SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Sixty Two For the rest of the day Rose felt like she was walking on air. She couldn’t believe that she was going to be Alan’s wife. It seemed strange that after only a few short months of knowing him, she could be so thrilled about marrying him, especially after loving the Doctor so deeply. But Alan was everything the Doctor was and a lot more. She knew deep in her heart that the Doctor could never give her the kind of life that Alan could. There was too much baggage, too much pain and sorrow in his life and she knew even if she tried to talk her Doctor into letting go, it wouldn’t do any good, it was embedded too deeply now. Because Alan had made a conscious decision not to live with that, he was better able to love her and give her a long and happy marriage. He was what the Doctor would have been if he hadn’t spent a lifetime fighting monsters and watching people suffer and die in front of him. They had spent the rest of the day riding the rides, pigging out on snacks and stocking up on some souvenirs. They had decided that since they had five days that they would spend each day at a different park. At the moment the three of them were resting together on a bench drinking cups of Coke. “So, which park should we go to tomorrow?” Alan asked. “It depends. Every day, one of the parks either stays open late or opens early for the guests staying at the hotels. Let’s just wait and see which one will be doing that,” Rose said. “In the meantime, since we decided to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge we can take advantage of the free safari tour they give the guests.” Alan smiled. “I’m so glad you decided to do that. That’ll be fun,” he said. She shrugged. “Well, it was either that or stay at the one that has the monorail going through it.” “Nah, sod the monorail. I’d rather see the animals.” Alan gave her a wicked grin. “And they better have some giraffes so I can fulfill my vow to get back at the one at the Bronx Zoo.” “Oh crap, I was hopin’ you’d forgotten about that,” Rose said as he snickered. “What vow?” Awinita asked. Rose shook her head and sighed. “He’s upset because a bloody giraffe at the Bronx Zoo didn’t eat out of his hand and now he wants to go beat up another giraffe in retaliation.” “Damn, I wish I would have been around to see that,” she said. “It was horrible, Awinita,” Alan said. “The absolute cheek of the animal not eating out of my hand. If I pay good money to get in a zoo, I want the animals eating out of my hand whenever I want!” “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard ya right, who was the one who paid good money to get you in?” Rose said, giving him a pointed look. Alan stared at her. “Um, it was just a figure of speech?” he said hesitantly. He grinned when Rose snorted and he ruffled her hair affectionately. “So, now what?” he said, when they finished drinking their sodas. Awinita grinned. “How about the It’s A Small World ride?” “I would rather be drawn and quartered, regenerate and be drawn and quartered again,” Alan said, making a face. “That song is in my memory and I’d rather not listen to it while I’m riding through a ride.” “Well, we’ve been on almost everything else,” Rose said. “You guys just wanna walk towards Pleasure Island and see what the time the show starts before we eat?” They nodded and the three of them stood up, threw their cups away and walked off. After checking the times for the shows, they headed back down the boardwalk and found a nice restaurant. Alan and Rose found a table and Awinita sat down at one nearby. Alan gave her an apologetic look but Awinita smiled. “Don’t worry about me; I’ve eaten by myself before. Just have a nice romantic dinner,” she said. “And I’ll try not to listen in too much.” Alan turned around in his seat and grabbed a menu while a waiter walked up. “Hello, can I get you two something to drink?” he asked. Alan glanced at Rose. “You wanna get some wine since we’re celebrating?” he asked her. “Oh, what are you celebrating?” the waiter said, smiling. Rose smiled back. “We got engaged today,” she said shyly. “Congratulations!” the waiter said, beaming. “In that case, we’ll offer you both a complementary glass of champagne, how does that sound?” Both of them nodded. “I’ll be right back with your drinks then,” he said. Alan grinned at Rose when he walked away. “Wow, does that mean we get the meals free too?” “Somehow, I seriously doubt it,” Rose said. “Hey, I’m your friend; do I get a complementary glass of booze too?” Awinita asked. Alan snickered. “Doesn’t hurt to ask,” he said, shrugging. “Nah, I better not. I have a feeling it won’t work.” “Well, order some anyway so we can all get liquored up and walk around Disneyworld in a drunken stupor.” “No, Alan, we will not be doing that,” Rose said as they giggled. She looked at Awinita. “When the waiter comes back, tell him that this table is paying and then get whatever you want,” she said to her. Awinita nodded. She perused her menu while Alan turned in his seat and picked up his. “It’s amazing that Disney is willing to serve alcohol,” Alan said to Rose as he scanned the menu. “Especially considering there are no rules stating you can’t go back into the park afterwards.” “Yeah, but I’m sure there’s a limit to how much they’ll serve you,” Rose said. “I’m sure they don’t just hand you a whole bottle of wine and let you have at it.” “Darn, that’s a shame, I’m sure the haunted house ride would be a thousand times better if I was soused,” he said as she giggled. “Or the Tiki Room?” Rose said, giggling. “No, no amount of alcohol could ever improve that thing, trust me. So, what are you getting?” Rose frowned. “Not sure yet. A lot of these meals sound good. You?” “I might get the steak and potatoes or I might get the spaghetti dinner. I have a hankering for both.” He chuckled. “What?” Rose said. “Let’s get spaghetti and meatballs and recreate the Lady and the Tramp romantic dinner scene. How ‘bout that?” “Oh God, please do. I would pay to see you push a meatball across the plate with your nose,” Awinita said. He grinned at her. “I wonder if they actually had people do that?” he asked. “I wouldn’t doubt it,” she replied. He looked back when the waiter came up with their glasses of champagne. “Here you go. Would you like anything else to drink besides this?” Rose looked at Alan and shrugged. “I’m fine right now, but if you want something…” “That’s okay, I’m fine as well.” The waiter nodded. “Are you ready to order or do you need more time?” “I’m ready,” Alan said. “Are you?” Rose nodded. The waiter pulled out a pad and pencil and waited for his order. Alan grinned. “I’d like the spaghetti dinner.” He ignored the warning look Rose gave him and smiled innocently at the waiter. “You, miss?” “I’d like the salmon dinner,” Rose said. He wrote it down. “Anything else?” Rose glanced at Alan. “You want anything else?” she asked. “How about some cheese sticks?” Alan said. Rose nodded. “Plate of cheese sticks.” The waiter wrote it down. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with the cheese sticks.” Rose gave Alan a pointed look as he walked away. “Behave yourself with the spaghetti.” Alan gave her the same innocent look he gave the waiter while Awinita snickered behind them. He heard the waiter asking her for her order. “Order everything twice,” he said aloud. He grinned when Awinita giggled at that and listened while she ordered chicken fettuccini alfredo. “Nice choice,” he said to her when the waiter walked away. “But you forgot to order the booze.” “Well someone’s gotta keep an eye on you guys while you stumble around the park in a drunken stupor. Now turn around and pay attention to your fiancée before she sticks a fork in your eye.” Alan winked at her and turned back around to Rose. They picked up their glasses. “To us, my love, and our future together as husband and wife,” he said. “To us,” Rose said. They clinked glasses and sipped the champagne. Alan set his glass down and stared at Rose quietly. The soft lighting overhead made her face shine and Alan thought to himself how angelic she was and how lucky he was to be marrying her. Rose smiled back and stroked his cheek. “I’m so glad you proposed to me, Alan,” she said. “Well, I’m glad you said yes.” Rose giggled. “So, this whole getting married to the Dalek dream you had, fears about something going wrong with our marriage?” He sighed. “Sadly, yes, I can just imagine a Dalek picking that exact moment to turn up.” “It won’t, Alan. You can’t think like that. That’s the Doctor’s way of thinking.” “I know it is, Starlight, I know. I’m trying hard not to do that, honestly. But unfortunately, no matter how hard I try to distance myself from the Doctor, he is still a part of me and his old neuroses still tend to pop up from time to time whether I want them to or not.” He smiled when the waiter sat a plate of cheese sticks down beside him. “Is everything alright?” he asked. “Everything is fine,” Alan said. He nodded and left. Alan picked up a cheese stick, pulled it apart and put half of it in Rose’s mouth. He popped the other half in his mouth and licked his lips. “God, these things are good,” he said after he swallowed it. He grinned. “You know, Rose, EPCOT does have Norway in its Cavalcade of Countries thing. Maybe they have polsa there?” Rose made a face. “Ugh, I have a feeling Disney’s version of polsa won’t be as good as the real thing.” “Ah, come on, it’ll be interesting to give it a try if they do have it. Not to mention I’ll get to sing the Fjord Song while we’re there.” “Oh, hell no. No, you are not going to sing that, Alan Timelord,” she said as he sniggered. “What’s the Fjord Song?” Awinita asked. Alan turned in his seat. “Little song I made up when we were stuck in a crappy hotel room in this little Norwegian village. We were staring at the ceiling bored out of our skulls and I made up a little ditty for Rose.” “Really? How’s it go?” He opened his mouth wide. “Sing it quietly or I’ll stick a fork in the back of your head,” Rose said, pointing at him. “She’s no fun,” he said, hooking his thumb back at her. He cleared his throat. “Lord, Lord, Oh God I’m bored, nothing to do in Norway ‘cept climb a fjord.” Awinita put her hand over her mouth trying to stifle the giggles. “I like that; I would dare you to sing it when we get to Norway, but I’m sure Rose would kill me if I did.” “Too right I would.” He turned back around and smiled at Rose. “When we get to Norway, I’ll sing it just for you, just for old time’s sake,” he said. Rose shook her head. “It’s hard to believe that was a couple of months ago. All of it, us, Davros, the Crucible, God, it seems like a lifetime ago.” He took her hand. “Just think in ten year’s time we might have to face that stuff again, if not sooner.” Rose made a face. “Don’t remind me. I’d rather not face the Daleks again; I’ve had more than my fill of them.” “Now you know how the Doctor feels.” “Yeah, the poor guy’s had to deal with them almost his entire life and I’ve only had a go at them three times. That and the Cybermen.” She thought for a moment. “Are you sure you wanna get married, Alan?” His eyes widened. “You’re having second thoughts now?” he said fearfully. She squeezed his hand. “No, I wanna marry you, but you know, I’m sure once we get the TARDIS up and running, we’ll go right back to the same kind of life the Doctor has. Are you sure you want to be married to me because I’m sure if people find that out, they’ll use it against you.” “Well, they’d use it against me anyway,” Alan said shrugging. “I don’t see how a ring would make much difference except it’d be a more visible symbol of our love. Either way I’d be upset if something bad happened to you.” He smiled and raised his voice slightly. “But of course if someone threatens you, we can always throw Awinita at em.” He turned his head and looked at her. She lowered her glass of Coke. “You’re making plans for me to travel with you in the TARDIS now?” she said. “Might as well, you’re already traveling with us and we all get along well. We’d make a great team.” “Yeah, but that’s in ten years.” “So?” “I don’t know what I’ll be doing then.” “Come back to London with us and find a job there and then once the TARDIS is ready, you’ll be ready to go.” “London does sound cool. But I don’t know about the whole traveling in the TARDIS. Not after the stories I’ve heard you tell.” “Come on, you can handle it. Rose was the same way. She was just a shop girl when the Doctor met her and now she’s a kickass alien fighter. We’ll show you the ropes, don’t worry.” Awinita looked over at Rose. “Is it worth all these monsters he’s mentioned?” she asked. “It’s more than worth it. There is a lot of danger but the planets I’ve seen and the people I’ve met are well worth it. And if you want to come with us, I’d love it too. Alan’s right, we get along perfectly and I wouldn’t mind travelin’ through time and space with you.” “Wow, I never realized when I met you two in McDonalds and agreed to come with you that I’d be in it for the long haul.” “Well, I’m sure Rose felt the same way when she started out traveling with the Doctor,” he said as she nodded in agreement. “It’s addicting even though it doesn’t sound like it from the stories Alan’s told ya. But, all the things you see when you travel in the TARDIS are just incredible. I don’t regret one moment of it, good and bad. In fact, I wish we didn’t have to wait ten years. If there were a chance we could leave right now, I’d take it.” “Same here,” Alan said. “I don’t fancy going back to London, but if you and Rose are gonna be there, the wait won’t be as bad.” “And if you want, I can get you a job working at Torchwood,” Rose said. “It’s not the most exciting place to work, but at least you’ll have a way to pay for a flat of your own and support yourself in the meantime.” “What? You mean I’m not moving in with you guys?” Awinita teased. “And here I thought we were all joined at the hip now.” They laughed. “No, sorry, but once I marry her, we’re going to be living by ourselves,” Alan said. “Well, what about the TARDIS then?” “Oh, the TARDIS will be big enough for all of us,” Alan replied. “You’ll have your own living space and so will we.” He looked over when the waiter came up with their meals. Alan grinned when he put the plate of spaghetti and meatballs down in front of him. The waiter put Rose’s plate down in front of her and after inquiring if they needed anything else, left them alone. Rose raised her eyebrow. “I know how badly you wanna stick your honker in that,” she said, pointing to his plate. “Do it, I dare ya,” Awinita said. “Awinita, button it!” Rose said as she laughed. “Don’t encourage him!” He waggled his eyebrows. “Oooooh, this is the night, it’s a beautiful night and they call it Bella Notte,” he crooned as Awinita giggled. “I’m warnin’ ya, mister, don’t.” Alan gave her a loving smile. He flicked a meatball across the top of the spaghetti towards her and then fed it to her with his fork. “There, my tribute to Lady and the Tramp,” he said. “Much better way of doing it,” she said. He ate his spaghetti while Rose tucked into her salmon. “How is it?” Alan asked. “Good, yours?” “Good.” He slurped a noodle and looked at Awinita who was eating her meal. “How’s the fettuccini?” “Good. How were the cheese sticks?” “Good.” He grinned. “So,” he said. “I guess everything is good?” “I guess so,” Awinita said. “Except…” “Except what?” “Except I still haven’t seen you throw her across the table and rip her clothes off. I mean, that is why I’m over here, isn’t it? So you could do that?” “Oh yeah, I forgot about that, thanks!” Rose shot him a look when he started to get up from his seat. Awinita laughed when he sat back down and whistled innocently. “Just keep your butt firmly in that seat if you know what’s good for ya.” “No worries, dear, we’ll save all that for when we check into the Mickey Mouse Whore House.” He and Awinita laughed as Rose sighed and shook her head.
Back Home Doctor Who Main Page Next