International Arrivals
I have succumbed to the inevitable reunion fic- about a year after everyone else. I got the idea for this one from my sister back in March after staring at the arrivals gate for ages. Only just had the chance to finish it. Hope you enjoy it and thanks for the reviews for part two of 'Exasperating Exams'!
Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me
"Yeah, OK Dad, I know. Look, I gotta run; they're calling last call!"
"Alright sweetheart, a chauffeur will be waiting to meet you. It's a different one to normal," Pete Tyler told his daughter down the phone,
"OK," Rose said, not really concentrating, "See you in a few hours. Love you!" She ended the call and ran towards the departure gate where the flight attendants were about to close up. Above her head, a female voice announced "Last call for passengers on the BA6732 flight to London Heathrow, last call…"
"I'm here!" Rose cried, brandishing her passport. It was a fake one that Pete had whipped up for her after her arrival in this parallel world, but nobody was to know that. "Sorry!"
"Don't worry," one of the attendants smiled, "Go on through, Miss. Tyler."
Rose thanked her and jogged down the pathway to the doorway of the aeroplane that would take her home. She gave her ticket to the flight hostess who showed her to her seat in business class. Rose threw her bag into the overhead compartment and sat down with a bump in her seat and buckled herself in. As the captain gave his customary welcome announcement and the plane began to taxi and then take off, she glanced around to see her fellow Business class passengers frantically writing notes or browsing important looking documents. None of them even glanced up, even as the ground below them fell away. This intrigued Rose and she'd watched it avidly on every plane she'd ever been on since her arrival in the world. She'd never been on a plane before as Jackie simply couldn't afford to take her away. She'd never even left Britain before she'd met the… no, best not to think of that.
"Would you like any refreshments?" A voice interrupted her musing and she looked up to see a smiling air hostess,
"Erm, yes thanks," she said, "G and T, please."
She sat back, slowly sipping her drink as they left the shores of New Germany where she'd been at a conference for Torchwood. Rose sighed and leant back in her seat. She was looking forward to seeing all her family again after the four day trip but she didn't particularly want to return home. She preferred being as far as possible away from the mansion and London, having too many memories of the Doctor there.
The Doctor…
Rose sighed again. She tried to not think about him and her old life seeing as it hurt her so much. It had now been nearly two and a half years since she'd last seen him in Norway and she missed him so much. Life just wasn't the same and she wasn't happy despite having what she'd always wanted: a family. But now, she knew that she'd swap her family for the Doctor in a heartbeat. She felt terrible about this but knew it was the truth.
Signalling to the air hostess, Rose ordered another G and T and picked up the inflight magazine. She'd be home before she knew it.
"Thank you for flying with British Airways today. We hope to see you again soon and you have a safe homeward journey…"
Rose tuned out the announcement and began to gather together her belongings before leaving the aircraft with the other passengers.
Outside, it was raining heavily. Rose cursed 'bloody English weather' and ran over to the bus, which took them back to the terminal. She passed through passport control in a daze and located her suitcase. She was feeling really tired and wanted more than anything to get home and soak in a warm bubble bath.
After walking under the Nothing to Declare archway, Rose exited the Arrivals Gate and searched for the chauffeur who her father had told her would be coming to pick her up from the Airport. She soon saw a tall man in a typical chauffeur outfit but with the hat pulled down low. Rose thought it was probably due to the rain.
"Hi," she said, walking over to him,
"Evening Miss. Tyler," he greeted in a Scottish accent, "Here, let me take your bag. We're parked just outside."
Rose handed over her luggage and followed him lifelessly out of the airport. He helped her climb into the back of the standard black limo that her father had sent out to collect her before he climbed into the driver's seat and starting the engine.
"Did you have a good trip?" he asked her, as the limo purred away down the road.
Rose shuffled up the long side seat so she could hear and speak to him better. "It was alright, yeah," she said, "Bit boring."
The chauffeur nodded. "I prefer action to talk, myself,"
"Me too," Rose nodded, "I've got out of some sticky situations by acting rather than talking. I had a friend who could talk the hind leg off a donkey and that usually got us into trouble rather than out of it!" She gave a small giggle. "What's your name anyway?" she hastily changed the subject, aware that she was getting into unwanted territory,
"John Smith," was the reply.
Rose sighed. Maybe they wouldn't be getting away from that topic after all. "I had a friend who went by that name," she said, wistfully,
"It's a very common name," he replied, "Did you lose him, this friend of yours?"
"Yeah," Rose sighed, "Can never see him again,"
"How come?"
"Long story," she replied,
"Oh, alright," the chauffeur said, "Do you miss him?"
"More than you could possibly know," she said, "It's been over two years and it still feels as raw as if it was yesterday. It hurts so much."
The driver suddenly pulled into a lay-by and switched off the engine. Rose looked at him, confused.
"Well, then, Rose Tyler," he said, swivelling around in his seat, "I think you need a Doctor."
Rose sucked in a breath as he took off his chauffeur hat to reveal familiar brown eyes and a caring smile.
"Doctor…?" she whispered,
"Hello," he replied, equally as quietly,
"Doctor!" Rose cried, reaching a hand through the gap and grasping his hand. The first touch was electric and tingles shot up her arm. "Doctor!" she sobbed, suddenly finding tears rolling down her cheeks,
"Hey, don't cry," he said, softly, squeezing her hand and wiping away her tears with his other hand,
"I can't help it," Rose sobbed, "I can't believe you're here. Oh God, Doctor!"
"Hold on," he said, "I'm coming around." He released her hand and got out of the car.
Rose immediately scooted down to the door. As soon as he climbed in, she threw herself into his arms, sobbing wildly and just enjoying the feeling of being back with him.
She managed to knock the Doctor off balance and they ended up on the floor, wrapped up in each other's arms with the Doctor lying on top of Rose.
"But how did you manage to get here?" she asked, between her violent sobs, "You said it was impossible; why are you dressed up as a chauffeur; why didn't you tell me straight away; why…?"
"Shh," the Doctor said, putting a finger on her lips, "I promise I'll explain everything in a bit, OK?"
She nodded shakily, another tear rolling down her cheek.
"Oh Rose," the Doctor said, wiping away it away, "I know exactly how much you've missed me 'cause I'm missed you just as much,"
"You have?" Rose whispered, staring up at him,
"I have," the Doctor confirmed, "It's like I could barely think of you without feeling upset, especially when I was alone or at night. I kept on wanting to call you into the console room to show you something and then remembering you weren't by my side anymore. It honestly feels… felt like you took my hearts with you but now I've got them back,"
"That's exactly how I felt," Rose murmured, pushing herself up to sitting and then falling into his open arms again, "I was just empty inside like the Cybermen. Only my Mum and my little brother, Jamie, kept me going sometimes." She breathed in, enjoying his unique scent before suddenly unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt and placing her hands over his hearts,
"What are you doing?" asked the Doctor,
"Making sure this isn't a dream," replied Rose, staring him directly in the eyes and feeling the strong double pulse underneath her hands, "I've had too many dreams where I've got you back and then I wake up and I feel worse than I did before I went to sleep."
The Doctor touched her cheek, his eyes sad at the pain he'd put her through, "What could I do to show you this isn't a dream?"
Rose shrugged, "I don't know," she whispered, leaning into his touch and closing her eyes. It felt good to have him touching her again.
The Doctor watched her thoughtfully, feeling that the time had at last come. "Rose," he whispered,
"Hmm?" she answered, reopening her eyes,
"There's something I should have told you a long time ago," he began, brushing back her hair with his hand, "And I'm so sorry it's taken me so long,"
"What, Doctor?" Rose asked in a whisper, her heart suddenly hammering. Was he really going to…?
The Doctor inched forward so their noses were inches apart. He stared soulfully into her eyes. "Rose Tyler," he whispered, "I love you. I love you so much,"
"You do?" Rose asked quietly, "I wasn't sure if you did…"
"Of course I did," the Doctor confirmed, "Of course I do."
Tears began to slowly fall out of Rose's eyes. This couldn't be a dream. He'd never managed to tell her he loved her in her dreams before- she usually woke up just before. "Oh Doctor," she whispered, "I love you too."
That's all that it took. The Doctor immediately closed the minute distance between them and laid a powerful yet sweet kiss on her lips. Rose moaned. It was utter heaven to be kissing him when it wasn't a save-your-life-from-the-vortex kiss or a –possessed-by-Cassandra kiss or a stupid-space-helmet-got-in-the-way kiss. This was a real kiss with both participants aware of it. In a word, it was perfection.
They both eventually came up for air, both looking distinctly ruffled. Rose beamed at the Doctor before resting her head against his bare chest, listening to his heart beats. "I could get used to that," she murmured.
The Doctor chuckled. "Me too," he replied, licking his lips and tasting faint traces of the strawberry lip gloss that he knew Rose favoured.
Rose sighed in happiness, cuddling into his side as he wrapped his arms around her. "My Rose," he murmured,
"My Doctor," she replied, with a smile. Everything was good.
The pretty picture was suddenly broke by a sharp knock at one of the back windows. The pair exchanged confused glances before the Doctor carefully disentangled himself and crawled over to the window, before opening it.
"Hello?" he asked,
"Good afternoon, sir," replied a male voice, "Is everything alright?"
"Yes…" the Doctor replied, examining the man who was dressed in a police officers uniform. He noted that it had stopped raining and the sun was now trying to peek out of the clouds,
"Alright, sir. We were just passing and saw this limo and wondered if you'd broken down," the police officer said,
"Oh no, we're quite alright,"
"We?" repeated the police officer, his eyes suddenly narrowing as he took in the Doctor's open shirt, ruffled hair and slightly swollen lips, "Is there someone else in there with you, sir?"
"My girlfriend," the Doctor replied, narrowing his own eyes, "Is that a problem?"
Rose felt a happy bubble swell inside her as he referred to her as his girlfriend. She listened to the officer's reply, trying to smother her giggles.
"If everything's alright with your vehicle it's probably time you moved on," the officer said, a red flush growing over his cheeks, "Especially as it's only late afternoon and still daylight,"
"Right, thank you officer," the Doctor said, seriously, "We'll move straight away." He began to button up his shirt while calling Rose over his shoulder to come along.
The police officer stepped back and watched as the man climbed out of the car before helping a young blonde woman out who looked strangely familiar. They both grinned at him before getting into the front of the limo together.
Inside, Rose cuddled up against the Doctor on the long front seat. He tucked an arm around her shoulders and started the engine.
"He really thought we were doing something naughty, didn't he?" Rose giggled.
The Doctor snorted. "Honestly, as if we'd really be having sex with our shoes on! He needs to get his eyes tested!"
Rose couldn't help but burst into full blown laughter and it wasn't long before the Doctor joined her, quickly stealing a kiss as they drove off into the sunset, reunited at last.
Review please. Constructive criticism is gladly received