Title: A Whole New World
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Owen Harper
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Rating: PG
Table: 1
Prompt: 25, Galaxy
Author's Note: Continuation of Back To Life.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Owen Harper, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

It had been a few days now since they'd left New Earth, though the Doctor wasn't exactly sure quite how many. Was it odd that a Time Lord could often lose track of time? Probably, but it was something he'd never really worried himself much about. After all, he had all the time in the world.

Strange how he'd told himself that Owen would too, once the Sisters of Plenitude had brought him back from the half-life he'd been living. That had been a mistake on his part, the Doctor told himself as he stared down at the console. Of course Owen didn't have as much time as he did. Owen was human, and his life span was very limited.

But he hadn't made a mistake to take the young man to New Earth and have him brought back, he told himself fiercely, clenching his small hands into fists. No. He hadn't. Owen had deserved this second chance at life, more than anyone else.

He'd died needlessly; he hadn't been meant to go in that way. Not shot by a madman on a power trip. Bringing him back had been the right thing to do -- even if it had meant that his mortality was also restored to him. He wouldn't have wanted to keep living in the condition he'd been in.

The Doctor sighed, closing his eyes and leaning against the console. Here he was, trying to tell himself that Owen might possibly want to stay with him as his companion, when he'd never even spoken with the young man about it. He hadn't been able to bring the subject up with Owen; he'd been too afraid of what he might hear.

He was expecting Owen to decline his offer politely, to tell him that he had a life and a job with Torchwood, and that he didn't want to give that up. He'd been steeling himself to hear those words, and telling himself just how he would react to them.

He'd be calm, collected. He'd give Owen a nod and a smile, not let him know that his hopes of having Owen as his companion had been crushed. He wouldn't let the other man see the wave of loneliness that he knew from experience would engulf him from the ground up.

That was what it always came down to, wasn't it? His own loneliness. How he hated feeling that way; hated knowing that no matter how long any given companion stayed with him, they would always leave, either through death or by their own choice.

He was always going to be lonely, no matter what he did. He might as well accept that. But if he hadn't been able to make peace with that feeling in over 900 years, why would he think he could do it now? The Doctor sighed again, shaking his head. There were some things that he would never get used to, no matter how many times he told himself that he should.

His own loneliness wasn't something that he needed to dwell on. At least he had Owen here now, and he could show this fascinating young man something of the universe around him on a personal basis before their inevitable parting, however soon that might be.

Where was Owen now? Somewhere on the Tardis, obviously -- he hadn't seen the other man since he'd awakened and come into the main room. He could still be asleep, or he could be wandering around the ship, finding new things to ask the Doctor about.

A sound behind him made him turn around with a gasp; though he'd been thinking about Owen, he hadn't expected the young man to come into the main room of the Tardis at that particular moment. But here he was, looking none the worse for wear from the experience he'd been through only a few days earlier.

How was it that someone who he barely knew could hold such an attraction for him? The Doctor had felt this kind of attraction many times before -- but it seemed that those feelings had never been quite so strong, or quite so hard to hide.

But he did manage to hide them -- or so he hoped. He didn't want Owen to feel pressured, or to back away from him. And he was sure that revealing how he felt would ensure that Owen would want to go back to Torchwood as quickly as the Doctor could get him there.

"Hello," he said, managing a smile as he turned to Owen. "You're up and about a bit early."

Owen nodded, a smile crossing his features as he ambled across the floor towards the Time Lord. "I figured it would be more polite to come here first and see if you were here, rather than have a look around the ship. It doesn't seem right, somehow, poking and prying, when I know that she's a living creature and not just a machine."

"But you're a doctor. Isn't poking and prying what you do best?" The Doctor laughed softly, shaking his head. "No, don't answer that. It was a bad joke. I'm afraid that I'm not at my best in the mornings. You'll have to forgive me for that."

Owen laughed too, moving across the floor to stand beside the Doctor at the console. "Nothing to forgive. I have a penchant for bad jokes and snarkiness myself. Though I'll try to tone it down now that I'm here. You don't deserve to be snarked at."

"Believe me, I've grown quite used to that from my time with Jack," the Doctor murmured. He wanted to kick himself as soon as the words were out of his mouth. The last thing he needed to do was bring up his past relationship with Jack.

If Owen questioned him about it, he would be honest, of course. He'd tell this young man that he and Jack had been lovers -- there was no reason not to admit that. And Jack had probably already told his Torchwood teammates quite a lot about him, after all.

But all Owen did was raise an eyebrow and shoot him a grin, leaning against the console with his hands in his pockets. "Jack's brand of snark and mine are very different. I've been told that mine is more used to wound than his is, and maybe the people who've said that are right. So I'll try not to put you on the receiving end of that."

The Doctor couldn't resist smiling back at Owen when he saw that grin; there was something about this young man's smile that was infectious. "I can be a bit snarky myself at times," he said, trying to keep his tone light. "Nothing to worry about. I've got a rather thick skin."

To his surprise -- and shock -- Owen moved a little closer to him, his eyes on the Time Lord's face. "I wouldn't say that," he said softly, his voice thoughtful. "It looks to me like that skin is as soft as velvet. Not thick at all."

His breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening. Could Owen actually be .... flirting with him? That was certainly what it sounded like.

No, that was ridiculous, he told himself firmly. Owen couldn't possibly be flirting with him. Maybe he fancied both men and women -- but after the experience he'd had with his last lady love, he wasn't going to be in the market for anything more than a brief liaison.

Besides, if he was going to take this young man on as his companion -- if Owen agreed to it -- then he would be better off to look at him as only as friend, and not as a potential lover. Though it was getting harder and harder for him to do that ....

He had to tear his mind away from how tempting those lips were, how he could lose himself in those remarkable dark eyes. No, he didn't need to think about things like that. They would only get him into trouble -- and more than likely break both of his hearts at some point. The Doctor cleared his throat, looking away from Owen and pretending to busy himself with the console.

"So, is there any place in the universe you've particularly wanted to see?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. "The past, the future? It's an open book, Owen. We have the whole galaxy, the whole of time, to go anywhere you'd like. All you have to do is tell me where."

"The whole galaxy, hmmm?" Owen's voice sounded thoughtful -- and was it just his imagination, or was that a hint of disappointment in the other man's tone?

Of course not. He was only imagining that. He had to be. It was his own wishful thinking, nothing more. Owen wasn't interested in him, not in that way. He'd just been brought back from the dead recently -- the last thing he would be thinking about was shagging a man, and a man who he didn't know very well, at that.

"Yes, all of it," he murmured, keeping his gaze on the console and away from Owen's face. "Anywhere you'd like to go -- past, present or future. Just say the word."

"A galaxy to explore. A whole new world," Owen said softly, his tone sending a shiver down the Doctor's spine. That voice was so enticing, so .... sensual. He would have to tread carefully; if he didn't, he could easily find himself spilling out words that he'd rather keep locked inside himself.

He could feel Owen leaning over the console beside him, feel that gaze resting speculatively on him. He struggled to keep his expression bland; he really didn't want Owen to have the least inkling of the feelings that were slowly starting to build within him. At least, not yet -- not until he knew what this young man wanted, and they had a better mutual understanding of each other.

"I've always had a bit of a fascination about the past," Owen said slowly, his gaze moving from the Doctor to the controls of the ship. "Why don't we take a trip back in time? Not really important where -- I'd just like to experience that for myself."

"Your wish is my command," the Doctor said, relieved that Owen had given him an open book, more or less. He would just set the controls for a particular year -- and see where they might happen to end up. That was, after all, how he'd had some particularly interesting experiences.

"I have a feeling that this is going to be a trip to remember," Owen murmured as he watched the Doctor set the navigational readouts on the Tardis. "Definitely a milestone for me. My first trip in time. With fascinating company, at that."

The Doctor blushed, wondering if Owen had been making another attempt to flirt with him. It certainly seemed that way -- but it would be best if he held back, and made himself tread carefully.

"I agree with that," he said, his tone cautious, finally turning his head to look at Owen and giving him a tentative smile. Was this the time to ask this young man if he wanted to spend more than just a little time here, to become his companion on a more permanent basis?

No. Definitely not. Best to wait for that until after Owen had the experience of going to another time -- and probably another planet, as well. There was time. There was always plenty of time.

At least, he hoped so. They had an entire galaxy to explore -- and, obviously, it was going to take some time to do that. Best to ease Owen into this before hitting him with a request like that. He'd be more prepared, and know more about what life with the Doctor would be like.

"All right, then .... lay on, MacDuff," Owen said, laughing softly and looking at the Doctor with raised eyebrows. "You see, I'm learning to quote Shakespeare correctly. And you did say that you'd tell me about meeting him, you know."

"Oh, that's right, I did," the Doctor mused, leaning against the console and smiling in remembrance. "Well, it all started like this ....."

***

Next story in series - Spend My Life.