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Connect-the-Dots: Nine

Not everyone on Earth has one, but enough people do that a person with a Marke shouldn't feel incredibly special. One in every three humans will find a design on their skin. Its size and shape varies greatly from person to person, so much so that in the Earth's history, there has never been a confirmation of more than two people having the same exact Marke. Billions of Markes have come and gone, and to those on Earth, it has a relatively low impact on their life.

Despite the relative commonality, the Doctor finds the phenomenon fascinating.

Though not a feature exclusive to humans, the pervasiveness of the Marke in their society makes them stand out in the Doctor's mind as the shining example of the strange occurrence. It's intriguing to him that a human can be aware that someone they're supposed to be ultimately compatible with is wandering around somewhere else in the world, and then proceed with their own lives as normal. They have a roadmap to, quite literally, the one, but few make any grand strides to find them.

While some people with a Marke make finding their Match their life goal, most people continue on normally, hoping to stumble across their supposed 'soul-mate.' Though there have been periods where certain populations have made finding out one another's Marke as easy as possible, using renderings has created a lot of controversy. Rumors of scams usually crush the idea before it ever really takes flight, and by the late twentieth century, most humans are too wary and doubtful to even consider the idea.

As such, active seeking of one's Match is a sort of fanciful idea, or maybe a personal journey saved for retirement.

Perhaps it's the use of it in media that has led to the disregard that people sometimes treat it with. The usage of the Marke as a plot device has cheapened the otherwise vaguely mystical event. Soap operas have hashed and rehashed similar stories using a Marke as a cliché plot device. Though the star-crossed lovers motif has been made passé, it can be done right. Romeo and Juliet, two who fell in love, but Juliet had a Marke that matched Paris'.

Not too original, even for their time, but the Doctor would love to hear anyone say that Shakespeare doesn't do it best. He really needs to visit the original genius. He's a little amazed he's put it off for so long.

The Marke can admittedly cause a great deal of drama. High school tiffs and, more seriously, when people who don't Match build their lives together, only for one or both to stumble across their Marke. The pull is supposedly so strong that it can undo years of marriage. Marke -magnetism, they call it. Obviously not everyone is so flighty, but it happens so often that it's grounds for divorce and a pre-nup.

A Marke is common enough that everyone's life is touched by it; if not directly, then by relation.

Considering that, it's no surprise that some of the Doctor's companions have had a Marke. In fact, some of his first travelers, Barbara and Ian, discovered quite accidently that they were a Match.

Barbara's sensible skirt and long stockings caught on a bristly tree in the dead forest on Skaro, ripping it from the knee down, and scratching her quite badly. When Ian knelt to help, he found her Marke— three slim lines, the middle straight, and the outer ones curving out and then in, like a tulip, or one of his favorite fruits from Logopolis. Back then it was extremely gouache to bandy about one's Marke, and Barbara was desperate to hide it. But it was thankfully too late.

Ian's expression had bewildered the Doctor at the time— the Time Lord was so young then, still in his first body. Ian, who usually kept himself well together, stutteringly tried to explain that they were a Match. He fumbled to roll up his cuff, to show the same tulip mark on the bottom of his forearm.

It was awe, the Doctor now understands. The look on Ian's face was filled with awe and love.

At the time, the experience only led to the Doctor deciding to perhaps read up on the subject when he had nothing better to do. He hadn't fallen in love with the human race yet, didn't understand the intrigue that would later keep him orbiting this planet even after nine hundred years. The Doctor remembers thinking the whole Markes and Matches thing was rather silly. Having arranged marriages was a much better way of creating lasting matches; if not for love, than survival. They didn't have something like the Marke on Gallifrey, or most other planets in the universe, come to think of it. Maybe a dozen or so shared this phenomenon.

Naturally, Ian and Barbara were not the only ones he'd travelled with who had a Marke. Tegan had one on her wrist, which she tried to cover often with long-sleeves, gloves, and bracelets. He didn't think she ever found her Match. But granted, it wasn't really on their docket to discuss when he last saw her in the hospital bed.

Leela had one in the junction of her hip and thigh, something he would never have noticed if not for her preference towards skimpy clothes. Admittedly, considering her enjoyment for running, climbing, throwing things, tying people up, and just attacking in general, her clothing was well chosen.

Most of his other companions hadn't shown enough skin for him to know for certain, and he never cared to ask.

Until now.

Torn by war and stripped to the bare bones of who he is, the Doctor in his ninth body finds himself thinking about it again

And it has more than a little to do with Rose Tyler.

His first companion on the TARDIS after so long is fantastic. This bright, young girl smiles and reminds his battered hearts what kindness looks like. After the long, long, long, long Time War and all the suffering it wrought, he'd rather forgotten what kindness looked like. And, in truth, he wasn't sure if he fully believed it did. So when Rose Tyler agrees to come aboard, he takes her to see the destruction of her planet. He puts a human, a human girl still in her teens, through a quintillionth of what felt. Naturally, even that is crippling. A small sense of guilt builds in the Doctor's chest as he watches her look out the window at her planet, burning up in middle of cold space. He realizes then what exactly he'd done. Quickly, he offers to take her back to her era on Earth. He certainly can't return, but Rose can, so it's really the only thing he could do. She exits the TARDIS slowly, as though worried it will burn if she moves too quickly. The Doctor can't bite his tongue, so he fills the silence will bitter truths. Because it is true— you think it's going to last forever until it doesn't.

This is such an important moment in his life, for two reasons. The first is that he realizes that he really needs help. The Doctor already tried to force his companion, a simple human, into his pain. The fact he might have well scared off Rose Tyler in less than a day is what hits the message home.

The second moment is when he asks Rose if she does want to leave. She pauses, she remembers how to breathe, and then she asks for chips. He's stunned. Because he expected fear or a bitter quip about how nothing matters when it all goes up into space particles.

But not Rose Tyler, she jokes, "They're only going to be around for another five billion years or so."

And as he sits across from her, sharing chips (she's paying), he realizes that this moment has been one of the first without the pain of the war. He doesn't know why. Maybe because he spoke about it with Rose Tyler, told her about his planet, and showed her the general equivalent happening to her planet, and then she decides to go for chips anyways.

She knows that, technically, every action she makes will one day be worthless by space standards. How she did she put it? "All those years, all that history, no one saw it go. No one was looking."

Less than ten minutes later, she's taking him to get chips.

This human, Rose Tyler, has said to him that the future will happen. And then she told him, without words, that while there is still a present, sill chips, they should enjoy them.

And the Doctor thinks that maybe he can't focus on the now because he lost his 'present.' His home planet which kept years for him, had roots even when he didn't want them, is gone. Perhaps what he needs is to find a new present. London 2005 with Rose Tyler isn't a bad place to be, he thinks.

Rose proves that right over and over again because she isn't just a one-hit revelation; no, she's an ongoing epic.

Rose proves her capacity for healing in a dozen small ways every day, if not through her gutsiness, then her personality. It's in the moments when she listens and laughs when he rants. And then more importantly, it's in the times the Doctor can't bring himself to talk at all, and Rose will pull him from his mood with questions, a persistent need for adventure, and belief. Rose looks at him like she doesn't think he's an old, broken man. She makes him want to be better. The Doctor doesn't much want to break her hope in the world (he isn't sure he can, and doesn't want to hurt her again like he did on their first trip to find out either), so he starts tucking away the darkest parts of himself in the back of his mind. Slowly, the Doctor lets her energy draw out a lighter, happier man. Amazingly, he finds it easier these days to look into the mirror. All because of this simple girl.

He wonders what the world looks like to her that she can smile and cry with empathy as beings of this universe celebrate and suffer. Even after travelling together for a fair amount of time, she still has the same empathy. It astonishes the Doctor and draws him in.

He can't deny that he's attracted to her being.

But not denying something is not the same as accepting. Regardless of his stance on the matter, it remains true that they can never be more.

Too young.

Too kind.

Too human.

The Doctor tries not to spend much time on the subject, but his thoughts toe the line on occasion, brought out by her tongue-in-teeth smile and optimism. That ends quickly though.

During their visit to the underground bunker in Utah, the Doctor spies it. A Marke.

Normally it would be hidden, but Rose is wearing a white tank top, and as she shifts her blonde hair it's revealed to him.

The Marke is on her upper-back, just below where her neck and back join. A smattering of dots. The darker hue of them stands out on her otherwise unblemished skin. The Doctor finds it beautiful, a constellation of all things. And yes, this celestial image is the only thing the Doctor finds is acceptable for her.

He's still stunned by the discovery. It's been so long since he's travelled with humans that he'd largely forgotten about the phenomenon. Uncharacteristically, the Doctor lets his surprise show.

"Oh," he utters.

Rose turns to him. "What?"

"Your back." He gestures vaguely. "Didn't know you had one."

She bites her lip as her hand reflexively goes to the back of her neck. "Sorry. Forgot to cover it. S'been so hot recently."

"No reason to cover it." The Doctor quickly continues, "Outdated idea you all grow past in the thirty-first century. Practically parade them about, they do. Besides . . ."

"Besides, what?" Rose presses.

"It's beautiful." He's honest this time, no qualifiers.

"Yeah?" she asks, pleased and slightly shy at the same time.

"Like a constellation."

Rose smiles brightly and laughs. "Always thought it looked more like connect-the-dots."

"That's all constellations really are," the Doctor confirms. "Explains why there's so many interpretations for what they look like in history. Everyone draws the line differently."

"Do, um, do Time Lords have Matches?" she asks.

The Doctor shrugs. "Nope. Not in our biology."

"Just something for silly apes then, is it?" Rose asks, teasing. She affects a false sort of casualness as she says, "Not like it matters that much though. Hardly anyone actually meets their Match these days. Might as well just be a free tattoo. M'just lucky it isn't anything too embarrassing."

The Doctor smiles but says nothing as he sticks out his hand. She takes it. They walk down the hallway like nothing has changed.

It has.

This is the definitive proof he needs to tell himself, once and for all, that Rose is not his to keep. There is someone out there who, undeserving they will no doubt be, is meant for Rose. She's taken, even if she doesn't believe it herself.

Because the Doctor will find the person who is for her and unite them. Rose is too fantastic to never meet her Match. There's always the chance they might stumble across them in their journeys, but if not, then the Doctor will interfere. Not now though, someday. Perhaps the Doctor will seek her Match when she's done travelling with him.

Though the mission of finding Rose's Match isn't usually his typical adventure, he'll dedicate years to it if he has to; both because he wants Rose to be as happy as possible, and also so he can inspect whoever it turns out to be. They'll have to be pretty damn impressive to deserve Rose.

The Doctor's hearts are soothed even as they clench unhappily for reasons he won't entertain.

After he learns about her Marke, the Doctor relaxes around her (a mistake he'll realize too late). He's more willing to hold her hand, to even go so far as to keep eye-contact when she smiles her tongue-touched smile.

He isn't worried anymore about giving her the wrong idea. She thinks she has strong feelings for him, but the Doctor knows it's just a matter of finding the right person to pull her onto a safer, better track.

The Marke-magnetism will be enough, he knows it will.

Thankfully, her Match is not Rickey the idiot. He apparently has a Marke of his own, different than Rose's. They were just two friends who fell into a comfortable sort of relationship, and that eases the Doctor's mind considerably for reasons he isn't inclined to examine too heavily.

Despite his resolve that Rose will end up with her Match, that doesn't mean the Doctor still isn't concerned when people come onto her. This has nothing to do with the fact that many of which include pretty boys. And despite the fact there is a chance that they could bear the same Marke, the Doctor is perhaps overly wary of them. He doesn't want any of them seducing her to the point where she'll feel incredible guilt when she abandons them for her Match. Really, he's trying to save everyone heartache.

There's been a couple calls that have been closer than others (the others being people like Adam and his ilk).

Captain Jack Harkness comes to mind.

It's apparent from the moment he sees Rose and Jack that they get on smashingly— better than average, and most certainly better than people generally do with someone who is a virtual stranger. The Doctor prays that the ex-conman won't have her Marke. He'd rather Rickey the idiot have it than Jack.

After their adventure in WW2 England, Jack joins them in the TARDIS (and isn't it so Rose to make his exclamation that everyone lives be completely true?). The Doctor pulls him aside the first night and sets the other man on the jumpseat.

There's a few moments where the Doctor sizes the other man up. Jack returns his gaze with blatantly saucy smiles.

"You shouldn't get any ideas about Rose," the Doctor says eventually.

"I get it, hands off the blonde," Jack replies. "I think we really need more lessons on sharing on this ship. Sharing is caring after all."

"Not at all, thanks. And you're wrong." The Doctor keeps his face impassive. "She isn't mine. She doesn't belong to either of us."

"What, does she have a boyfriend somewhere?" Jack raises a brow. "I didn't see that coming. Not with all the chatter about dancing between the two of you."

The Doctor scowls. "Let's have none of that. You don't know either of us well enough to jump to those kinds of conclusions."

"Dancing is dancing, Doctor." Jack grins lasciviously. "I would know."

The Doctor doesn't deign to respond, merely sniffing.

"So, her boyfriend, what's he like? Do you think he'd like to share?" Jack asks.

The Doctor snorts. "He definitely doesn't have a claim on her. Thankfully. He's an idiot, that one."

"What makes you say that?" Jack looks curious, and the Doctor purses his lips. After a few moments where Jack looks calculating, he seems to understand.

"Ohhhh, she has a Marke, doesn't she? And the boyfriend doesn't Match, I'm guessing."

The Doctor doesn't respond, but that seems to be enough of an answer anyways.

"What's it look like?" Jack asks, eyes too eager.

"Like I'd tell you," the Doctor says derisively. "You're a conman. I bet you know how to fake a Marke if you need to."

"Woah, that isn't how I roll. I wouldn't do something like that to her, to anyone!" Jack says, betraying his strong feelings on the matter. "Besides, I wouldn't need to."

The Doctor's stomach sinks even as his blood pressure rises. Thankfully, his superior blood vessels can handle the pressure, so he lets his physiology hover there for a moment, just to look extra threatening.

"What does it look like?" He's not asking, not really.

"How forward." Jack smirks. "Since I know you'll never leak Rose's Marke, I guess I'll just have to show you mine." Reaching for his left foot, Jack unties the leather shoe and takes it off along with his sock. He pulls it up to show the Doctor. Inside the arch of his foot is a group of spirals, twisting in every direction.

The Doctor can't help but exhale in relief. Their chemistry was due to Rose's spirit, which is equally understandable, as it's unavoidable and powerful just like Marke-magnetism.

"I'm guessing from your reaction that it isn't a match," Jack says, disappointed. The Doctor can't fault him for that. He isn't surprised that the conman was somewhat hopeful it would be Rose. In fact, if anything, it makes the Doctor respect the other man a bit more. He seems to know that being Rose's Match would be a real blessing.

Jack smiles ruefully. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised. They say you can feel something when you meet your Match. An extra something you've never felt before."

"I wouldn't know. Time Lords don't do this Matching business."

Jack's eyes are filled with distant sympathy. The Doctor looks away. Hopefully now the conman will stop pushing the silly idea of him and Rose.

"You should follow Rose's example, go to sleep. The TARDIS probably has a room prepared for you." Even as the Doctor speaks, one of the nearby hallways lights up welcomingly.

"Alright, see you in the morning, Handsome." With a wink that still seems too sympathetic, Jack disappears into the TARDIS.

Surprisingly, the Doctor is quickly glad to have Jack aboard the TARDIS. Not only is he cheerful and playful, but he also cuts through some of the almost sexually charged moments between the Doctor and Rose (which is incredibly ironic to the Doctor). Jack slips in a dirty quip and all of them laugh, even the Doctor. Despite the two humans' outgoing personalities, the Doctor never feels left in the dust. Though sometimes he wishes he could have back his full claim on Rose's time, Jack is (admittedly) really good at sharing. Despite that, Doctor is selfishly glad to see that Rose reserves his favorite smile, the one with her tongue, only for when he is looking at her.

Beyond that, Jack is very handy when it comes to trying to dissuade people from hitting on Rose, because Jack certainly had a protective streak. He radiates an assurance of self that is so powerful, that most people who are anything less than fully confident tend to steer clear.

It's nice, but the Doctor doesn't think that because he has a tendency towards posessiveness or anything. Regardless of what Jack has said, it isn't like that. The Doctor just knows better that Rose does how mating works in most every planet they visit ever. Not his fault. Just doing his job by keeping her from accidently marrying people, really. Wouldn't do for her to be a universal heart breaker. And if, often, talking is the first step to making a relationship that could potentially end in marriage, the Doctor sometimes turns people away. Just if they have that look in their eye that screams 'I-think-I'm-hot-stuff-but-am-in-reality-beyond-unworthy-of-this-fantasic-person'. Coincidentally, that covers most everyone they come across.

Sometimes the Doctor knows his and Jack's standards for people pursuing Rose are a little extreme, but he doesn't see much wrong with it. The Time Lord isn't worried that he's turning her Match away. If they're so easily dissuaded from getting to know Rose by a few well-placed glares and an ominous presence, then they really don't deserve to be Rose's Match. Rather, they can't be. The one with her Marke can't be anyone who isn't as adventurous and free as she is. The Doctor is sure of it.

Jack laughs and calls the Doctor overprotective. He isn't. He really isn't. He just wants to make sure that Rose ends up with the one she's supposed to, the one who has her Marke.

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Thanks go out to Vampiyaa for editing.

Due to comments, this fic is being split into three pieces. It's a 17,000+ word piece, so I understand why reading it in one go might be unpleasant. The next part will be released sometime next week unless for whatever bizarre reason there is an outpouring of attention.

This has been a work-in-progress for a while. Please, no reviews or pressing comments about my other project.