Chapter Text
“OUT!” the Doctor shouted, reaching for Rose’s hand as he rushed them out of the TARDIS. A thick, green fog followed them, and an eerie screech was the last they heard as the blue door slammed shut behind them.
“Ah..” he sighed, scratching his head with disbelief, the TARDIS slowly fading from the heap of rocks that the pair stood on. The whole day the ship had been uneasy, swapping doors and leaving a rather confused Rose as her bedroom door showed her a room stashed full of old alien artefacts instead of her welcoming pink duvet.
The Doctor reached for his sonic, briefly letting go of Rose’s hand to scan the air, where their beloved ship once stood. He wasn’t really sure what he was looking for, but was determined to seem like he had a plan.
“What just happened!? Don’t tell me the TARDIS is gone,” Rose exclaimed, trying to catch her breath from what had been a very swift exit.
“Well…”
“No, not again Doctor!”
“That was ONE time, and Jane Austen gave it back very quickly!” he replied, eager to defend himself from from another disaster he had put them in.
“Where even are we?” Rose asked as she began to take in her surroundings.
They were on a rocky beach, but she could see some sand further down. A warm orange sun dappled down on the ocean before them, causing it to dazzle like a million jewels. Rose tucked her hair behind her ear as a gentle breeze brushed past them. It was beautiful. Behind them were hundreds of stunning white buildings, decorating the coast. It somewhat reminded Rose of Greece, until she saw a gorgeous, green scaled woman sat on the beach. Not earth then.
“Hmm…let’s see,” the Doctor replied, followed by him eagerly jumping down the stack of rocks to where the sandy beach began.
Rose’s face turned to disgust as he collected a handful of sand, sprinkling some into his mouth.
“What?”
“You’re disgusting,” Rose said, only being half serious.
“Well, I now know exactly where we are! We are in the Nytherion spiral, on Aurethéa, the mightiest planet in this galaxy! This place is called Virellia, where millions of people come from all different galaxies just to experience the magnificent oceans. In fact, the resort is one of the most spectacular places to stay in the whole universe if you’re lucky. Right now, we’re in Caeluna Bay, it has the BEST food!” the Doctor beamed, seemingly enjoying getting to share information about their destination.
“There is no way you expect me to belief that you got all THAT from the sand Doctor,” Rose replied, looking at him with disbelief and a grin.
“Yeah you’re right I just read the sign over there and pieced the other bits together” he laughed, shooting her a bright smile whilst his head tilted to a signpost nearby.
“Come on then! Let’s go have a look. Don’t worry, I’m certain the TARDIS will be fine. Well mostly certain, well kind of certain,” he paused to give time for him to reevaluate, “Certain enough that we don’t need to worry too much! It is just the time rotor thingy having a strop, she’ll be back in about… a week? I think. She’ll just be a bit confused in the time vortex for a while, nothing to worry about!” he stated, matter of factly.
Quickly taking hold of each other’s hands, they began walking up the beach, heading towards the path that seemed to be made of some sort of shell.
“Does this mean we have a forced holiday?” Rose asked with a huge smile.
“Oh I’m sorry, was our trip to see Elvis last week such hard work?”
“Yes when he turned out to be a shape-shifting Zygon!”
“Hm. Fair point.”
“Sooo, how are you going to handle staying in one space for a whole week Doctor?” Rose teased. The last time Jackie had held them captive for three days in the Powell Estate, the Doctor had resorted to adding eight new settings to the toaster. Not that anyone was complaining because it could now infuse cinnamon into the toast.
“Not to worry Rose, this place is like an arcade, buzzing with life, we’ll keep busy!”
“Firstly we should try find somehwere to sleep though. Although the beach could be quite a fun place to stay for the night, just look at that view Doctor,” she replied, pointing to the ocean where beautiful dolphin liked creatures could be seen jumping through the water.
“Krylunae!”
“Krylune-what?”
“Krylunae! Oh Rose, this place is perfect. The Krylunae are the ‘tide serpents’ of Caeluna Bay, they communicate with harmonic pulses that can be heard at night, filling the darkness with a song. Legend says that they guard these underwater caverns, sea archives if you like, that contain visions of the past, and can even alternate timelines that might’ve been. Truly magical creatures Rose,” the Doctor recited with thrill.
“That’s beautiful!” she responded in awe, “We should try get a closer look. But later, I’m exhausted!”
“Me too for once, there should be lots of places for us to stay, who knows, maybe we will get a sea view!” he said, playfully nudging her shoulder, getting one of those gleaming smiles in response.
They walked up the shell-like path, their journey lit by what seemed to be diamonds. The Doctor explained that they were washed up from the ocean, and shone like stars on the ground.
Eventually reaching the white buildings, Rose realised they weren’t your usual brick and paint, but some kind of coral. The Doctor opened one of the doors that looked as if it went into something related to a hotel, leaving Rose to wonder around the lobby in fascination.
As he chatted fondly to the receptionist, presumably asking for a room, Rose looked around at the architecture. The ceiling was huge, decorated with more of the ‘diamonds’ from outside. There was an echo of a song bouncing through the pillars, and various people of multiple different species were heading off to their respective rooms for the night.
Just as she turned to look at one of the paintings that she assumed was of somewhere else within the hotel, she felt as tug on her sleeve.
“Come on, I’ve got us a room,” the Doctor said, offering her a warm smile. Taking a firm hold of her hand, he led Rose through a maze of corridors till he decided that he knew which room was theirs.
As the door opened, Rose’s jaw dropped.
The room was HUGE. A sweeping expanse of polished crystal flooring that shimmered subtly in the sunlight was revealed. The view through the window was otherworldly, turquoise waves lapping at the shore, the sun setting in the horizon.
It was anchored by a large double bed with crisp white sheets and a sleek, low-profile frame made of a smooth, dark wood native to the planet. The headboard was cushioned in a pale, sea-green fabric, subtly textured like sand just kissed by the tide. Pale stone tiled the floor, leading to the en suite bathroom that seemed to be almost as vast as the bedroom itself. Past the window, on the balcony, was two chairs and a low table, perfectly positioned to watch the sun dip into the horizon - or whatever could be counted as a sunset on this world.
“I think I’m glad the TARDIS decided to ditch us here, this is nice!” Rose remarked.
Reaching into his bigger-on-the-inside pockets, the Doctor pulled out their emergancy overnight packs. After years of time travel getting caught up in all kinds of places without the TARDIS, he’d decided it was helpful to have some pyjamas on hand just in case. He handed hers over, giving a grin of agreement to the quality of their residence.
“Yeah, far better than that dusty old shack in the Lake District,” he joked.
“Don’t start, I was practically devoured by midges!!” Rose complained. “Right, I’m off for a shower, it looks quite fancy,” she declared, walking off into the bathroom.
With a nod of agreement, the Doctor sat down on the bed, removing his jacket and releasing a sigh. He was surprisingly tired, and the bed seemed very comfortable, practically calling him to sleep.
Hastily changing into his pyjamas and brushing his teeth ( fearsome technology from the 51st century didn’t require him to spit the toothpaste out, plus, he’d always found that a nasty feeling), he began to decide which side to sleep on. On one hand, the right meant he would get to be closer to the balcony, and therefore the gorgeous view, but Rose would probably want that side, so he concluded on picking the left. He put his sonic on the bedside table, and climbed under the covers.
A few minutes later, a satisfied Rose exited the bathroom, her hair slightly damp and smelling of flowers. She’d changed into some sleep shorts and a tank top, feeling very happy after the delightfully warm shower.
“Hi,” the Doctor said with a smile. “Nice shower?”
“Heavenly. Seriously, that shower is so cool. What year are we in? It was very high-tech,” she wondered.
“6739,”
“Wow you knew that quickly,” she remarked, climbing under the covers to join him, grateful for being given the side closer to the balcony.
“Timelord,”
“Ah, of course,”
“Are you tired? I think I am, I was beginning to doze off whilst you were in the shower,”
“Exhausted,” she responded, giving a yawn to emphasise her point.
After a bit of shuffling, they managed to slip into a comfortable position. Rose’s head resting on his chest and her leg lying over his. The Doctor wrapped his arm securely around her waist, lightly tracing circles on her lower back where her shirt had begun to ride up a little.
“Goodnight Rose,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“G’night Doctor,”