FIC: Turn My Wooden Heart (Chapter 1 of 13), Doctor Who, Nine/Rose, Rated NC-17

[anogete]

Title: Turn My Wooden Heart (Chapter 1/13)
Author: Anogete
Characters/Pairings: Nine/Rose
Genre: Action/Adventure, Romance
Rating: Adult, NC-17
Beta: tardismate and amberfocus
Summary: The Doctor and Rose find themselves wrapped up in a war between two tribes of people. As they sort out the conspiracy surrounding this war, they begin to question their feelings for one another.
Disclaimer: I certainly don't own anyone or anything associated with Doctor Who, but I do enjoy playing with Nine and Rose. ::pets them::
A/N: This fic is thirteen chapters with a short epilogue, and it is nearly complete. I'm going to try to post at least two chapters a week. Also, big thank yous to Tardismate and Amberfocus. You gals have been so much help, and I appreciate all you do.


CHAPTER 1

Rose smiled to herself as she watched the Doctor’s bum. It was a rather nice bum… for an alien. She tried to stifle the giggle with a hand to her mouth, but he still heard her laughing.

“Glad you seem to find our current predicament funny, Rose,” the Doctor said as he crawled out from under the main console and dusted off the knees of his trousers.

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” she replied with a grin. “What is it you need again? A cap-something-or-other?”

“Capacitor. Current one had a slight malfunction.”

“Slight?” Rose scoffed. “A bit more than ‘slight’, I’d say. I think I have whiplash from hitting the ground so hard.”

“Oh, Rose, don’t be so dramatic. Just a bit of a bumpy landing is all. I’m sure someone on Zed Six has what we need.” The Doctor strolled over to the door of the TARDIS and yanked it open. “Beautiful city,” he told her. “I’ve been here a few--”

She looked up when his voice faded. Over his shoulder, she could see a flower-filled meadow with a thick forest just beyond. She came up to stand behind him and looked over his shoulder. “I thought there was supposed to be a city here.”

“There was,” the Doctor replied. “A very large city.”

“Missed our landing spot?”

“By a few planets. This isn’t Zed Six.”

A beat of silence went by as a soft breeze blew through the door and ruffled Rose’s hair. “Well… it’s pretty. At least we didn’t materialize in some sort of fiery pit.” When he didn’t move, she linked her arm in his and laid her head against his shoulder. The flowers were all neon orange and yellow with deep green leaves that appeared almost black from a distance. It was a striking contrast to the cream-colored high grass.

The Doctor snatched Rose’s hand and twirled her around, facing back into the TARDIS. “Finding what I need to get us traveling again might require some hiking. If you want to bring something, then you’d better go and get it.” When she didn’t move right away, he put his hands on her back and playfully pushed her. “Go on,” he prodded.

Rose turned around to face him and took the lapels of his leather jacket in her hands. “Did I ever tell you how much I hate hiking?”

“Yep. The Alps with Hannibal.”

She shuddered at the memory. “Right, that. Hiking is a bad idea.”

“Hiking is the only idea. The TARDIS won’t operate properly without the capacitor, so we need to go find one. Don’t see a shop around here, do you?”

“Not unless it’s hidden behind those trees across the way,” Rose replied. “Wouldn’t that be fantastic, though? A convenient TARDIS parts shop just over there?”

The Doctor smirked and walked away to begin fiddling with the controls, making sure everything else was in order before they set out. “Just keep telling yourself that, Rose”

“Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she? I wouldn’t mind some down time to do a bit of sunbathing.”

Finishing up his assessment of the controls, he turned to her and clapped his hands together. “No time for that. Off we go.”

“But--”

“No buts. We have a capacitor to find.”

Rose wrinkled her nose in distaste. She really hated hiking, but she grabbed a bottle of water and fell into line behind him as he stepped outside into the fresh air. The knee-high grass bent with the wind and rustled about her legs. She stopped a moment to take in the picturesque beauty of this planet. Seeing all these wonderful things never got old.

The Doctor was already several meters ahead of her, his long legs carrying him quickly toward the trees. Jogging through the meadow, she finally caught up with him just before the tree line. “You wouldn’t happen to see that TARDIS shop over there, would you?” she asked, pushing her hair out of her face.

“No, but there are signs of habitation.”

She stepped up to stand beside him and peered into the grove. A small spot a couple meters in was cleared of debris, but had a small pile of burnt twigs stacked in the middle. “I hope they’re friendly.”

“Let’s go find out,” the Doctor replied, ducking under a low branch and moving forward into the trees.

Rose watched his shoulders roll with his even strides. Her physical awareness of him lately had become somewhat ridiculous. She thought she could spend days just watching him move--the way he deftly handled the controls of the TARDIS, the way he shrugged on his leather jacket with such ease, the way he walked and made himself look unassuming and dangerous at the same time. She almost tripped over a large rock in her attempt to follow him, but not take her eyes off him.

“Okay, Rose?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Sure. Just a stumble.” Rose clenched her teeth together and hoped he hadn’t sensed her watching him. Who knew what sorts of things he could do; he was an alien, after all. Why did she have to end up traveling through time and space with a crush on a perceptive, but completely uninterested alien? With a really nice bum.

“And what are you smiling about?”

Rose looked up at him, wide-eyed and completely guilty. “Nothing,” she squeaked, hurrying to catch up.

They continued through the forest of tall trees, the thick trunks towering over the ground to filter the sunlight. The weather was warm in the meadow, but as they went deeper into the forest, the lack of sun caused Rose to shiver.

“Do you have any idea where we’re going?”

“Nope,” he replied, looking back at her with a grin on his face.

“Great,” Rose muttered, pushing a branch up so she could duck beneath it.

Suddenly, the Doctor stopped and held his arms out to the side. Rose, watching the ground instead of him this time, walked right into his leather-clad back. She immediately gathered something was amiss by the tension in his body. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.

“We appear to be surrounded.”

Her eyes darted back and forth, searching the area around them. “Surrounded by what? Trees?”

“No, those,” the Doctor said, nodding to the trees directly front of them.

“Yeah, trees,” Rose agreed. She opened her mouth to ask him if he was seeing things, but just before she spoke, she saw several slender, humanoid figures slip out from behind the tree trunks around them. They were all abnormally tall--at least six feet, if not more--with pale white skin and hair. Their eyes were large and solid black. “What do we do?” she hissed, grabbing the Doctor’s arm.

“I’m the Doctor, and this is Rose,” the Doctor said, smiling and nodding at the beings as if they were old friends.

“You are intruders,” one of the taller creatures replied. As he came closer, Rose saw that he had some sort of staff-like weapon in his hand.

“We come in peace!” Rose called out, her fingers still curled tightly around the Doctor’s upper arm.

A second creature stepped up beside the first and frowned. “The Harack send you to spy, yes?”

“No,” the Doctor and Rose said simultaneously.

“All spies lie,” said the first.

“Yes,” the Doctor agreed, “but we aren’t spies. I’m a traveler, and Rose is my companion.”

The first nodded his head again, understanding. “She is your ilsingin.”

“What’s that?” Rose whispered under her breath to the Doctor.

“Don’t know,” he replied before looking back up to the two creatures in front of them. “Yes,” he told them, “my ilsingin.”

A murmur rose from the others still hiding in the shadows of the trees. There had to be at least ten to twelve of them, all armed with staffs. The two who had spoken conferred quietly before turning back to the Doctor and Rose. “You do not look like Harack,” the first one said.

“But we trust no one but the Sarhn,” the second continued.

“Uh, oh,” the Doctor whispered, taking Rose’s hand in his, clutching it tightly.

Rose squeezed her eyes shut. “Let me guess,” she said. “Run?”

“Yep. Run!” he replied, pulling her after him as he turned in the opposite direction and tore through the forest back to the TARDIS.

Rose stumbled over downed tree limbs and rocks on the uneven ground, barely keeping pace with the Doctor. Had her hand not been clenched in his, she would have surely fallen behind. The Sarhn were not far behind and were slightly more than ten in number. They traveled swiftly through the trees with their staffs held menacingly high above their heads.

We aren’t going to make it, Rose thought when she saw several of the Sarhn closing ranks on them, pulling up to run alongside her and the Doctor. Just as she opened her mouth to scream, the Doctor pulled her through the line of trees back into the meadow. The ground was easier to run on, but the TARDIS looked so far away. She knew any moment one of those pale creatures would grab her arm or leg and pull her away from the Doctor. Halfway to the TARDIS, however, she realized they were no longer being pursued.

The Doctor also seemed to notice, and he slowed to a jog before stopping completely and looking back into the trees. Pale bodies shifted restlessly through the tree trunks, darting in and out of shadows, but none dared to step into the bright light of the sun over the meadow.

“What are they doing?” Rose asked, sucking in great gulps of air while she bent over and pressed her hands into her knees.

“Looks like they can’t come out of the forest,” the Doctor answered. He was out of breath as well, but seemed to be recovering much faster than her.

Rose stood up and pushed her sweaty hair back from her face. “Our lucky day.”

“Our lucky day,” he agreed, turning back to the TARDIS.

************************************

The sun was low in the sky, half of it already dipping below the tree tops to the north of the TARDIS. Rose was lying on her back not far from the familiar blue box, letting the tall grass sway to and fro above her in the slight breeze. She heard the Doctor’s even footsteps approach moments before she looked up and saw him towering over her.

“Got a plan?” she asked, smiling up at him.

He sat down and settled into the grass. Rose sighed as she felt him lie down beside her, their hands barely touching. “I’ve always got a plan.”

“That’s a lie,” Rose replied.

The Doctor chuckled and took her hand in his. “We should say hello to the Harack, don’t you think?”

Rose’s eyes widened. “No, I don’t think. If they’re like the Sarhn, then we’re in more trouble. What if they can get into the meadow?”

“Lying here in the grass isn’t helping. I need the capacitor to operate the TARDIS without danger, Rose.”

She turned to head to look at him. “But you could dematerialize us out of here without the part if you had to?”

“It would be a risk,” he replied, looking back at her.

“Right,” Rose said, unable to look away from his blue eyes which appeared to be a deeper blue in the waning light. After several seconds of silence, she cleared her throat. “So, what did they call me back there? Ilsegin?”

“Ilsingin,” he corrected.

“What’s that?”

The Doctor shrugged. “Don’t know.”

“You told them I was your ilsingin.”

He smiled. “Sounded like a good idea at the time. The term seemed to hold weight with them, so I thought they wouldn’t try to separate us if I agreed.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “You just make this all up as you go, don’t you?”

“Do not,” he replied, acting as if she had deeply offended him.

“You do! You never have any kind of master plan when we get ourselves into trouble. You just make it all up.”

“Spontaneity, Rose Tyler. You’re no stranger to it; I seem to remember you agreeing to travel with a daft, old alien only a few hours after you met him.”

She grinned, the tip of her tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth. “You’re not old.”

“But I am daft?”

“Well…” Rose said. But before she could continue, they both sat up in alarm. There was commotion in the general area of the forest where they had escaped the Sarhn.

In a fraction of a second, the Doctor was jumping up to his feet and dragging Rose to hers.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Problem. They’re in the meadow.”

By then Rose had seen the large group of Sarhn running through the tall grass toward them. The Doctor was pushing her toward the TARDIS. They both stepped inside and slammed the door shut together. Only a couple beats later, the sound of heavy wooden staffs could be heard rapping at the door.

“They can’t get in,” the Doctor assured her.

“I thought they couldn’t…”

“The sun,” he answered. “They couldn’t handle unfiltered sunlight. Sun set a minute ago.”

Rose backed away from the door. “So, we’re trapped in the TARDIS?”

“Until tomorrow morning.”

“And then what?”

“The Harack, of course,” the Doctor said with a smile.

“Of course,” Rose replied with a sigh.