulled.
It was a bit bumpy but not that much more than the Doctor's driving. The new Tardis needed time to settle down, Romana said, needed time to get her time legs. So they had allowed the Tardis her head and travelled wherever she took them. A lovely lime green sunset over an emerald planet; a raging volcano on a geologically unstable world; the birth of a star; the death of the same. It felt like going home, travelling aimlessly with a Time Lord in a Tardis. Slowly the Tardis had grown in to herself. They'd even gained a few more rooms. A couple of them looked like they might be bedrooms. That would make the nights easier for Rose; being so close to Romana was making it hard to sleep.
'Rose? Rose, what is wrong with you?'
Actually, being close to Romana at any time was getting to be a problem. 'Sorry,' she shook herself again, 'just --'
'Feeling weird, yes. You know, you're looking a bit odd too. Anything you want to tell me?'
Rose's eyes flashed and she stumbled over her words, 'No, no! No, honestly, nothing at all. Really, I mean --'
Romana halted the flow with a raised hand. When Rose had quieted down, the hand came to rest on Rose's forehead.
'You are a very warm,' Romana said.
You have no idea, Rose thought. She said, 'I'm fine. Now, come on, tell me about getting to Gallifrey. Are you sure she's ready for it?
Romana turned back to the console and patted it lovingly. Rose swallowed down hard on her jealousy. Romana looked back and smiled, 'I think she'll be just fine. Shall we?'
Rose nodded. She stayed back, watching Romana work her way around the console. Really watching her this time, forcing her eyes to stay on the woman as she studied the display screen which had grown one night while they were asleep. She kept her eyes on Romana's face, refusing to look down again at the way her fingers caressed the controls. The Tardis seemed to purr. Rose envied her even more. Jealous of a Tardis -- she really had lost it.
The Tardis filled with the yellow glow of energy as she prepared to jump in time and space. There was no real substructure in this Tardis so the light poured out and wrapped around them. Rose had a vivid flashback to her time as one with the Doctor's Tardis. She felt the power rushing through her body, felt the connection with the vastness of time and space. Felt the terrible loss when it was pulled out of her by the Doctor's lips.
'Now you've gone pale.' Rose started, yanked from her memories by Romana's hand on her shoulder. The hand lifted and wiped away a tear as it escaped Rose's eye and tumbled down her cheek. 'You're worrying me,' Romana said.
'I don't mean to. Honest.'
'I know. Just,' Romana hesitated, 'when you're ready, do tell me what's troubling you so much. Please?'
Rose nodded, her own hand coming up to swat away the remaining tears. She stared in to Romana's eyes, felt her body begin to lean forward, heard the scream in her head: "Kiss her!" And ignored it. She sucked in a deep breath, shook her head, scrubbed at her cheeks. Romana waited a moment more, then gave up. She backed away from Rose, turning to the console to check the readings.
'How much longer?'
'A while; it's quite a long way to go, you know?' Romana flashed a smile in her direction.
Rose grinned back, 'Time for me to get cleaned up then? I want to look my best when we get to Gallifrey.'
Only just time, though. They landed with a thud, the floor of the Tardis bouncing Rose around just as she was pulling on her jacket. She ran out in to the console room and found Romana standing at the entrance, staring out at whatever lay beyond. Rose hurried to her side and looked out too. A large room, like a huge conference centre, with pockmarked grey walls decorated with an intricate symbol that still showed through despite the signs of age and neglect.
Rose reached down and took Romana's hand in her own. She squeezed the fingers, rubbing her thumb over the suddenly cool flesh. 'Come on,' she said, 'we don't have much time, do we?'
They walked out together still hand-in-hand. Rose looked around, eyes raising to the high vaulted ceiling before she turned on the spot and took in the cavernous room. It was dark with age, everything covered with a thick layer of dust and debris but it was still impressive. Romana looked too, eyes blinking furiously against the threat of tears. Rose squeezed her hand again before letting it go. She took a few steps and spun around again.
'Wow. What is this place?'
'Council Room. All of the great Time Lords have spoken here. Great oratory...terrible lies.'
'Like the Houses of Parliament then?'
Romana laughed, taking a few quick strides to catch up with Rose as she walked towards the grand entrance. Huge panelled doors opened in to a corridor with the same intricate symbols. Rose indicated the walls with a tilt of her head and a raised brow.
'The Seal Of Rassilon. The greatest of us. Come on, I've got an idea.'
With that Romana raced off, forcing Rose to jog to keep up with her. They followed the wide corridor until it became a not-so-wide corridor and kept going until they were definitely away from the official areas of the city. Everything was inches deep in dust, dirt swirling around their feet as they moved. Rose's head turned one way and the other, taking in the place that she had tried so hard to persuade the Doctor to describe to her. She wasn't sure he could have done it justice. Even the warren of offices and control rooms that Romana was leading her through were filled with amazing technology and remarkable artefacts. And the most profound sense of loss that Rose had ever known.
Romana lead her to what appeared to be a data center. There were banks of computers at one end and line upon line of storage filling the rest. Romana hurried down one narrow aisle and returned with a handful of crystals. She blew the filth from the crystals and slotted one of them in to the nearest computer terminal. Characters flashed up on the screen. Rose was pleased to discover that this new Tardis translated as well as the old one. She read the report and wished it didn't. Romana gave a long sigh and removed the crystal, replacing it with a second. The sigh was even longer. A third; Romana's face set in a hard expression. A fourth; her face falling.
Rose reached over and took her hand again. It was freezing. She rubbed the fingers vigorously, wishing she could make it better but knowing she could not. 'How much time do we have?' she said eventually.
Romana glanced at a reading on the display above their head, 'Not long.' She hesitated, her eyes taking in the room, playing over all the history stored there. She shook her head, tears splashing on to her shirt, 'What a waste. What a terrible, terrible waste.' She squeezed Rose's hand gratefully. 'Thank you,' Romana schooled her features and looked up in to Rose's eyes, 'Thank you for everything.'
'I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here with you,' Rose said before she could stop the words from escaping. She flushed, eyes darting down to their joined hands. In a falsely carefree tone, she added, 'Let's get back to the Tardis.' They left the room, the crystals still perched on the computer, all the history of Gallifrey abandoned. It seemed to be a much longer walk back. Rose glanced around, suddenly uneasy. There was something. 'Do you feel warm?' she said as they travelled yet another corridor.
Romana stopped, looking around them. They were looking in opposite directions when she said, 'I think we may have a problem.'
'You mean like the imminent end of life, the universe and everything?' Rose said, her eyes still staring down the corridor.
'No,' Romana grabbed for Rose's arm and tugged her around, 'much worse than that.'
Rose spun on her heels, ready to ask what could possibly be worse than the end of everything. And then she saw it. The corridor, warmer still now, was filling with a blue smoke. The smoke was gushing in from the corners, wisps beginning to swirl around their legs. Rose looked down and followed the tendrils back to find a half-formed creature. The smoke was coalescing in to a long, drawn out body. It was growing from the head down, forming a serpent shape that bobbed and shifted before them.
'What the hell's that?' Rose said.
Romana eased back, pulling Rose with her, 'I have no idea. Run,' she added with an urgent tug.
They turned and ran, the smoke following them. Rose followed Romana's lead, running down corridor after corridor until Romana skidded to a halt, her head turning one way and then the other, her eyes darting around in panic.
'Romana?' Rose said, her own panic rising.
'We need to double back.'
'Double back!'
'I think we've taken a wrong turn. It's been so long since I was here and this isn't even my Gallifrey. I need to find the main corridor again.'
Rose felt the presence of the creature without turning towards it. She looked down and saw the smoke dense around their legs. There was a voice now, barely audible above the wild beating of her heart but she thought it had said the word "Doctor". Could that be it? Did this thing want the Doctor? It didn't matter now; they needed to find somewhere safe. There was a heavy door a few yards further down the corridor. Rose reached for Romana, got a handful of her lapel and pulled them towards it. She hustled a protesting Romana inside and slammed the door shut behind them. There was a loud click as the lock told. Back pressed to the door, eyes darting around madly, Rose gasped for breath. It looked like some sort of safe, though there was nothing but empty shelves. A weapon's locker maybe? Rose didn't know and she didn't care. Right now all that mattered was that there was no blue smoke.
Rose turned her head to study Romana. The woman was propped up against the wall beside her, chest heaving as she too dragged air in to her protesting lungs. They could have had so much fun. It might even have worked out. Really worked out. Now they were minutes away from the end of everything. And there was blue smoke drifting in from the corners of the room.
'I'm sorry,' Rose said and it felt as if she'd said nothing else to Romana since they'd met. What she really wanted to say was, 'I love you.' It was out before Rose could get control of her thoughts. Her head snapped back from Romana's face, eyes staring forward as she tried to think of some way to take them back. But the smoke was forming in to the creature now. Two of them. Long snake-like bodies, darting heads, a hissing voice that was trying to get in to Rose's mind. She turned back to Romana and repeated the words, putting all of her feelings in to them this time, 'I love you.'
They turned at the same time, hands reaching for faces, pulling each other closer. Lips met in a tentative kiss that grew bolder, tongues mingling as it deepened further. If they were going to die, this was how it would be; together. And the kiss went on. Until they had to draw apart, lungs desperate for air, bodies shaking from the emotion.
Two sets of eyes swivelled around, heads not moving as they took in the room around them. No creature. No smoke. Just a nasty pile of steaming blue goo in the corner of the suddenly hot room. The blue ichor ran down the far walls and coated the floor up to a few feet from them. Splashes of it clung to Romana's coat and the legs of Rose's jeans. The eyes turned back and locked together. With an embarrassed cough, Rose dropped her hands from Romana's face. Romana did the same. They stayed in place, barely inches apart. Rose coughed again.
Romana said, 'Yes, well, that was interesting.'
'Interesting?'
'I meant the blue smoke...scary monsters...about to die part. Not the kiss. Not that the kiss wasn't interesting, obviously. It was just interesting in a --'
'You should stop now,' Rose interrupted her. She couldn't keep the sadness from her tone.
'Yes. Yes, I almost certainly should. Though I will just add one thing,' Romana paused for a moment before saying, 'I love you too.'
Rose's panic- and kiss-addled mind took a while to process the quietly spoken words. She turned her head, eyes returning to Romana's face. Finding a wide grin and those teasing eyes waiting for her. Her expression shifted from hurt to wonder to lust in record time and she grabbed for Romana's lapel again. Turning them around she yanked at the door, throwing it open and pulling them out in to the corridor.
'Come on,' Rose said, 'we have to get back to the Tardis.'
'Good grief yes; it's almost the end of the universe.'
'Yeah,' Rose said over her shoulder, 'and the Tardis is growing us a bedroom.'
AUTHOR: Talepiece
RATING: 15 cert.
PAIRING: Rose/Romana II
DISCLAIMER: Characters not mine.
CONTINUITY: Follows on from The Wrong Universe and links in with The Lost Children.
Gallifrey was time locked in this universe too. There really was no doubt, though Romana was spending a great deal of time and energy in finding a way around it. Rose wasn't sure to what end but it didn't really matter; Romana needed to try so she would let her. In the meantime, Rose simply watched her. She wanted to think that she was keeping an eye on Romana so that she could pull the woman back when she reached the edge of that obsessive madness that Time Lords seemed prone to. But she wasn't. She was watching Romana's face, the bright eyes, the lips that would flash in to a smile. She was wondering what those lips would feel like under her own, what that mouth would taste like. How it would feel to run her fingers through the long, blonde hair...to pull them down over Romana's chest, lingering at the small breasts...to move them around to Romana's back and pull her close...to drag her fingers over Romana's hips and dip lower....to --
'Rose? Rose? Rose, are you feeling all right? You've gone terribly red.'
Rose blinked out of her fantasy and realised she hadn't been watching the real Romana at all. The woman was standing right in front of her, a worried expression on her face. Her hands were held out, reaching for Rose but not quite touching. Rose wished they were touching her. She swallowed hard against the thought and shook her head violently.
'Sorry,' she said in a husky tone. She cleared her throat and tried again, 'Sorry. I was just...anyway, I was miles away. Are you OK?'
Now those lips really did flash in to a bright smile. Rose couldn't help but answer it with one of her own. God but she wanted to lean forward and --
'Rose? You've gone again, girl. Honestly, are you coming down with something?
I wish, Rose thought. She said, 'Just feeling a bit, er, distracted. Bit weird,' she added quickly before Romana could ask exactly what was distracting her. 'So,' Rose said on a sigh, 'what's going on then?'
'I think I've found it.' Rose raised a brow in question and Romana went on, 'A way to see Gallifrey. It's not going to be like going home, obviously, but I would like to see the place again. Just once. Just to make sure there's,' she trailed off with a vague shake of her head.
'OK then.'
And that was it. Rose didn't need to hear any more, certainly didn't want to hear the dangers involved -- there were bound to be dangers involved -- or the techy stuff about how they were going to do it. She would have been happy for Romana to just get on with it. Of course that wasn't going to happen; Romana was a Time Lord and they did like to give you all the details of their brilliant plans. The gist of it, as far as Rose could tell, was to jump forward in time to the very end of the universe. At that point the time lock would be disintegrating at such a rate that they could just nip in and have a look around. Rose was fairly sure it wouldn't be that simple but she liked the idea that it might be. It didn't really matter anyway; she'd go anywhere with this woman. She really had fallen that hard for her. For a Time Lord -- another bloody Time Lord!
It had all started when Gregory refused to help them. He'd been civil to Romana but not really friendly. It was like he didn't want to be reminded of what he was. Or what he wasn't. The more Rose saw the two of them together, the more she was remained of what he was. Just a man, a man with a strange genesis but a fairly normal sort of bloke all the same. And she was remained of what he wasn't. He wasn't the Doctor. He wasn't her Doctor. Neither was Romana, admittedly, but she was all the things that Rose had loved about him, all the things Rose wanted Gregory to be. Perhaps if Gregory had needed her, really needed her, the way that the Doctor and Donna had obviously assumed he would. Perhaps then it might have worked. At least she wouldn't have found herself feeling like a spare wheel in her own life. Romana didn't make her feel like that at all.
So when Romana had suggested they "borrow" the Tardis, Rose had agreed immediately. And Gregory had refused. Refused point-blank. No room for discussion, no interest at all. There had been a blazing row, words had been said. Unpleasant words. Romana had quietly withdrawn from the room and left them to it. Rose found her sitting in the little garden, head back, eyes studying the stars above. There was a long silence.
'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble for you two.'
Rose sat down beside her, 'It's not you. It's us. He's not,' she trailed off.
'Not the Doctor,' Romana finished for her.
Rose didn't correct the mistake, didn't say that it wasn't the Doctor who played on her mind at night. Instead, she said, 'I have an idea. About the Tardis.'
Romana had turned to her, brow lifting in question, smile already shaping her lips, and Rose had divulged her plan. It wasn't the most fleshed out plan ever but they filled in the blanks as they travelled north. It had taken some quick talking and at least two punches to get to the Tardis but after that it had been remarkably easy. Rose had a feeling that the Tardis just didn't like being locked up. Didn't like being caged in the Torchwood labs, studied, poked and prodded. There was almost a sigh of relief as they walked in to the newborn console room. It wasn't like the Doctor's Tardis but Rose was glad of that and she thought Romana was too. The outside looked like the coral that the whole thing was grown from. There wasn't a door, just a gap that repelled all attempts to pass through until Rose and Romana had barrelled towards it. Rose was casting worried glances at Romana as they ran through the lab at full tilt. Romana just kept her eyes forward, wild grin on her face, hair rising up behind her like some Greek goddess. Then they were at the entrance...then they were inside. Rose had looked back to see armed Torchwood personnel bouncing off the invisible barrier that the Tardis had activated once more.
The Tardis wasn't fully formed though. There was the console room with an almost finished console at it's heart and the still-forming struts growing over their heads. Beyond that there were only two rooms. One was a rudimentary bathroom that looked like it had been grown in a hurry, the other was a tiny living space. It was a good job they were both small people, Rose had thought as they poked their heads round the door and looked inside. Back in the console room, angry hands were still pounding at the invisible barrier from outside. Romana ignored it all and studied the console. Her hands played over the coral, tracing the living patterns, lingering on the controls that were sprouting from the surface all the time. That was when Rose's thoughts had turned a bit more-than-just-friendly.
She had expected to be on their way immediately but things hadn't quite gone to plan. The Tardis was welcoming but it wasn't ready to fly. Romana had talked to it, coaxed it, eased it's birth in to the world. Rose had stood back and watched, increasingly jealous of the attentions that Romana was lavishing on the thing. She kept looking at the entrance, watching the efforts of Torchwood and UNIT to get inside. None of it worked but Rose started to worry that they might hurt the Tardis.
'Don't worry,' Romana had said, her fingers tickling at a newly formed control, 'she's doing just fine. We'll be able to go soon, I think.'
'Where?' Rose asked and Romana just shrugged.
Then Gregory was there, outside the barrier. His face was pressed in to it, hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes as if it would help him to see inside. He banged on the barrier with the palm of his hand for a while, then let his head fall against it. He said something but Rose couldn't hear the words. She was glad of that. Even more glad when her parents had shown up. Though, from what little she could lip read and the smile on his face, she was fairly sure that her father was wishing her well. He was her father, despite the obvious, and she would miss him. Her mum too, most of the time. But, god, she wanted to get out of here. Just her and Romana in this brand new Tardis. Travelling the universe.
'Well,' Romana had said from behind her, 'I think we're ready to go. Care to do the honours?'
She lead Rose to the console, indicated the controls and gave a decisive nod. Rose glanced back to the barrier. Her mum and Gregory were having an argument. Her father was standing behind them, shouting at a very angry UNIT General. Rose turned back to the console, lifted her head to smile at Romana, then dropped her eyes again. She took a gentle hold of the control, patted the console with her other hand, 'Here we go gal,' and pulled.
It was a bit bumpy but not that much more than the Doctor's driving. The new Tardis needed time to settle down, Romana said, needed time to get her time legs. So they had allowed the Tardis her head and travelled wherever she took them. A lovely lime green sunset over an emerald planet; a raging volcano on a geologically unstable world; the birth of a star; the death of the same. It felt like going home, travelling aimlessly with a Time Lord in a Tardis. Slowly the Tardis had grown in to herself. They'd even gained a few more rooms. A couple of them looked like they might be bedrooms. That would make the nights easier for Rose; being so close to Romana was making it hard to sleep.
'Rose? Rose, what is wrong with you?'
Actually, being close to Romana at any time was getting to be a problem. 'Sorry,' she shook herself again, 'just --'
'Feeling weird, yes. You know, you're looking a bit odd too. Anything you want to tell me?'
Rose's eyes flashed and she stumbled over her words, 'No, no! No, honestly, nothing at all. Really, I mean --'
Romana halted the flow with a raised hand. When Rose had quieted down, the hand came to rest on Rose's forehead.
'You are a very warm,' Romana said.
You have no idea, Rose thought. She said, 'I'm fine. Now, come on, tell me about getting to Gallifrey. Are you sure she's ready for it?
Romana turned back to the console and patted it lovingly. Rose swallowed down hard on her jealousy. Romana looked back and smiled, 'I think she'll be just fine. Shall we?'
Rose nodded. She stayed back, watching Romana work her way around the console. Really watching her this time, forcing her eyes to stay on the woman as she studied the display screen which had grown one night while they were asleep. She kept her eyes on Romana's face, refusing to look down again at the way her fingers caressed the controls. The Tardis seemed to purr. Rose envied her even more. Jealous of a Tardis -- she really had lost it.
The Tardis filled with the yellow glow of energy as she prepared to jump in time and space. There was no real substructure in this Tardis so the light poured out and wrapped around them. Rose had a vivid flashback to her time as one with the Doctor's Tardis. She felt the power rushing through her body, felt the connection with the vastness of time and space. Felt the terrible loss when it was pulled out of her by the Doctor's lips.
'Now you've gone pale.' Rose started, yanked from her memories by Romana's hand on her shoulder. The hand lifted and wiped away a tear as it escaped Rose's eye and tumbled down her cheek. 'You're worrying me,' Romana said.
'I don't mean to. Honest.'
'I know. Just,' Romana hesitated, 'when you're ready, do tell me what's troubling you so much. Please?'
Rose nodded, her own hand coming up to swat away the remaining tears. She stared in to Romana's eyes, felt her body begin to lean forward, heard the scream in her head: "Kiss her!" And ignored it. She sucked in a deep breath, shook her head, scrubbed at her cheeks. Romana waited a moment more, then gave up. She backed away from Rose, turning to the console to check the readings.
'How much longer?'
'A while; it's quite a long way to go, you know?' Romana flashed a smile in her direction.
Rose grinned back, 'Time for me to get cleaned up then? I want to look my best when we get to Gallifrey.'
Only just time, though. They landed with a thud, the floor of the Tardis bouncing Rose around just as she was pulling on her jacket. She ran out in to the console room and found Romana standing at the entrance, staring out at whatever lay beyond. Rose hurried to her side and looked out too. A large room, like a huge conference centre, with pockmarked grey walls decorated with an intricate symbol that still showed through despite the signs of age and neglect.
Rose reached down and took Romana's hand in her own. She squeezed the fingers, rubbing her thumb over the suddenly cool flesh. 'Come on,' she said, 'we don't have much time, do we?'
They walked out together still hand-in-hand. Rose looked around, eyes raising to the high vaulted ceiling before she turned on the spot and took in the cavernous room. It was dark with age, everything covered with a thick layer of dust and debris but it was still impressive. Romana looked too, eyes blinking furiously against the threat of tears. Rose squeezed her hand again before letting it go. She took a few steps and spun around again.
'Wow. What is this place?'
'Council Room. All of the great Time Lords have spoken here. Great oratory...terrible lies.'
'Like the Houses of Parliament then?'
Romana laughed, taking a few quick strides to catch up with Rose as she walked towards the grand entrance. Huge panelled doors opened in to a corridor with the same intricate symbols. Rose indicated the walls with a tilt of her head and a raised brow.
'The Seal Of Rassilon. The greatest of us. Come on, I've got an idea.'
With that Romana raced off, forcing Rose to jog to keep up with her. They followed the wide corridor until it became a not-so-wide corridor and kept going until they were definitely away from the official areas of the city. Everything was inches deep in dust, dirt swirling around their feet as they moved. Rose's head turned one way and the other, taking in the place that she had tried so hard to persuade the Doctor to describe to her. She wasn't sure he could have done it justice. Even the warren of offices and control rooms that Romana was leading her through were filled with amazing technology and remarkable artefacts. And the most profound sense of loss that Rose had ever known.
Romana lead her to what appeared to be a data center. There were banks of computers at one end and line upon line of storage filling the rest. Romana hurried down one narrow aisle and returned with a handful of crystals. She blew the filth from the crystals and slotted one of them in to the nearest computer terminal. Characters flashed up on the screen. Rose was pleased to discover that this new Tardis translated as well as the old one. She read the report and wished it didn't. Romana gave a long sigh and removed the crystal, replacing it with a second. The sigh was even longer. A third; Romana's face set in a hard expression. A fourth; her face falling.
Rose reached over and took her hand again. It was freezing. She rubbed the fingers vigorously, wishing she could make it better but knowing she could not. 'How much time do we have?' she said eventually.
Romana glanced at a reading on the display above their head, 'Not long.' She hesitated, her eyes taking in the room, playing over all the history stored there. She shook her head, tears splashing on to her shirt, 'What a waste. What a terrible, terrible waste.' She squeezed Rose's hand gratefully. 'Thank you,' Romana schooled her features and looked up in to Rose's eyes, 'Thank you for everything.'
'I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here with you,' Rose said before she could stop the words from escaping. She flushed, eyes darting down to their joined hands. In a falsely carefree tone, she added, 'Let's get back to the Tardis.' They left the room, the crystals still perched on the computer, all the history of Gallifrey abandoned. It seemed to be a much longer walk back. Rose glanced around, suddenly uneasy. There was something. 'Do you feel warm?' she said as they travelled yet another corridor.
Romana stopped, looking around them. They were looking in opposite directions when she said, 'I think we may have a problem.'
'You mean like the imminent end of life, the universe and everything?' Rose said, her eyes still staring down the corridor.
'No,' Romana grabbed for Rose's arm and tugged her around, 'much worse than that.'
Rose spun on her heels, ready to ask what could possibly be worse than the end of everything. And then she saw it. The corridor, warmer still now, was filling with a blue smoke. The smoke was gushing in from the corners, wisps beginning to swirl around their legs. Rose looked down and followed the tendrils back to find a half-formed creature. The smoke was coalescing in to a long, drawn out body. It was growing from the head down, forming a serpent shape that bobbed and shifted before them.
'What the hell's that?' Rose said.
Romana eased back, pulling Rose with her, 'I have no idea. Run,' she added with an urgent tug.
They turned and ran, the smoke following them. Rose followed Romana's lead, running down corridor after corridor until Romana skidded to a halt, her head turning one way and then the other, her eyes darting around in panic.
'Romana?' Rose said, her own panic rising.
'We need to double back.'
'Double back!'
'I think we've taken a wrong turn. It's been so long since I was here and this isn't even my Gallifrey. I need to find the main corridor again.'
Rose felt the presence of the creature without turning towards it. She looked down and saw the smoke dense around their legs. There was a voice now, barely audible above the wild beating of her heart but she thought it had said the word "Doctor". Could that be it? Did this thing want the Doctor? It didn't matter now; they needed to find somewhere safe. There was a heavy door a few yards further down the corridor. Rose reached for Romana, got a handful of her lapel and pulled them towards it. She hustled a protesting Romana inside and slammed the door shut behind them. There was a loud click as the lock told. Back pressed to the door, eyes darting around madly, Rose gasped for breath. It looked like some sort of safe, though there was nothing but empty shelves. A weapon's locker maybe? Rose didn't know and she didn't care. Right now all that mattered was that there was no blue smoke.
Rose turned her head to study Romana. The woman was propped up against the wall beside her, chest heaving as she too dragged air in to her protesting lungs. They could have had so much fun. It might even have worked out. Really worked out. Now they were minutes away from the end of everything. And there was blue smoke drifting in from the corners of the room.
'I'm sorry,' Rose said and it felt as if she'd said nothing else to Romana since they'd met. What she really wanted to say was, 'I love you.' It was out before Rose could get control of her thoughts. Her head snapped back from Romana's face, eyes staring forward as she tried to think of some way to take them back. But the smoke was forming in to the creature now. Two of them. Long snake-like bodies, darting heads, a hissing voice that was trying to get in to Rose's mind. She turned back to Romana and repeated the words, putting all of her feelings in to them this time, 'I love you.'
They turned at the same time, hands reaching for faces, pulling each other closer. Lips met in a tentative kiss that grew bolder, tongues mingling as it deepened further. If they were going to die, this was how it would be; together. And the kiss went on. Until they had to draw apart, lungs desperate for air, bodies shaking from the emotion.
Two sets of eyes swivelled around, heads not moving as they took in the room around them. No creature. No smoke. Just a nasty pile of steaming blue goo in the corner of the suddenly hot room. The blue ichor ran down the far walls and coated the floor up to a few feet from them. Splashes of it clung to Romana's coat and the legs of Rose's jeans. The eyes turned back and locked together. With an embarrassed cough, Rose dropped her hands from Romana's face. Romana did the same. They stayed in place, barely inches apart. Rose coughed again.
Romana said, 'Yes, well, that was interesting.'
'Interesting?'
'I meant the blue smoke...scary monsters...about to die part. Not the kiss. Not that the kiss wasn't interesting, obviously. It was just interesting in a --'
'You should stop now,' Rose interrupted her. She couldn't keep the sadness from her tone.
'Yes. Yes, I almost certainly should. Though I will just add one thing,' Romana paused for a moment before saying, 'I love you too.'
Rose's panic- and kiss-addled mind took a while to process the quietly spoken words. She turned her head, eyes returning to Romana's face. Finding a wide grin and those teasing eyes waiting for her. Her expression shifted from hurt to wonder to lust in record time and she grabbed for Romana's lapel again. Turning them around she yanked at the door, throwing it open and pulling them out in to the corridor.
'Come on,' Rose said, 'we have to get back to the Tardis.'
'Good grief yes; it's almost the end of the universe.'
'Yeah,' Rose said over her shoulder, 'and the Tardis is growing us a bedroom.'