Chapter Text
It was a cloudy day in late June when the TARDIS appeared among the rose bushes in the front garden of 13 Ignatius Road, Dulwich.
None of the neighbours really batted an eye at the sudden breeze or the wheezing, groaning sound caused by the arrival of the blue police box. They were used to the box and the strange man who accompanied it, but this was London, and people didn’t much care as long as the neighbourhood remained peaceful.
Besides, the person residing at the house was quite beloved in the neighbourhood, so the odd and unexplained things around her were sort of brushed away.
The resident in question was currently inside the police box, saying a thorough goodbye to the strange man who accompanied the box.
Rose sighed as the Doctor’s fingers combed through her hair, his touch somehow equally soothing and electrifying. They had been kissing for what felt like hours but it had only been a few minutes, and she was glad her back was currently resting against one of the metal scaffolding pillars around the console because her knees would have given out otherwise.
She was also grateful for the strong grip the Doctor had on her waist, practically keeping her upright as he thoroughly explained without words that he would miss her.
“It’s only a month,” assured Rose, when they paused for breath.
“Only, you say,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
Rose flushed. Two weeks prior, after a harrowing encounter with brain sucking aliens known as the Kantrofarri, the two of them had sort of crossed the line between being friends to…being whatever they were now. They hadn’t gone much farther than kissing, but it had been a pleasant time regardless.
After the Kantrofarri incident, Rose had returned to Oxford. The fortnight had passed quickly - between the Moderations, the end of year parties, and packing up to finish up her first year at Oxford, Rose had barely noticed the passage of time.
Then, she’d been back at her Dulwich home, and the Doctor had come to visit.
They’d gone to the leisure complex on the planet Nestra, investigating why guests had been checking in but never checking out. It turned out to be the fault of a misprogrammed AI, which was now resolved.
Then, they’d travelled to Canvey Island in Essex in the summer of 1953 where the TARDIS had indicated there would be alien radiation, and they’d found radioactive alien corpses.
After that, it had been visiting Athens to watch a play by Aristophanes, which turned sour when they found a crashed alien spaceship and the ship’s pilot nearly burning up Socrates’s brain to repair the ship.
And on and on it went, as they spent almost a month running all over time and space until the Doctor had now brought her home only a day after she’d left it.
The reason had been simple - they were making up for lost time, and also preparing for a prolonged goodbye once more.
In less than a week’s time, Rose was supposed to go up to Dunstanton Lake to commence her month-long fieldwork component under the supervision of Dr Freda Mattingley.
While Rose was reluctant to be away from the Doctor for that long, especially when they were navigating this new aspect of their relationship, she knew she couldn’t risk vanishing in the middle of her fieldwork. So, she’d told the Doctor to give her the month needed to do her fieldwork study uninterrupted.
He had agreed, though rather reluctantly. Rose had discovered that the Doctor was quite…well, eager for her company. It was like the confession of love had let him drop the walls he’d built between them, and if she’d thought he was handsy and flirtatious before, it was nothing compared to now. In public, he’d kept it quite sedate, though their hands had seldom remained apart (not that had been anything new).
When they were alone, however, it was a different story entirely. Rose hadn’t quite experienced intimacy like she was experiencing with the Doctor. It wasn’t as if he was doing something overtly sexual, if anything, he was almost chaste around her. But his palm would brush her waist as he walked past her, lingering just long enough to set her heart racing. He would let his lips brush the shell of her ear when he whispered to her, his fingers would play with the ends of her hair, and his eyes would look at her with such warmth and love, that Rose would frequently find herself quite breathless in his presence.
And when they did kiss, he did so with such intent that Rose had never felt so desired in her life. Every kiss felt like a proclamation of love, like something far more important than just the physical touch. Rose felt like he could see right through her, and far from driving him away, whatever he saw in her drew him in ever so closer. The emotional intimacy easily outweighed the physical one, and Rose had never experienced that before.
Mickey had been her first boyfriend, and while they’d kissed and fooled around briefly, it had felt like a bit of fun, nothing quite intimate about it.
She’d lost her virginity to Jimmy, and he’d been all about physical intimacy, but Rose had never quite felt treasured or appreciated when being with him. She’d felt replaceable, as if it could have been anyone else in her place, and Jimmy would have enjoyed it just the same.
With the Doctor, for the first time, Rose was learning what it really meant to be loved. And it only made her love him more.
She was wary, of course. She felt like she was vastly out of her depth in terms of experience, and she was still a bit too hesitant to really ask the deeper questions that had been bothering her. The nonlinear aspects of their relationship were not ideal, and the lack of her memories was something that she was still trying to understand. The more she thought about it, the less sense it made to her.
“You’ve got a time machine,” Rose said now, shaking away her thoughts. “You could just jump forward a month.”
“Yes, but the TARDIS refuses to let me do it,” he frowned, and Rose laughed. “She refused to let me jump two weeks ahead after the Kantrofarri incident too.”
“Well, she’s holding you to the whole linear meeting bit,” said Rose.
“Seems so,” he agreed with a smile. “What am I supposed to do for a month without you?”
Rose shrugged. “Did you ever end up going back for Sam in that junkyard?” she asked, curiously.
He scowled. “Yes,” he admitted. “And then, she hopped right into the TARDIS and demanded to be taken on a trip like I’m some sort of a tour bus.”
Rose’s lips twitched; she had to admire Sam’s gumption. “Did you?” she asked. “Take her on that trip, I mean?”
He rolled his eyes but nodded. “I took her to a Greenpeace rally in New York City, circa 1997,” he said.
“Why 1997?” asked Rose.
“It’s the year she’s from,” he said. “I dropped her off there, and told her to find her way back to London on her own.”
Rose’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?” she asked.
“We did stop by her house so she could pack a bag and take her passport and some cash. Sam’s a tough girl, she will manage,” he said. “Besides, I-” He paused.
“What?” prompted Rose, when he didn’t continue.
He shook his head. “There’s something about her that I can’t shake,” he admitted.
Rose stared at him. He hadn’t said it like it was a good thing, more like he was wary of her. “What is she like?” she asked, her curiosity burning even brighter now.
“She’s inquisitive, smart, has a lot of heart, and is very brave,” he said.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” said Rose, noticing how he frowned.
He met her gaze. “It’s not,” he admitted. “It’s…it’s unnerving.”
“Why?” asked Rose.
“I don’t know, I can’t explain it,” he said. “Under different circumstances, she is exactly the kind of person I would want to travel with.”
“But you don’t want to travel with Sam?” asked Rose.
“I’ve got you,” he said, and that earned him a bright smile.
“That’s sweet,” said Rose, and she meant it. “But I don’t want you to be alone either when I’m not around.”
His eyes softened. “I’ll be alright, Rose,” he said.
She bit her lip doubtfully but nodded, sensing he didn’t want to talk about it. “I should go,” she said, though she made no move to leave the circle of the Doctor’s arms.
“Could I tempt you away for one more trip?” asked the Doctor, giving her an extremely persuasive look.
Rose inhaled shakily and chuckled. “I’m sure you could tempt me plenty,” she said, which made him laugh. “But I should go. Besides, it’s a short goodbye. We will see each other in a month.”
He sighed and agreed with a nod. Rose placed a hand on his cheek, bringing his face down to hers for a soft, gentle goodbye kiss.
“I’ll miss you,” whispered Rose, when she pulled away.
“As will I,” he murmured, pressing his lips to her temple in a lazy kiss. “Perhaps, we shall learn whether absence really does make the heart grow fonder.”
Rose chuckled. “I don’t think it could grow any fonder, if I’m honest,” she admitted, hesitating only a little.
He flashed her a grin. “That’s what you think now,” he said, and his eyes promised the truth of his words. He slowly let go of her, but kept a hold of her hand as he walked her to the TARDIS doors. “I’ll see you soon, Rose.”
Rose grinned at him. “Not if I see you first,” she said. She lifted his hand that was holding hers and kissed the back of it. The Doctor’s eyes fluttered slightly, and Rose bit her lip coyly. “See ya.”
She started to let go of his hand, only to let out a startled squeak when the Doctor tightened his grip and yanked her close to him. She looked up at him in shock and he grinned wickedly before bending his head to press a lingering kiss to the side of her neck. Her eyes closed involuntarily and she groaned low in her throat as the Doctor’s teeth bit lightly into the skin of her neck and his lips sucked an obvious love bite on her neck.
Rose couldn’t bring herself to be annoyed by it, though, not when her entire body arched into his immediately. She tilted her head back to give him better access, her fingers sinking into those gorgeous long brown curls, drawing him closer. He expertly worried the skin of her neck with his teeth and lips, and pressed a kiss to the blooming bruise as he pulled back, looking slyly at her.
“What was that for?” asked Rose, unable to help the breathlessness of her voice, her fingers still buried in his hair.
“In case you do see me before I see you,” he said.
Rose’s eyes widened. “You think I’ll have an out of time meeting?” she asked.
“It’s likely, jeopardy friendly as you are,” he said.
Rose ignored the remark and gave him an exasperated look. “And you’re what? Marking your territory?” she asked.
“Hardly,” he grinned, unperturbed by her look. “Just leaving you a memento to remember me by.”
Rose rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched with a smile. “As if I could ever forget you,” she said, and then her breath caught as the Doctor’s smile froze as well. “Sorry,” she added, hastily.
“No, don’t,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “It’s okay. I know what you meant.”
Rose hugged him back, hoping to convey her apology for her thoughtless words. “I have so many questions, you know,” she confessed into his cravat.
“I know,” he said, lips glazing the top of her head. “I know you wish to know the truth, but, Rose…”
“It was my choice, and you’re respecting it,” she completed before he had to say it. “I know. Doesn’t make it easier though, does it? For either of us?”
“No,” he sighed. “Nothing worthwhile is easy, though.”
Rose smiled and pulled back to look at him. “I love you,” she said.
He smiled back. “I love you,” he replied.
She gave him a small wave and finally left the TARDIS. The blue box vanished moments later and she sighed deeply.
“That was quite the sigh.”
Rose’s heart jumped at the familiar voice and she saw River Song sitting on the front step of Rose’s house. She was dressed in tightly fitted black trousers and a maroon tunic-like top, her curly dark golden hair in a high ponytail on top of her head.
“River,” whispered Rose, staring at her in disbelief.
River stood up slowly. “Hello, sweetie,” she said.
Rose ran to her and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. River laughed and hugged her back tightly, and Rose exhaled heavily, absolutely overjoyed to see her.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” said Rose, pulling back and looking at her with shining eyes. “You look amazing!”
“So do you,” grinned River, before her grin turned sly. “Hickey and all.”
Rose flushed and glanced away sheepishly. “A lot has changed in a year,” she said.
“I can see that,” said River. “Won’t you invite me in?”
“Yeah, of course, come in,” said Rose, brushing past her to unlock the door. She walked into the kitchen, with River behind her. “Tea?”
“Please,” smiled River, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.
Rose set the kettle boiling and smiled at River in wonder. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Thought I’d pop in for a visit,” said River. “Been a year, has it?”
Rose nodded. “How long has it been for you?” she asked.
“About a decade or so,” said River.
Rose’s eyebrows shot up. River definitely did not look a decade older, she hardly even looked a week older.
River smiled at the look on her face. “Long story,” she said. “And not one I can tell you yet.”
Rose eyed her thoughtfully but nodded. The water finished boiling, so Rose made them both a cuppa, and they retreated to the living room to drink their tea.
“So, how have you been?” asked River, looking at Rose.
“Good,” nodded Rose. “Finished my first year at Oxford. Remember Sibyl?” At River’s nod, she smiled. “She passed away last year, and she paid for my education in full as part of her will.”
“That was nice of her,” said River, with a small smile. “How are you finding Oxford?”
“Challenging, but I love it,” said Rose, honestly. “And well, I met the Doctor and…” She trailed off, realising River would have definitely seen her walk out of the TARDIS sporting a fresh hickey.
“And how’s that been going?” asked River, with a sly grin.
Rose shrugged, blushing a little. “It’s all very new still,” she said. She paused and stared at River. “Did you know?”
River nodded. “I did,” she said. “That’s why I was pretty careful about what I shared with you about the Doctor. I didn’t want to unintentionally influence you one way or another. Which incarnation is he in?”
“Linearly speaking? His eighth body,” said Rose.
River chuckled. “Look at you, spoken like a true time traveller,” she said.
“Learned from the best,” she grinned, with a look at River. “What about you, River? What have you been up to?”
“Well, I took some time to travel around after I left here,” she said. “Then I went back to teaching, like I said I would.”
“And where were you teaching?” asked Rose.
“I still am,” she said. “I’m a tenured professor at Luna University in the 51st century.”
Rose’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding,” she said.
“Nope,” said River. “I studied archaeology briefly on Earth, but the majority of my education occurred in the 51st century and I did most of my post graduate work, including my Ph.D at the Luna University. And a few years before I came to this time, I was offered an academic position there.”
As she was speaking, Rose noticed a ring on her left ring finger with a fire red stone that she’d never seen before.
“That’s new,” said Rose, nodding at the ring.
River smiled softly as she glanced at the ring. “Yes, the person who gave me the ring isn’t new, just the ring,” she said. “She insisted I needed it for this trip.”
Rose raised her eyebrows. “Do I get to ask who she is?” she asked.
River grinned. “Spoilers,” she said. “But speaking of this trip, I admit I have ulterior motives.”
“Oh?” asked Rose, finishing her tea. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes, well, I think so,” said River. She chuckled when Rose gave her a confused look. “You told me to come here and take you with me on my expedition.”
Rose frowned. “Future me?” she asked.
River nodded slowly. “You don’t often do things like that, so when you do, we tend to listen,” she said.
“We?” asked Rose, sharply.
River blinked and then smiled sheepishly. “Spoilers?” she offered.
Rose rolled her eyes. “So, I asked you to come here,” she said. “And what expedition is it?”
“Have you heard of the Library?” asked River.
“Which one?” asked Rose.
“No, not a library. The Library. The definite article, you might say,” said River. “The whole core of the planet is the index computer. Biggest hard drive ever, with every book ever written. The Felman Lux corporation has commissioned me to lead the current chairman and a team inside the Library.”
“That does sound amazing,” nodded Rose, before her smile dimmed. “But I can’t, River,” she added, regretfully. “I’m headed up to the Lake District in five days to start my fieldwork.”
River smirked and tapped the vortex manipulator on her wrist. “I can have you back in a flash,” she said.
Rose bit her lip. It was definitely tempting, and her future self had clearly made the request. Besides, she had missed River, and any opportunity to spend time with her was welcome.
“Right,” nodded Rose. “Give me an hour to shower and get changed, and then we can go to the Library.”
“Well, first we have to go to Luna University,” said River. “Then we’ll take a shuttle to the Library.”
“Sounds good,” nodded Rose. She smiled at River and went upstairs. After a shower, she changed into a pair of dark blue jeans and an emerald green camisole, and wore a denim jacket on top. Her hair was now brushing a good length past her shoulders and Rose was planning on growing it out, mostly because she enjoyed the way it felt when the Doctor ran his fingers through it. She put it up into a ponytail before starting on her makeup.
The love bite on her neck was obvious as it could be, and she shook her head and used some concealer to cover it up. Satisfied with her appearance, she checked she had everything she needed in her archaeologist’s case, and returned downstairs.
River had cleared up their tea things during the time that Rose had been getting ready. She was fiddling with the vortex manipulator on her wrist when Rose walked into the living room once more.
“Ready to go?” asked River.
“As I could ever be,” smiled Rose.
River stood up and held out her arm. “Hold on tight,” she said.
Rose gripped her arm tightly, and watched as River entered in a series of numbers (what she could only assume were coordinates) into the vortex manipulator and pressed the switch. In a blue flash of ozone, the living room around her vanished, replaced by a traditional study with wood panelled walls and a large ornate mahogany desk.
The travel had been less jarring than Rose had expected, as she released River’s arm and looked around at the study. It reminded her a lot of the inside of the Luna Detective Agency, and she suspected it was because most of these things had been in the shop at one point, including the desk. The study was round and it had a skylight right above the desk, and Rose smiled when she saw Earth in the distance.
“Very you,” said Rose, with a smile at River. “Mess, included,” she added, laughing at the messy bundles of papers and notes strewn about her desk. It had been a familiar argument when Rose had worked for her, with River insisting she knew exactly where everything was, and Rose trying to get her to clean up some of the mess.
River shrugged unrepentantly, as she handed Rose a manila folder. “Here,” she said. “A mission briefing.”
Rose took it eagerly and settled down into an empty chair to read.
“I’ve got a call with the shuttle pilot,” said River, picking up a PDA-like device which looked more advanced than the one Rose had. “Team meeting is in an hour, and we’re leaving soon after that.”
Rose nodded and opened the file. The briefing was fairly straightforward. The Library had been built by the Felman Lux Corporation, and had been the greatest collection of books and knowledge in this corner of the Milky Way, until 100 years ago, when something had gone wrong. Determining the exact nature of this incident was the reason for the archaeological expedition.
One moment, over 4000 people had been in the Library, and then…nothing.
A single message was beamed out of the planet.
The lights are going out.
Rose shivered as she read it. There was something else in the message but it was redacted with a black marker in the file Rose was reading.
Following the message being sent out, the computer sealed the planet and it had taken 100 years for the seals around the planets to be decoded. Theirs was the first expedition group who would venture into the Library since the planet was unsealed.
River returned and Rose closed the file and stood up.
“What’s in the rest of the message?” asked Rose, quickly.
River smirked. “Noticed that, did you?”
“Of course,” said Rose, with a shrug.
“Four thousand and twenty two people saved. No survivors,” said River.
Rose’s eyes widened. “B-but that makes no sense,” she said.
“Hence the expedition,” said River. “The planet was scanned for humanoid life signs and none were found, so we can sufficiently assume those four thousand odd people are dead. But the message contradicts it somewhat.”
“I guess the one way to truly know what’s going on is to go down to the planet and see it in person,” said Rose.
“Exactly,” grinned River. “So, come on. I’ll introduce you to the team.”
Rose followed River out of the study, and their surroundings slightly threw her off. Like River’s study, the hallway outside had wood panelled walls, shaded lamps, and worn carpet on hardwood floors, reminding Rose so much of the older buildings at Oxford. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting a university in the 51st century to look like, but it was definitely something a lot more futuristic than this.
There were a few people around, and while she did see a few aliens here and there, the people were mostly humans (or looked humanoid). River led her down a maze of similar hallways until they reached an antique elevator with old-fashioned metal grate doors, and a wood panelled interior once more.
“It’s a bit more old school than I expected,” said Rose, as she and River went inside the elevator.
“We’re in the midst of a revival period,” explained River. “Besides, the Archaeology department at the Luna University is unique. We are the only ones to collaborate with the Time Agency for our expeditions.”
“Time Agency?” asked Rose, her interest piqued.
“Humans have somewhat mastered time travel by this point in history, and the Time Agency was established to regulate it,” said River. “Access to time travel outside of the Agency is nigh on impossible, but our Archaeology department has been granted privileges, which means we are well-funded, and well-supported.” She eyed Rose, before typing a series of numbers on the keypad in the elevator which was rather out of place in the old-fashioned piece of mechanism. “If you want to pursue Archaeology beyond Earth, I would highly recommend this place for your graduate studies.”
Rose listened earnestly, committing that to memory. She hadn’t really dedicated any time to think about what she would do once she had finished at Oxford. It was insufficient to merely have an undergraduate in a field like hers, and no doubt she would need to study further, and perhaps River’s suggestion was worth considering.
The elevator stopped at a floor, and when the doors opened, a woman in her mid-forties stood outside. She was about Rose’s height, with high cheekbones, short dark hair in a messy bob, wearing a pair of slightly too-short grey tweed trousers, a white button-up shirt, a red tie knotted messily around her neck, and a beige blazer that was too big for her petite form. Her eyes lit up when she saw them.
“River! Rose! Didn’t expect to see you both today,” she said.
“Erm, early point in her timeline, Benny,” said River, at once.
The woman, Benny, glanced at Rose and looked slightly askance. “Ah, so it is,” she said. “Sorry, time travel. You know how it is.”
Rose couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, I do,” she said, before she remembered something. “Benny? The Doctor’s friend?”
Benny laughed. “Well, yeah, but I like to think we’re friends too,” she said, stepping into the elevator. “Professor Bernice Summerfield,” she added, holding out her hand.
Rose shook her hand. “Nice to meet you,” she said.
“Rose is accompanying me on the expedition to the Library,” said River.
“Ugh, better you than me,” said Benny.
“Why?” asked Rose, curiously.
Benny grinned and glanced at River. “She hasn’t met the charming Mr Lux, has she?” she asked, before smiling at Rose. “He wants every person on the expedition team to sign an airtight contract saying anything you see and hear during the expedition is the intellectual property of the Felman Lux corporation.” Rose wrinkled her nose. “Exactly,” grinned Benny. “We’re academics doing this in pursuit of knowledge that will be shared with the universe. Not to become property of some inflated capitalist corporation.”
“Benny has very strong opinions about Mr Lux hence why she passed over this opportunity,” explained River.
Benny shrugged. “Benefits of seniority,” she said. “I’m getting too old to put up with arrogant dickheads.”
Rose chuckled; she liked Benny. The elevator came to a stop, and Benny disembarked.
“I’ll see you both around,” grinned Benny. “Oh, and Rose, please act like you don’t know me when you do meet me for the first time. I was pretty new to time travel, and it’d just complicate things.”
“Got it,” nodded Rose. “See you.”
Benny waved goodbye, and with a grin at River, she left down the hallway. The elevator doors closed once again, and it continued to descend.
“Benny travelled with the Doctor in his seventh body, but she has met some other incarnations as far as I know,” said River.
Rose nodded. “When I told the Doctor I worked with a time travelling archaeologist, he assumed it was Benny,” she said.
“Makes sense,” agreed River. “It’s too early in his timeline to know me. Come to think of it, I’m not exactly sure when he met me for the first time but it hasn’t happened to me yet.”
Rose couldn’t help but laugh. “Is it mental that what you said actually made sense to me?” she asked.
River laughed as well. “Just means you’re getting used to being a time traveller,” said River.
“Sure would be nice to be on the other end of it,” said Rose, wistfully. “I mean, so far, I’m the one in the dark.”
River’s smile was knowing. “I’m not sure the grass is greener on the other side,” she said.
“How couldn’t it be?” asked Rose, curiously.
“Well, take Benny for example,” said River. “You’ve met her, spoken to her, and from what I can see, you liked her, didn’t you?” At Rose’s nod, her smile turned slightly melancholic. “But when you meet her for the first time, the first time for her, I mean, you will have to pretend not to know her. You can’t joke about how Mr Lux is indeed a dick, or laugh about how she pulls rank to avoid expeditions she doesn’t want to go on. That’s all the foreknowledge you have now, which you can’t reveal to the younger Bernice Summerfield.”
Rose frowned deeply. She could see what River was saying. She had already started to experience it to an extent, when she had the out of time meetings with the older Doctors, and then having to keep it from her Doctor. The more that she time travelled, the more secrets she’d need to keep. She looked at River, and wondered how many secrets River was keeping from her, because they simply weren’t hers to know yet.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened once again.
River turned to her with a smile. “Enough about that for now,” she said. “We have an expedition to prepare for.” She linked her arm with Rose’s and led her out of the elevator. “Let’s go meet the team.”