New fic: To Have and to Hold 1/6?
Story: To Have and to Hold
Author: WMR
Characters: Nine, Ten, Rose, a little of Jack, Jackie, Mickey
Rated: PG
Spoilers: All the way to TCI
Summary: Since you have no parents to act on your behalf, I need to ask you: will you accept his hand in marriage?
This story has been written in response to
purplerhino's challenge: Write one (pick one) or even all of the episodes for at least season two with the Doctor and Rose married. Many thanks to my wonderful, nitpicky and inspirational BRs, the fabulous
dark_aegis,
ponygirl72 and
nnwest.
To Have and to Hold
Chapter 1: Lewd Conduct
Kyoto, Japan, 1336.
Made a change from Cardiff about to blow up in a nuclear explosion. Or even Raxacoricofallipatorious, where, even though they’d only gone there to leave Blon Fel Fotch in a hatchery, they’d still ended up running for their lives. Because what the Doctor hadn’t remembered - and nor had Jack, to be fair - was that Raxacoricofallipatorian eggs weren’t supposed to be touched by alien hand.
They’d managed to leave the impression that the Blon-egg had escaped the corruption of their touch, so she’d be okay. Jack had only just got inside the TARDIS with his hair and the skin of his back intact, while the Doctor had pushed her through the doors so forcefully she’d ended up with bruises where she’d hit the floor. But they were okay. A few minutes in the med lab and all the bruises, as well as the scratches Jack had sustained, were healed.
So now they were strolling through the streets of mediaeval Kyoto, the Doctor in his element as he pointed out all the cultural sights. Elaborately-designed gardens, illustrated scrolls on display in windows and inside public buildings, theatres advertising plays and poetry-readings. Later, he told them, they had to experience the sado - a tea ceremony.
That sounded like fun, but she and Jack were much more interested in people-watching, especially the clothes and hairstyles of the people they passed. The garments were something like kimonos, but not quite - though similar enough to the ones she and Jack were wearing for them not to look too noticeable. And the women seemed to take such small steps, and none of them looked at anyone they passed, keeping their gaze turned down, on the ground at their feet.
“Bit feudal, isn’t it?” she said after a while. “I mean, the women... they can’t even look at anyone, let alone talk to ‘em.”
The Doctor shrugged. “That’s the way it is in this time, Rose. Could take you to mediaeval England an’ you won’t see much different.”
“Yeah, well, just once I’d like to see some place where the women are in control an’ all the men have to be subservient.”
Jack grinned. “Didn’t know you were into sub-dom, Rose! Any time you want to play dominant, just let me know.” He gave her an exaggerated wink.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. “If I’d known you were into pain, I’d’ve been a bit slower pulling you into the TARDIS behind me earlier.”
“Oh, that’s different.” Irrepressible as ever, Jack turned his grin on the Doctor. “Strange as it may seem, Raxacoricofallipatorians have never done anything for me sexually. Unlike you two...”
She just laughed and swiped at his arm. Jack never stopped flirting, with either of them, and she didn’t want him to, either. It was part of his charm. Even the Doctor flirted back some of the time now, since he’d finally accepted that Jack wasn’t a threat.
Sure, Jack was a gorgeous guy, and part of her fancied him like crazy, but she had no intention of just being one more notch on his already over-full bedpost. And she wasn’t in any danger of falling in love with him. No chance of that, anyway. Not with the Doctor around.
Jack had become, in the three months he’d been with them, her second best friend. He was human, like her, so they had that in common and that came in handy whenever the Doctor went off on one of his ‘stupid human apes’ rants. He also, for a bloke, was knowledgeable about clothes and actually enjoyed shopping, so was good company whenever she decided her wardrobe needed a bit of replenishing. And he knew how she felt about the Doctor, and had been sympathetic and supportive when she’d needed it.
Right now, she was having a wonderful time with the two men she loved most in the world. And she wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“Bit surprised you chose fourteenth-century Japan, Doctor,” Jack said as they continued strolling. “Isn’t this the big civil war period?”
“On an’ off for the past couple of hundred years, yeah,” the Doctor agreed. “But not here and not today. Nothing to worry about. No running for our lives, guaranteed.”
“Never like it when you say that, Doctor,” she told him with a grin. “Cause it usually means we have to start running about five minutes later.”
“Oi!” he protested. “Just cause I’ve got it wrong once or twice...”
“Try at least a dozen times since I’ve known you,” Jack said, grinning. “All adds to the entertainment value, of course.”
“Nice to know all I do for you is appreciated.”
He’d started grumbling now. Rose halted in front of him and laid her hand flat on his chest. “Course we appreciate you. Doesn’t mean we can’t ‘ave a laugh every now an’ then.”
“Should have a bit of respect,” he objected. But his arms closed around her, pulling her into a hug. She hugged him back, laughing, before letting go and carrying on walking at his side. Somehow, her hand ended up in his.
“Halt.”
Abruptly, their way was blocked by two men in what was obviously some sort of uniform. Military, she suspected, judging by the weapons they carried - evil-looking swords.
“What was that you were saying about no running for our lives, guaranteed?” Jack murmured as the three of them came to a standstill.
The Doctor ignored him and addressed the soldiers, or whatever they were. “Is there a problem? My friends and I are just tourists. Sight-seeing. Enjoying your fantastic culture.”
“This city is a decent place, stranger. We do not allow prostitutes to wander the streets.”
“What?” She couldn’t hold back the exclamation. Though she didn’t need Jack’s hand on her arm to tell her that it hadn’t been a good idea.
“The lady’s a friend of mine.” The Doctor’s tone was still polite, but now had an edge to it.
“The unmarried lady?”
“Well, yeah.”
Suddenly, her arms were seized and she was being dragged away from the Doctor.
“What? Doctor!” she yelled.
“Leave her alone!” Jack was surging forward, trying to grab her. He was pushed back, hard, and lost his balance, falling to the ground.
The Doctor, his face like thunder, was stepping forward, too. “What are you doing with her? She’s done nothing wrong.”
“You’re obviously a stranger here. Our city does not permit lewd conduct on the streets. This woman is no better than a whore, consorting openly with men without being married to one of them. She is under arrest. And you and your other friend would do well to leave our city by nightfall.”
“Not without Rose.” His tone was implacable. “Where are you taking her?”
“Where do you think? The city jail.”
The last thing she heard, as she was dragged off and thrown into a cart, was the Doctor shouting, “We’re coming to get you, Rose. Just hold on!”
***
“Shit! Now what’re we gonna do?”
Jack was looking at him, staring at him, his expression helpless and worried. No accusation in sight. That was wrong. Jack should be accusing him. It was all his fault. He should have guessed something like this could happen. He knew the customs of the time.
“We go to the jail. What the hell do you think!” His tone was curt, biting. If he hadn’t been looking straight at Jack at the time, he’d have missed the other man’s flinch; it was brief and fleeting, but there nonetheless.
“Sorry,” he added as he began walking. “I’m just... I’m worried ‘bout her.”
“I know you are.” And Jack’s hand was on his arm for a moment. “Me too. But we’ll get her back. Right?”
“Right.”
But, at the jail, things weren’t looking good. Rose had been arrested, all right, and thrown in jail. There wasn’t even going to be a trial. Her sentence was going to be either ten years’ imprisonment or public execution, depending on the mood of the city rulers when her case came before them.
“We have to break her out of there,” Jack said as soon as they were outside again. “You got any explosives in the TARDIS? Or can we go somewhere I can get some?”
It was tempting, but it wouldn’t work. “You saw the design of that place. Try to blow our way inside an’ the whole place’ll come down. She’ll be killed.”
Jack blew out a breath, then nodded. “You’re right. So,” he continued, starting to pace, “how about we storm in with blasters and just demand her back?”
He - he who hated guns - had been plotting just such a scenario while they’d been arguing with the senior officer. But that wouldn’t work, either. Too many police and soldiers around. Too many very sharp, very deadly swords. “Think I’d prefer to keep our heads on our shoulders,” he pointed out, tone dry.
“Yeah.” Jack sighed again. “We wouldn’t be a lot of use to Rose like that.”
“No.”
They walked up and down the nearby streets, discussing possible plans, discarding them, getting more and more frantic and despondent as the minutes ticked past. And all he could think of was Rose, locked up in a cell with other prisoners, wondering when he was coming for her. Expecting him to keep his promise.
And then Jack turned to him, a huge grin on his face. “I’ve got it! I know how we get her out!”
“How?” He clutched at Jack’s arm. This better be a good plan. It had to be.
“She was arrested for lewd conduct, right?”
“Yeah. So?”
“They asked if she was married to either of us. It’s the fact that she’s unmarried that made the difference.”
“Yeah.” He blew out a breath. “Was stupid of me. Should’ve said she was my wife. Would’ve been okay then.”
“Yeah, probably. But it’s not too late.” Jack was still grinning excitedly. “She just has to get married. To one of us. Then she’ll be a married woman and respectable. Right?”
It could work. It might just work.
He nodded. “Right. S’pose we’d better go an’ find out how weddings are done in mediaeval Japan.”
***
No matter how many times it’d happened, she’d never get to like being locked up in a prison.
This one was worse than most. The room was small, no larger than about six feet by eight, and there were at least twenty women in there. The stench of sweaty, unwashed bodies was horrible. Worse, the only sanitary facility provided was an overflowing bucket in the corner.
The Doctor better be coming to get her out soon.
He’d said he would. He’d said they - he and Jack - would come for her. And he’d never failed before.
So all she had to do was wait. And she could do that. Right?
Right.
***
“So, we can do it, right? I’ll be the nakodo. Means I’ll have to do most of the talking, but if we plan it all out beforehand it’ll be fine.”
Jack was pacing up and down the console room of the TARDIS, hands waving in exaggerated gestures as he talked. The plan was good. He had to admit that having Jack around had turned out far, far better than he’d ever imagined it could be. The guy was more than useful. He was, just occasionally, invaluable.
“Right.” He took a deep breath. “No way of gettin’ around the actual marriage thing, then?”
Jack shook his head. “We have to convince ‘em it’s genuine. You’ve also got to be seen to take her home with you afterwards - be best if we can rent a room or an apartment somewhere and you two stay the night there.” He paused in his pacing. “Unless... If it’s the marriage bit that bothers you, I’ll be the husband and you can be the matchmaker.”
Let Jack marry Rose? Not a chance. No way. Never.
“No.” His tone was flat. “I’ll do it.”
Jack nodded. “Then let’s go. And - I hate to ask, but do you have cash? For bribes? If not, then I can probably figure out a way to get some.”
“That’s no problem.” He had more money than he knew what to do with, not that he’d ever told either of his current companions that. Though they had to be getting used to seeing him produce cash or credits in whatever currency was legal tender in the places they visited. Rose had given him a questioning look the first couple of times, but now she seemed to accept it.
So. He was getting married. To Rose. Just for the sake of getting Rose out of jail, of course. Still. Marriage. Long time since he’d been married. At the time, after she’d died, he’d thought it was an experience he wasn’t interested in repeating.
Not that he was, really. This was just a ruse. Like so many of the other ruses he’d practised with companions, including Rose, over the years.
***
“Rose Tyler!”
Even though the TARDIS translated languages, hearing her name pronounced by a Japanese tongue sounded weird. She almost didn’t recognise it at first. But then her heart leapt. This had to be the Doctor coming for her.
She had to push her way to the front of the cell. And then she was dragged out, hands seized and tied behind her back. She bit back the protest that instantly came to her lips. It’d do her no good. If the Doctor really was here to try to get her out, it could ruin everything.
He was here. And Jack was beside him, dressed in something even more traditionally Japanese.
She was about to run to the Doctor, but an infinitesimal shake of his head stopped her. Okay. There was some sort of a plan. And she needed to look for his cues.
“Miss Tyler. I am Harkness-san, a nakodo.”
Huh? What was a nakodo? But Jack’s faint wink told her to go along with whatever he was saying.
“I have been asked to act for Doctor-san, who wants to marry you. Since you have no parents to act on your behalf, I need to ask you: will you accept his hand in marriage?”
Her jaw almost hit the floor. The Doctor? Hand in marriage?
And then the penny dropped. The soldiers had asked if she was married. They’d obviously figured out that if she’d been married she wouldn’t have committed a crime. And this was their way of freeing her.
And the Doctor was willing to marry her to get her out of jail. If it was possible, she loved him even more for it.
But reality struck her. Of course, he wasn’t really going to go through with it. They’d just pretend. Go through enough to convince the authorities that she was married, or at least engaged and about to be married.
“So, your answer, please?” Jack gave her a faintly impatient look. Right. She had to play her part in this charade.
“Yes. I mean, yes, I accept.”
Jack turned to the police officer standing next to her. “She is affianced now. Is that enough to secure her release?”
“We will release her when the priest arrives to officiate at the marriage ceremony. You and Doctor-san must return with the priest.”
The Doctor nodded. “Half an hour, then.” His tone was curt. “Rose, we’ll be back.”
A priest? He really was going to go through with it? Or was Jack going to disguise himself and pretend to be a Japanese priest?
She was taken back to the cell to wait. It wasn’t long - less than half an hour - before she was called again. This time, she was taken into a small room. She’d caught sight of Jack waiting outside; he gave her a very quick smile as she was escorted past him. He was still wearing the clothes he’d had on earlier, so obviously he wasn’t pretending to be the priest.
Inside the room, the Doctor was waiting. She went to his side immediately. He reached for her hand, and then his expression darkened as he realised her hands were tied. He barked out an order, so sharply she could barely understand what he was saying, and her hands were untied.
At the front of the room, a man in robes waited. So there really was a priest. There really was going to be a wedding. And, as the Doctor took her hand and smiled reassuringly at her, the marriage ceremony started.
It passed by in a blur. Little was required of her other than that she say yes at one point during the ceremony. And then it was all over, and according to the priest she and the Doctor were man and wife. She was his property, the priest said. She belonged to him, and could not be touched by anyone else.
“Property!” she muttered in disgust as the priest left the room.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he said, his tone absent, as if his mind was on other things. “But it works in our favour. You’re safe now, an’ we can leave.”
“Yeah.” She smiled up at him. “Thanks. Knew you’d get me out.”
He shrugged. “Was my fault in the first place. Should’ve warned you women weren’t s’posed to do certain things here.”
She reached up and kissed his cheek. “Doesn’t matter. Yeah, bein’ in jail wasn’t exactly the highlight of my week, but it’s over now. So - ” She grinned at him. “Where you takin’ me for the honeymoon?”
“Rose - ”
Jack burst into the room. “We need to get out of here. Now. They discovered I’m not a nakodo.”
“Hell.” The Doctor gripped her hand tighter. “Run!”
***
They made it back to the TARDIS - just.
And then Rose wanted to know what a nakodo was - the traditional Japanese matchmaker - and how they’d found a priest so quickly and whether the marriage was actually valid.
“Well, yeah, ‘s legal all right. I mean, if we lived in fourteenth-century Japan we’d be married.”
“Yeah, but given we don’t...?”
He shrugged. “Who knows? ‘S not like they gave us a marriage certificate or anything. Anyway, I’m alien. Bet their laws don’t cover marriage between humans an’ aliens.”
Her lips twitched. He got the feeling that she was enjoying this too much. So was Jack, he noticed; the ex-Time Agent was leaning against the console, grinning broadly.
The marriage was legal. Well, it was and it wasn’t. As he’d told Rose, without any documents to back it up there was no proof that it’d ever happened. But they both knew it had. They’d both stood there, in front of the priest, used their real names - well, in his case, what he’d chosen as his name all those centuries ago - and exchanged vows. The fact that neither of them had intended it to be real was beside the point in terms of legality.
But it didn’t matter. They weren’t ever going to go back to Japan, either in the fourteenth century or any other time.
“You know what you guys missed out?” The tone of mischievous amusement in Jack’s voice should have alerted him.
“What?”
Jack’s grin grew wider. “The whole ‘kiss the bride’ thing. You really should make up for that, y’know.”
“Oh, for - ” He rolled his eyes, seeking out Rose with his gaze. She’d support him. She’d be just as irritated with Jack -
But she was looking at him, not Jack, longing and expectancy in her expression.
Oh, hell. She understood, surely? That this wasn’t real, that he could never have that kind of relationship - with her or with anyone except another Gallifreyan, and there were none of those left now - that he’d been hoping they could all just forget that wedding had ever happened?
“Come on, Doctor. Can’t not give your bride one kiss!”
Rassilon! Would Jack just shut up?
There was no way he could avoid kissing Rose. Not without hurting her. With an inward sigh, he stepped closer to her and tipped her chin up with one hand.
The breathless way she was looking at him made him even more alarmed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss her, or do more with her. Of course he did. But there were so many reasons why that was an incredibly bad idea. Why he’d decided long ago, once he’d realised how attracted he was to her, that it would never happen. Ever.
No choice, now. He lowered his lips to hers, pressing them against hers in a brief, affectionate kiss. Before he could pull back, she was returning the kiss, parting her lips, trying to draw him back to her. He didn’t let her, and as he pulled back he moved his hand to her cheek in a gentle caress, trying to soften the impact in case she saw it as rejection.
She smiled widely - lovingly - at him as he pulled away. And the sinking feeling in his stomach grew. He was going to have to talk to her, and soon.
The sound of applause made them both turn towards Jack. Still grinning - did the man never stop? - he was clapping them. “Nice one. Thought you two’d never get around to doing that.”
We never were going to. Thought you understood that!
Seemed like it wasn’t just Rose he needed to talk to. But not now. He let Jack pat him on the back, let himself be drawn into the laughter the two of them were sharing.
Time enough for shattering illusions later.
And then a bright light appeared from nowhere, and Rose was being pulled towards it, and she was reaching out to him, her expression frightened, pleading with him to help her, and she was disappearing, fading, and even as he and Jack tried to reach for her they were both being pulled away too...
***
tbc
Author: WMR
Characters: Nine, Ten, Rose, a little of Jack, Jackie, Mickey
Rated: PG
Spoilers: All the way to TCI
Summary: Since you have no parents to act on your behalf, I need to ask you: will you accept his hand in marriage?
This story has been written in response to
purplerhino's challenge: Write one (pick one) or even all of the episodes for at least season two with the Doctor and Rose married. Many thanks to my wonderful, nitpicky and inspirational BRs, the fabulous
dark_aegis,
ponygirl72 and
nnwest.
To Have and to Hold
Chapter 1: Lewd Conduct
Kyoto, Japan, 1336.
Made a change from Cardiff about to blow up in a nuclear explosion. Or even Raxacoricofallipatorious, where, even though they’d only gone there to leave Blon Fel Fotch in a hatchery, they’d still ended up running for their lives. Because what the Doctor hadn’t remembered - and nor had Jack, to be fair - was that Raxacoricofallipatorian eggs weren’t supposed to be touched by alien hand.
They’d managed to leave the impression that the Blon-egg had escaped the corruption of their touch, so she’d be okay. Jack had only just got inside the TARDIS with his hair and the skin of his back intact, while the Doctor had pushed her through the doors so forcefully she’d ended up with bruises where she’d hit the floor. But they were okay. A few minutes in the med lab and all the bruises, as well as the scratches Jack had sustained, were healed.
So now they were strolling through the streets of mediaeval Kyoto, the Doctor in his element as he pointed out all the cultural sights. Elaborately-designed gardens, illustrated scrolls on display in windows and inside public buildings, theatres advertising plays and poetry-readings. Later, he told them, they had to experience the sado - a tea ceremony.
That sounded like fun, but she and Jack were much more interested in people-watching, especially the clothes and hairstyles of the people they passed. The garments were something like kimonos, but not quite - though similar enough to the ones she and Jack were wearing for them not to look too noticeable. And the women seemed to take such small steps, and none of them looked at anyone they passed, keeping their gaze turned down, on the ground at their feet.
“Bit feudal, isn’t it?” she said after a while. “I mean, the women... they can’t even look at anyone, let alone talk to ‘em.”
The Doctor shrugged. “That’s the way it is in this time, Rose. Could take you to mediaeval England an’ you won’t see much different.”
“Yeah, well, just once I’d like to see some place where the women are in control an’ all the men have to be subservient.”
Jack grinned. “Didn’t know you were into sub-dom, Rose! Any time you want to play dominant, just let me know.” He gave her an exaggerated wink.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. “If I’d known you were into pain, I’d’ve been a bit slower pulling you into the TARDIS behind me earlier.”
“Oh, that’s different.” Irrepressible as ever, Jack turned his grin on the Doctor. “Strange as it may seem, Raxacoricofallipatorians have never done anything for me sexually. Unlike you two...”
She just laughed and swiped at his arm. Jack never stopped flirting, with either of them, and she didn’t want him to, either. It was part of his charm. Even the Doctor flirted back some of the time now, since he’d finally accepted that Jack wasn’t a threat.
Sure, Jack was a gorgeous guy, and part of her fancied him like crazy, but she had no intention of just being one more notch on his already over-full bedpost. And she wasn’t in any danger of falling in love with him. No chance of that, anyway. Not with the Doctor around.
Jack had become, in the three months he’d been with them, her second best friend. He was human, like her, so they had that in common and that came in handy whenever the Doctor went off on one of his ‘stupid human apes’ rants. He also, for a bloke, was knowledgeable about clothes and actually enjoyed shopping, so was good company whenever she decided her wardrobe needed a bit of replenishing. And he knew how she felt about the Doctor, and had been sympathetic and supportive when she’d needed it.
Right now, she was having a wonderful time with the two men she loved most in the world. And she wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“Bit surprised you chose fourteenth-century Japan, Doctor,” Jack said as they continued strolling. “Isn’t this the big civil war period?”
“On an’ off for the past couple of hundred years, yeah,” the Doctor agreed. “But not here and not today. Nothing to worry about. No running for our lives, guaranteed.”
“Never like it when you say that, Doctor,” she told him with a grin. “Cause it usually means we have to start running about five minutes later.”
“Oi!” he protested. “Just cause I’ve got it wrong once or twice...”
“Try at least a dozen times since I’ve known you,” Jack said, grinning. “All adds to the entertainment value, of course.”
“Nice to know all I do for you is appreciated.”
He’d started grumbling now. Rose halted in front of him and laid her hand flat on his chest. “Course we appreciate you. Doesn’t mean we can’t ‘ave a laugh every now an’ then.”
“Should have a bit of respect,” he objected. But his arms closed around her, pulling her into a hug. She hugged him back, laughing, before letting go and carrying on walking at his side. Somehow, her hand ended up in his.
“Halt.”
Abruptly, their way was blocked by two men in what was obviously some sort of uniform. Military, she suspected, judging by the weapons they carried - evil-looking swords.
“What was that you were saying about no running for our lives, guaranteed?” Jack murmured as the three of them came to a standstill.
The Doctor ignored him and addressed the soldiers, or whatever they were. “Is there a problem? My friends and I are just tourists. Sight-seeing. Enjoying your fantastic culture.”
“This city is a decent place, stranger. We do not allow prostitutes to wander the streets.”
“What?” She couldn’t hold back the exclamation. Though she didn’t need Jack’s hand on her arm to tell her that it hadn’t been a good idea.
“The lady’s a friend of mine.” The Doctor’s tone was still polite, but now had an edge to it.
“The unmarried lady?”
“Well, yeah.”
Suddenly, her arms were seized and she was being dragged away from the Doctor.
“What? Doctor!” she yelled.
“Leave her alone!” Jack was surging forward, trying to grab her. He was pushed back, hard, and lost his balance, falling to the ground.
The Doctor, his face like thunder, was stepping forward, too. “What are you doing with her? She’s done nothing wrong.”
“You’re obviously a stranger here. Our city does not permit lewd conduct on the streets. This woman is no better than a whore, consorting openly with men without being married to one of them. She is under arrest. And you and your other friend would do well to leave our city by nightfall.”
“Not without Rose.” His tone was implacable. “Where are you taking her?”
“Where do you think? The city jail.”
The last thing she heard, as she was dragged off and thrown into a cart, was the Doctor shouting, “We’re coming to get you, Rose. Just hold on!”
***
“Shit! Now what’re we gonna do?”
Jack was looking at him, staring at him, his expression helpless and worried. No accusation in sight. That was wrong. Jack should be accusing him. It was all his fault. He should have guessed something like this could happen. He knew the customs of the time.
“We go to the jail. What the hell do you think!” His tone was curt, biting. If he hadn’t been looking straight at Jack at the time, he’d have missed the other man’s flinch; it was brief and fleeting, but there nonetheless.
“Sorry,” he added as he began walking. “I’m just... I’m worried ‘bout her.”
“I know you are.” And Jack’s hand was on his arm for a moment. “Me too. But we’ll get her back. Right?”
“Right.”
But, at the jail, things weren’t looking good. Rose had been arrested, all right, and thrown in jail. There wasn’t even going to be a trial. Her sentence was going to be either ten years’ imprisonment or public execution, depending on the mood of the city rulers when her case came before them.
“We have to break her out of there,” Jack said as soon as they were outside again. “You got any explosives in the TARDIS? Or can we go somewhere I can get some?”
It was tempting, but it wouldn’t work. “You saw the design of that place. Try to blow our way inside an’ the whole place’ll come down. She’ll be killed.”
Jack blew out a breath, then nodded. “You’re right. So,” he continued, starting to pace, “how about we storm in with blasters and just demand her back?”
He - he who hated guns - had been plotting just such a scenario while they’d been arguing with the senior officer. But that wouldn’t work, either. Too many police and soldiers around. Too many very sharp, very deadly swords. “Think I’d prefer to keep our heads on our shoulders,” he pointed out, tone dry.
“Yeah.” Jack sighed again. “We wouldn’t be a lot of use to Rose like that.”
“No.”
They walked up and down the nearby streets, discussing possible plans, discarding them, getting more and more frantic and despondent as the minutes ticked past. And all he could think of was Rose, locked up in a cell with other prisoners, wondering when he was coming for her. Expecting him to keep his promise.
And then Jack turned to him, a huge grin on his face. “I’ve got it! I know how we get her out!”
“How?” He clutched at Jack’s arm. This better be a good plan. It had to be.
“She was arrested for lewd conduct, right?”
“Yeah. So?”
“They asked if she was married to either of us. It’s the fact that she’s unmarried that made the difference.”
“Yeah.” He blew out a breath. “Was stupid of me. Should’ve said she was my wife. Would’ve been okay then.”
“Yeah, probably. But it’s not too late.” Jack was still grinning excitedly. “She just has to get married. To one of us. Then she’ll be a married woman and respectable. Right?”
It could work. It might just work.
He nodded. “Right. S’pose we’d better go an’ find out how weddings are done in mediaeval Japan.”
***
No matter how many times it’d happened, she’d never get to like being locked up in a prison.
This one was worse than most. The room was small, no larger than about six feet by eight, and there were at least twenty women in there. The stench of sweaty, unwashed bodies was horrible. Worse, the only sanitary facility provided was an overflowing bucket in the corner.
The Doctor better be coming to get her out soon.
He’d said he would. He’d said they - he and Jack - would come for her. And he’d never failed before.
So all she had to do was wait. And she could do that. Right?
Right.
***
“So, we can do it, right? I’ll be the nakodo. Means I’ll have to do most of the talking, but if we plan it all out beforehand it’ll be fine.”
Jack was pacing up and down the console room of the TARDIS, hands waving in exaggerated gestures as he talked. The plan was good. He had to admit that having Jack around had turned out far, far better than he’d ever imagined it could be. The guy was more than useful. He was, just occasionally, invaluable.
“Right.” He took a deep breath. “No way of gettin’ around the actual marriage thing, then?”
Jack shook his head. “We have to convince ‘em it’s genuine. You’ve also got to be seen to take her home with you afterwards - be best if we can rent a room or an apartment somewhere and you two stay the night there.” He paused in his pacing. “Unless... If it’s the marriage bit that bothers you, I’ll be the husband and you can be the matchmaker.”
Let Jack marry Rose? Not a chance. No way. Never.
“No.” His tone was flat. “I’ll do it.”
Jack nodded. “Then let’s go. And - I hate to ask, but do you have cash? For bribes? If not, then I can probably figure out a way to get some.”
“That’s no problem.” He had more money than he knew what to do with, not that he’d ever told either of his current companions that. Though they had to be getting used to seeing him produce cash or credits in whatever currency was legal tender in the places they visited. Rose had given him a questioning look the first couple of times, but now she seemed to accept it.
So. He was getting married. To Rose. Just for the sake of getting Rose out of jail, of course. Still. Marriage. Long time since he’d been married. At the time, after she’d died, he’d thought it was an experience he wasn’t interested in repeating.
Not that he was, really. This was just a ruse. Like so many of the other ruses he’d practised with companions, including Rose, over the years.
***
“Rose Tyler!”
Even though the TARDIS translated languages, hearing her name pronounced by a Japanese tongue sounded weird. She almost didn’t recognise it at first. But then her heart leapt. This had to be the Doctor coming for her.
She had to push her way to the front of the cell. And then she was dragged out, hands seized and tied behind her back. She bit back the protest that instantly came to her lips. It’d do her no good. If the Doctor really was here to try to get her out, it could ruin everything.
He was here. And Jack was beside him, dressed in something even more traditionally Japanese.
She was about to run to the Doctor, but an infinitesimal shake of his head stopped her. Okay. There was some sort of a plan. And she needed to look for his cues.
“Miss Tyler. I am Harkness-san, a nakodo.”
Huh? What was a nakodo? But Jack’s faint wink told her to go along with whatever he was saying.
“I have been asked to act for Doctor-san, who wants to marry you. Since you have no parents to act on your behalf, I need to ask you: will you accept his hand in marriage?”
Her jaw almost hit the floor. The Doctor? Hand in marriage?
And then the penny dropped. The soldiers had asked if she was married. They’d obviously figured out that if she’d been married she wouldn’t have committed a crime. And this was their way of freeing her.
And the Doctor was willing to marry her to get her out of jail. If it was possible, she loved him even more for it.
But reality struck her. Of course, he wasn’t really going to go through with it. They’d just pretend. Go through enough to convince the authorities that she was married, or at least engaged and about to be married.
“So, your answer, please?” Jack gave her a faintly impatient look. Right. She had to play her part in this charade.
“Yes. I mean, yes, I accept.”
Jack turned to the police officer standing next to her. “She is affianced now. Is that enough to secure her release?”
“We will release her when the priest arrives to officiate at the marriage ceremony. You and Doctor-san must return with the priest.”
The Doctor nodded. “Half an hour, then.” His tone was curt. “Rose, we’ll be back.”
A priest? He really was going to go through with it? Or was Jack going to disguise himself and pretend to be a Japanese priest?
She was taken back to the cell to wait. It wasn’t long - less than half an hour - before she was called again. This time, she was taken into a small room. She’d caught sight of Jack waiting outside; he gave her a very quick smile as she was escorted past him. He was still wearing the clothes he’d had on earlier, so obviously he wasn’t pretending to be the priest.
Inside the room, the Doctor was waiting. She went to his side immediately. He reached for her hand, and then his expression darkened as he realised her hands were tied. He barked out an order, so sharply she could barely understand what he was saying, and her hands were untied.
At the front of the room, a man in robes waited. So there really was a priest. There really was going to be a wedding. And, as the Doctor took her hand and smiled reassuringly at her, the marriage ceremony started.
It passed by in a blur. Little was required of her other than that she say yes at one point during the ceremony. And then it was all over, and according to the priest she and the Doctor were man and wife. She was his property, the priest said. She belonged to him, and could not be touched by anyone else.
“Property!” she muttered in disgust as the priest left the room.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he said, his tone absent, as if his mind was on other things. “But it works in our favour. You’re safe now, an’ we can leave.”
“Yeah.” She smiled up at him. “Thanks. Knew you’d get me out.”
He shrugged. “Was my fault in the first place. Should’ve warned you women weren’t s’posed to do certain things here.”
She reached up and kissed his cheek. “Doesn’t matter. Yeah, bein’ in jail wasn’t exactly the highlight of my week, but it’s over now. So - ” She grinned at him. “Where you takin’ me for the honeymoon?”
“Rose - ”
Jack burst into the room. “We need to get out of here. Now. They discovered I’m not a nakodo.”
“Hell.” The Doctor gripped her hand tighter. “Run!”
***
They made it back to the TARDIS - just.
And then Rose wanted to know what a nakodo was - the traditional Japanese matchmaker - and how they’d found a priest so quickly and whether the marriage was actually valid.
“Well, yeah, ‘s legal all right. I mean, if we lived in fourteenth-century Japan we’d be married.”
“Yeah, but given we don’t...?”
He shrugged. “Who knows? ‘S not like they gave us a marriage certificate or anything. Anyway, I’m alien. Bet their laws don’t cover marriage between humans an’ aliens.”
Her lips twitched. He got the feeling that she was enjoying this too much. So was Jack, he noticed; the ex-Time Agent was leaning against the console, grinning broadly.
The marriage was legal. Well, it was and it wasn’t. As he’d told Rose, without any documents to back it up there was no proof that it’d ever happened. But they both knew it had. They’d both stood there, in front of the priest, used their real names - well, in his case, what he’d chosen as his name all those centuries ago - and exchanged vows. The fact that neither of them had intended it to be real was beside the point in terms of legality.
But it didn’t matter. They weren’t ever going to go back to Japan, either in the fourteenth century or any other time.
“You know what you guys missed out?” The tone of mischievous amusement in Jack’s voice should have alerted him.
“What?”
Jack’s grin grew wider. “The whole ‘kiss the bride’ thing. You really should make up for that, y’know.”
“Oh, for - ” He rolled his eyes, seeking out Rose with his gaze. She’d support him. She’d be just as irritated with Jack -
But she was looking at him, not Jack, longing and expectancy in her expression.
Oh, hell. She understood, surely? That this wasn’t real, that he could never have that kind of relationship - with her or with anyone except another Gallifreyan, and there were none of those left now - that he’d been hoping they could all just forget that wedding had ever happened?
“Come on, Doctor. Can’t not give your bride one kiss!”
Rassilon! Would Jack just shut up?
There was no way he could avoid kissing Rose. Not without hurting her. With an inward sigh, he stepped closer to her and tipped her chin up with one hand.
The breathless way she was looking at him made him even more alarmed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss her, or do more with her. Of course he did. But there were so many reasons why that was an incredibly bad idea. Why he’d decided long ago, once he’d realised how attracted he was to her, that it would never happen. Ever.
No choice, now. He lowered his lips to hers, pressing them against hers in a brief, affectionate kiss. Before he could pull back, she was returning the kiss, parting her lips, trying to draw him back to her. He didn’t let her, and as he pulled back he moved his hand to her cheek in a gentle caress, trying to soften the impact in case she saw it as rejection.
She smiled widely - lovingly - at him as he pulled away. And the sinking feeling in his stomach grew. He was going to have to talk to her, and soon.
The sound of applause made them both turn towards Jack. Still grinning - did the man never stop? - he was clapping them. “Nice one. Thought you two’d never get around to doing that.”
We never were going to. Thought you understood that!
Seemed like it wasn’t just Rose he needed to talk to. But not now. He let Jack pat him on the back, let himself be drawn into the laughter the two of them were sharing.
Time enough for shattering illusions later.
And then a bright light appeared from nowhere, and Rose was being pulled towards it, and she was reaching out to him, her expression frightened, pleading with him to help her, and she was disappearing, fading, and even as he and Jack tried to reach for her they were both being pulled away too...
***
tbc