I watched him die, twice.
“Peter Alan Tyler - my dad. The most wonderful man in the world. Born 15th of September 1954, he died, 7th of November. 1987.” - Rose Tyler
I was only six months old and yet I witnessed his death…twice
Nobody was there when he happened. It was a hit and run driver. They never found out who. He was dead when the ambulance got there, Mom always said she wished there had been someone there to hold his hand as he died, and that’s what I wanted to be able to do. To hold his hand so he didn’t have to die alone.
It was so strange, stepping out of the TARDIS in that time, it was the day my father died and I had expected it to be a grim and gloomy day, but it was just an ordinary one. There were children playing in the near-by park, and a song was blaring out from someone’s stereo. The song I later found out what “Never can say goodbye,” by the Communards, poetic really.
We walked until we came to the road, Jordan Road. Dad was running late, he was getting a wedding present; a vase…Mum always said that stupid vase. And there we stood waiting, and moments later his green Ford pulled around the corner. He parked up, got out of the car and crossed the road. I was going to watch it happen.
I felt the Doctor take my hand, the car came around the corner and Dad didn’t see it, he turned and the brakes squeaked, I hide my face in the Doctor’s shoulder. There was a thud where Dad hit the car, the vase smashing against the streets and the sound of the car speeding off. Dad was all alone. And he was lying in the street, dying on his own.
The Doctor told me to go to him, to be at his side, but I couldn’t move, I just stood there, unable to comfort the man who was dying alone. Then it was too late, the sirens were sounding in the distance, there was nothing we could do, by the time the ambulance got there, he was dead.
I couldn’t let him die on his own; so I asked the Doctor if I could try again.
We stood around the corner, our past selves standing by the side of the road. His car turned up, he got out and I knew that any moment the other car would come around the corner and it would hit him and kill him. But I couldn’t let it happen. I ran from where we stood, past out past selves and dove into the road, knocking my dad out of the way of the car.
I saved his life, but at what cost?
Two sets of myself and the Doctor in one time made it a vulnerable point, and saving my Dad, well, that just tipped the scales even more.
You see, what I’d done, it had caused a wound in time and there were these creatures sort of eating people and taking advantage of what I had done, like bacteria did to a wound. Time had been damaged and they were there to sterilize it by ridding the earth of every living person.
What was worse was the fact that the Doctor didn’t know of any way to undo what I had done, at least that was what he told me, and soon, soon those things would get through and destroy all living things.
That’s what happened when I saved my Dad, and in the end, there was only one way to undo it all. To save all of those people and stop the creatures from doing what they did. Only one way to bring back the Doctor. Only one way and the Doctor had figures it out and not offered it up as a solution because he cared so much for me.
Dad was right, it was the only way, no matter how much I didn’t want it to happen, the lives of many out weigh the life of one.
He stood there before me and he asked me who I was. I told him, he was my Daddy. I didn’t want him to die, I was six months old and I never got to know my Dad. But he was right, we got one thing we never had had before, we had those few hours. From the time I saved his life to that time in the church. I had grown up and I had spent time with the one person I missed so very much from my life.
He called me beautiful, said he was a lucky man. Made me promise I would be there for him, he thanked me for saving him and for one last time I was his little girl. A tearful hug and I was holding on so tightly because I was scared to let go, then he turned and walked out of the church. My Dad might have been a no-one, but he was a hero.
I stood in the doorway; I listened to the squeal of the tires, the thud of him hitting the car and the smashing of the vase. A soft breeze ruffled my hair and the Doctor was at my side, back from where ever he had been. My Dad’s sacrifice had undone everything that had been done.
He placed a hand on my shoulder and told me to go to him, quickly. A little unsure at first I walked down the small steps to the path, breaking into a run as I moved toward my Dad as he laid there dying.
I knelt at his side, one hand holding his, the other under his head. He looked at me, and my heart was breaking. My Daddy was dying in my arms and all I could do was watch and be there. The sound of his last breath will be with me always, and the way his eyes closed and his head dropped back into my hand. He was gone.
I laid his head on the pavement and watched him, tears falling and I could not stop them. Bending down I pressed a kiss into his forehead and slowly stood. Finally the Doctor and I left in the Tardis
“The driver was just a kid. He stopped. He waited for the police. It wasn't his fault. For some reason, Pete just ran out. People say there was this girl... and she sat with Pete while he was dying. And she held his hand. Then she was gone. Never found out who she was.” - Jackie Tyler
I was only six months old and yet I witnessed his death…twice
Nobody was there when he happened. It was a hit and run driver. They never found out who. He was dead when the ambulance got there, Mom always said she wished there had been someone there to hold his hand as he died, and that’s what I wanted to be able to do. To hold his hand so he didn’t have to die alone.
It was so strange, stepping out of the TARDIS in that time, it was the day my father died and I had expected it to be a grim and gloomy day, but it was just an ordinary one. There were children playing in the near-by park, and a song was blaring out from someone’s stereo. The song I later found out what “Never can say goodbye,” by the Communards, poetic really.
We walked until we came to the road, Jordan Road. Dad was running late, he was getting a wedding present; a vase…Mum always said that stupid vase. And there we stood waiting, and moments later his green Ford pulled around the corner. He parked up, got out of the car and crossed the road. I was going to watch it happen.
I felt the Doctor take my hand, the car came around the corner and Dad didn’t see it, he turned and the brakes squeaked, I hide my face in the Doctor’s shoulder. There was a thud where Dad hit the car, the vase smashing against the streets and the sound of the car speeding off. Dad was all alone. And he was lying in the street, dying on his own.
The Doctor told me to go to him, to be at his side, but I couldn’t move, I just stood there, unable to comfort the man who was dying alone. Then it was too late, the sirens were sounding in the distance, there was nothing we could do, by the time the ambulance got there, he was dead.
I couldn’t let him die on his own; so I asked the Doctor if I could try again.
We stood around the corner, our past selves standing by the side of the road. His car turned up, he got out and I knew that any moment the other car would come around the corner and it would hit him and kill him. But I couldn’t let it happen. I ran from where we stood, past out past selves and dove into the road, knocking my dad out of the way of the car.
I saved his life, but at what cost?
Two sets of myself and the Doctor in one time made it a vulnerable point, and saving my Dad, well, that just tipped the scales even more.
You see, what I’d done, it had caused a wound in time and there were these creatures sort of eating people and taking advantage of what I had done, like bacteria did to a wound. Time had been damaged and they were there to sterilize it by ridding the earth of every living person.
What was worse was the fact that the Doctor didn’t know of any way to undo what I had done, at least that was what he told me, and soon, soon those things would get through and destroy all living things.
That’s what happened when I saved my Dad, and in the end, there was only one way to undo it all. To save all of those people and stop the creatures from doing what they did. Only one way to bring back the Doctor. Only one way and the Doctor had figures it out and not offered it up as a solution because he cared so much for me.
Dad was right, it was the only way, no matter how much I didn’t want it to happen, the lives of many out weigh the life of one.
He stood there before me and he asked me who I was. I told him, he was my Daddy. I didn’t want him to die, I was six months old and I never got to know my Dad. But he was right, we got one thing we never had had before, we had those few hours. From the time I saved his life to that time in the church. I had grown up and I had spent time with the one person I missed so very much from my life.
He called me beautiful, said he was a lucky man. Made me promise I would be there for him, he thanked me for saving him and for one last time I was his little girl. A tearful hug and I was holding on so tightly because I was scared to let go, then he turned and walked out of the church. My Dad might have been a no-one, but he was a hero.
I stood in the doorway; I listened to the squeal of the tires, the thud of him hitting the car and the smashing of the vase. A soft breeze ruffled my hair and the Doctor was at my side, back from where ever he had been. My Dad’s sacrifice had undone everything that had been done.
He placed a hand on my shoulder and told me to go to him, quickly. A little unsure at first I walked down the small steps to the path, breaking into a run as I moved toward my Dad as he laid there dying.
I knelt at his side, one hand holding his, the other under his head. He looked at me, and my heart was breaking. My Daddy was dying in my arms and all I could do was watch and be there. The sound of his last breath will be with me always, and the way his eyes closed and his head dropped back into my hand. He was gone.
I laid his head on the pavement and watched him, tears falling and I could not stop them. Bending down I pressed a kiss into his forehead and slowly stood. Finally the Doctor and I left in the Tardis
“The driver was just a kid. He stopped. He waited for the police. It wasn't his fault. For some reason, Pete just ran out. People say there was this girl... and she sat with Pete while he was dying. And she held his hand. Then she was gone. Never found out who she was.” - Jackie Tyler