Fic: Clocks (Doctor Who)
Title: Clocks
Author: karlamartinova
Pairing: Eleven/Rose, Amy/Rory
Genre: Angst, Romance
Rating: PG
Beta: bas_math_girl THANK YOU!
Warning: Off-screen character death.
AN: I have seen a prompt "clocks" at Porn Battle and started writing it then, I didn't finished it till then and it never turn out porny.
Summary: “There really aren’t enough chances to say goodbye.”
...
As a little girl, Rose believed in fairy tales. She was a princess and there was a handsome and strong prince waiting for her. For some time, Rose believed him to be Mickey; he was her hero who saved her from older boys who were making fun of her because she didn’t have a father.
But then she met the Doctor, and everyone else faded into dust.
The Doctor came and swept her away from her boring life, showed her the miracles of the universe and made her fall in love with him. But then he died and came back again.
Rose was never surer where her place for the rest of her life was. More adventures came their way and he told her more about his people, his life and she loved him for that. She was sure she wouldn’t leave him, only death could accomplish that but then Rose didn’t know about alternate realities.
…
“Where are we?” Amy asked when she was finally able to stand. Travelling in the TARDIS was always a bit shaky but this time even the Doctor wasn’t able to stand his ground and she could see him struggling to get out from under a massive cabinet that flew to the main room from somewhere deep inside the ship.
Rory was lying on the floor next to her breathing heavily. She took his hand and squeezed it before pulling him up.
“Thanks,” he murmured and Amy turned his attention back to the Doctor who seemed to finally fight off the cabinet.
He dusted off his jacket before leaning over the console. Amy could see him wrinkling his nose in confusion. And confusion wasn’t a good look on the Doctor. It was a very conflicted emotion on a face of a man who knows the answer to any question.
“The TARDIS doesn’t know her location, she was pulled here,” he said in awe. This didn’t happen often, the last time it was with Martha and Donna onboard and it ended with his heart bleeding once again. The last time it was Jenny who caused it and the Doctor was afraid, what could cause it this time?
To his horror, Amy looked excited and turned around swiftly stalking to the door. The Doctor dashed after her.
“No, Amy, no,” he yelled but she never really listened to him.
…
“Rose, sweetheart, you should eat something,” Jackie tried again even though she knew her words never really got through to her daughter. Her shield made of sadness was too thick for that. Rose refused any help, she wanted to deal with it on her own, she didn’t want to hear words of pity, she didn’t want people to hug her and tell her everything would be okay again.
She knew the truth.
Rose had lost the Doctor many times, she has seen him change his face, and she had seen him dissolve into the dust. But it was never like this, never so close. The ache was never so raw.
“I’m sorry, Rose Tyler. I’m sorry for not being with you forever,” he said to her just before he closed his eyes.
They all promised her “forever” but any of them carried the promise. They all lied and disappointed her, betrayed her in the end. They all were him, they all were the Doctor.
…
Amy wasn’t sure what to expect when she opened the TARDIS door, but she sure didn’t expect the hall of a very old and empty mansion. The only occupants seemed to be spiders that claimed this house as their own. Rory was afraid of spiders and Amy smirked to herself imagining his face when he saw it.
“Amy Pond I told you not to,” the Doctor said behind her and she turned around, he was still inside the TARDIS, he looked like something was holding him back, he looked afraid and for a moment Amy wondered if she should be afraid too. Maybe she should run back to the TARDIS and forget this place ever existed.
But then a massive clock struck midnight, the whole house started to shake and Amy couldn’t help but turn back to the sound. Her legs weren’t operating on their own. That sound, that horrible sound; it meant that the universe was about to explode.
…
The morning bustle at the Tyler household wasn’t so happy anymore. Her parents had forced Rose to move back with them but Pete wasn’t so sure if it was a good idea. Seeing their daughter so deeply hurt made them argue a lot, they just had very different views about the situation. Pete wanted Rose to get back to her daily life, to go back to work, to start to live.
But Jackie knew better, she understood the deep pain her daughter was going through. She went through the same.
Despite the visible tension in the house, little Tony didn’t know about the deep sadness his big sister felt. Rose never forgot to smile when he was around. The only sign that something happened were his questions about “the Doctor”. And Rose told him stories, stories that were only fairytales to her little brother.
But with him back at school, the room returned back to a dark atmosphere.
“Good morning, Rose,” Pete said and sat next to his daughter at the table. She only acknowledged him by a nod of her head and he kept silent just for the sake of his wife. Jackie told him to keep his mouth shut only yesterday; he had a few more days to deliver his speech again.
He pushed his work papers away, Jackie passed him a plate and Rose looked sideways. One moment she was sitting silently, the next she grabbed the papers and ran out of the room.
Jackie looked bewildered after her and Pete, Pete just smiled.
…
The Doctor was out of the TARDIS sooner than Amy had the chance to run after the sound, he grabbed her arm and it was Rory who suddenly appeared at their side.
“What was that sound?” he asked but didn’t wait for the answer. He was pulled toward it, as Amy was. The Doctor didn’t have time to figure it out, he let Rory go and followed still holding Amy’s arm.
“Something wants us here and that’s never good,” the Doctor looked around frantically trying to name the power that brought them here.
Whatever it was, it had control over both Amy and Rory and he could feel the mental pull himself. It was the power of knowledge, of curiosity.
It was something that all children of time had.
The deeper they went, the older the house looked. The Doctor could name a few time periods already, there was furniture from Victorian times, and the picture was Elisabeth I; as well as mugs you can only see in the National Museum of History.
The house looked like a time machine itself and the Doctor felt the TARDIS sending him a warning message.
Amy was quiet at his side, her eyes widened in fear as they followed her husband.
“We´re here,” Rory said when he stopped. The Doctor caught his sleeve and pulled him to his side. He didn’t resist and the Doctor realized that he had seen this place already. The room was small, very small, and probably just a closet.
In the corner was a massive old clock, bigger than any of them with a mirror in the middle. They could see movement in it but when they all turned at once, there wasn’t anyone behind them. But the person was coming closer to them and the Doctors eyes widened in recognition.
“Rose,” he whispered and couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and touching the cold surface. Just before darkness swallowed him, there was just screaming and Amy pulling him back.
…
Rose was surprised that the car still worked. The Doctor had tried to rebuild it many times, pulling the engine out, then putting it back and repeating it all again. It was his hobby, disassembling all kinds of things: her phone, Tony’s toys, and Pete’s car. She would stand behind him, bring him water and laugh with him when it all worked like he wanted it too.
He would grin at her and she would come closer and kiss him.
It had been perfect. Too perfect, the happy ending Rose always wanted even though he wasn’t exactly the man she loved, the human Doctor was the second closest.
The tears that had dried too many times started to flow down her cheeks and her vision became blurred but she couldn’t stop. The clock might be her last chance.
She was having dreams, dreams in which she found him again. She just had to reach and touch him and he was back with her. Rose always woke up smiling but then the reality crashed down on her with a painful force.
But she knew it had to mean something and when she noticed the phone on the top of Pete’s papers, she knew. She had lost the Doctor too many times, but somewhere up there still might be her chance at happiness. Because if the Doctor taught her something, it was that nothing was impossible.
…
The Doctor felt like he walked through death. The pain of dying and coming to life again, reminded him to much of regeneration and he shivered.
“Who are you?” someone asked behind his back and the Doctor turned around because he would recognize that voice anywhere. The sweet voice of the young girl he once kidnapped from her boring life.
Rose watched the stranger she couldn’t possibly recognize. He came from the other side; he must enter the clock as well. She couldn’t be more disappointed. She came here with one goal and one goal only, to find the Doctor.
But when the stranger whispered her name, Rose suddenly knew even though he didn’t answer her question. The man who could change his face, he had done it once; of course he could do it again.
A deep sadness fell upon her heart; the last expectation was shattered like a glass statue. Rose wanted her Doctor back, she wanted to see him grin the way he always did, and say her she was brilliant. Only his voice could make her feel that way.
This man was a stranger to her.
“Oh, Rose, my brilliant Rose,” the Doctor said and moved to her, her heart didn’t recognize his voice but the tone, the tone was still the same and started the quick beat of her broken heart. It is him, it’s still him, the voices on her head kept speaking to her but her eyes wouldn’t believe it. Her Doctor looked older and his hair was spiky not flat. And he certainly didn’t dress like he stole his clothes from his grandfather.
But when this strange new Doctor came closer to her and opened his arms, Rose pushed herself forward. And she fit perfectly, his tall frame enveloped her whole and she hadn’t felt this safe for a very long time.
“You came back,” Rose whispered despite her mistrust staying. Because it didn’t matter how different he looked, he was still the same man, those same hearts had beat under her ears before.
…
Long after the Doctor disappeared behind the mirror, Amy couldn’t move from the spot. What if he would need their help? What if he would need someone to pull him out and there wasn’t any hand that could hold his?
She wasn’t ready to acknowledge how scared she was.
Rory left to get some things from the TARDIS. The room was cold and Amy was dressed in her usual miniskirt but she just didn’t dare move, those “what if”s swirling through her head like a swarm of bees. She didn’t even notice when her husband came back.
“Come, sit down,” he said to her when her shoulders were already hidden beneath a warm blanket and another one was laid on the floor for them to sit on it.
Amy obeyed without another word and snuggled closer to him laying her head on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, he’ll come back. He always does,” Rory whispered in her hair and she nodded.
He knew she was troubled; she seemed too troubled for his liking. Rory knew that it might be just because the Doctor was her friend or maybe because without him they were stuck in this place. They still weren’t sure exactly where they were.
But there was still a small doubt in his mind. Rory couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the other world where Amy never explained that kiss, in the other world, where she believed him to be dead for such a long.
Rory couldn’t help but feel troubled too and the missing Doctor was just a small part of that.
…
“What is this place? I didn’t have a chance to look at it further, it’s some kind of portal?” the Doctor wandered in a circle around her. His question seemed to be for him to answer, not to her. And Rose smiled, the babbling stayed too.
“Yeah, it’s a portal. When one of the realities is about to be destroyed, it opens so the rest of them could absorb the energy,” Rose answered. She had just enough time to skip through Pete’s files to read this part and the Doctor looked at her surprised, there was a proud grin on his face.
“How did you find it? Was it the other me?” he asked. It was a logical conclusion. The other him probably wanted to travel to the stars again and this portal must be an infinite energy source. With something like this, you can grow a new TARDIS in days.
The Doctor was still looking at the white walls but the answer wasn’t coming. When he turned around, there were tears on her face and he immediately touched her shoulder. “I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?” he asked. Having Rose suddenly so close was making him feel strange things, after he lost her for the first time he forbid himself from feeling anything more than friendship.
But being 906 years old makes you feel loneliness at the deepest possible level. And he did, it was the reason he had brought Rory into the picture. The Doctor was afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist Amy for much longer.
Rose wiped her tears again and took his other hand. “No, it’s okay. You didn’t do anything. It’s just him, the other you. He died a couple of months ago,” she said but the last sentence came just like a whisper.
It was a good reason for him to hug her again and crave the way she smelled. His arms were used to her small frame and for a moment the Doctor felt that she had never left.
“He just wanted to go back to the stars,” Rose whispered against his neck and the Doctor couldn’t help but kiss her hair. The science, the mystery, it all meant nothing when he couldn’t get back to her. It never really had.
…
Rory found her hand under the blanket. It was stone cold and Amy sighed thankfully. He felt it had already been hours. But it could be less, without a Time Lord measuring time was a little bit difficult. Rory had to chuckle at his own joke and Amy looked at him strangely.
“Sorry, just an old joke,” he mumbled and risked a look at his wife. She still looked afraid but in her eyes was a soft look he never remembered seeing before. He couldn’t; it usually came when he was about to die or died.
“I’m glad that you’re here with me,” Amy said and kissed him softly. “Promise me, you won’t ever wander off.”
Rory grinned. He could promise her that.
…
“Did it hurt?” Rose asked and the Doctor was surprised she only asked now. He stopped exploring their surroundings; instead he sat next to her on the surprisingly warm floor. The fear that one of them will dissolve into dust any moment was too big. The Doctor wanted to be near her when it happened; he wanted to hold her hand as long as possible.
“Nah, I’ve had worse regenerations,” he said thinking about waking up after the Great War.
She smiled softly at him and traced her finger along his hand. It was somehow bigger; his fingers were longer and leaner. Rose wondered why he stopped wearing pinstripes, she was sure they would suit him.
Rosa wanted to ask more, wanted to know that he wasn’t travelling alone. She hoped that Donna was part of the TARDIS too, that there was someone who could take care of him. Tell him when to stop, but all those questions died on her tongue. These might be the last moments she could ever have with him. Rose didn’t want to ruin them with talking.
And she really didn’t get a proper kiss from him.
Doctor’s reaction was shock. He pulled away to look at her closely, the sadness he caused was there for him to see; to feel ashamed for it. Rose should hate him for everything he had done to her, instead she was about to kiss him. The Doctor really couldn’t say that he understood women.
Rose was looking at him, her lips still parted and when he could see the question forming on her lips, he leant forward.
Kissing her in this body was different, his lips weren’t used to this activity and she seemed to know that. The softest of touches, Rose didn’t kiss him like the young girl she was still to him. She had been forced to grow up and come through so many losses.
Almost like him.
Her palm caressed his cheek and the Doctor felt like a student, like she was the one who knew the answer to any question. For a while, he loved that he didn’t need to breathe as often as the human do and when the need for air was overwhelming and they parted, in the weakest of moments, the Doctor whispered.
“Come back with me.”
Rose nodded against his forehead because like him, she hadn’t count on this possibility; she had grasped the last chance of finding him without any hope of actually achieving it. But he was here, different but still the same.
“Yes,” she said just to hear her own voice and kissed him again.
For them, only minutes passed but the ticking clock let them know that the portal was closing. Both doors opened and the Doctor could see Amy and Rory on one side and an empty room on the other.
“We need to go, the portals are closing,” the Doctor said and helped Rose to get up. She nodded smiling.
“There is just one thing I need to do.”
…
“Did you find her?” Jackie asked holding her sleeping son. Tony insisted that he would wait for Rose to come home. But midnight came and there was no sign of her daughter. It was only then when Pete suddenly stood.
Jackie had a feeling that he knew exactly where Rose was.
“No, I didn’t. But she found what she was looking for,” he said a bit cryptically and gave his wife a paper where Jackie immediately knew her daughters handwriting.
“I’m back in the stars. Miss you already, Rose.”
Author: karlamartinova
Pairing: Eleven/Rose, Amy/Rory
Genre: Angst, Romance
Rating: PG
Beta: bas_math_girl THANK YOU!
Warning: Off-screen character death.
AN: I have seen a prompt "clocks" at Porn Battle and started writing it then, I didn't finished it till then and it never turn out porny.
Summary: “There really aren’t enough chances to say goodbye.”
...
As a little girl, Rose believed in fairy tales. She was a princess and there was a handsome and strong prince waiting for her. For some time, Rose believed him to be Mickey; he was her hero who saved her from older boys who were making fun of her because she didn’t have a father.
But then she met the Doctor, and everyone else faded into dust.
The Doctor came and swept her away from her boring life, showed her the miracles of the universe and made her fall in love with him. But then he died and came back again.
Rose was never surer where her place for the rest of her life was. More adventures came their way and he told her more about his people, his life and she loved him for that. She was sure she wouldn’t leave him, only death could accomplish that but then Rose didn’t know about alternate realities.
…
“Where are we?” Amy asked when she was finally able to stand. Travelling in the TARDIS was always a bit shaky but this time even the Doctor wasn’t able to stand his ground and she could see him struggling to get out from under a massive cabinet that flew to the main room from somewhere deep inside the ship.
Rory was lying on the floor next to her breathing heavily. She took his hand and squeezed it before pulling him up.
“Thanks,” he murmured and Amy turned his attention back to the Doctor who seemed to finally fight off the cabinet.
He dusted off his jacket before leaning over the console. Amy could see him wrinkling his nose in confusion. And confusion wasn’t a good look on the Doctor. It was a very conflicted emotion on a face of a man who knows the answer to any question.
“The TARDIS doesn’t know her location, she was pulled here,” he said in awe. This didn’t happen often, the last time it was with Martha and Donna onboard and it ended with his heart bleeding once again. The last time it was Jenny who caused it and the Doctor was afraid, what could cause it this time?
To his horror, Amy looked excited and turned around swiftly stalking to the door. The Doctor dashed after her.
“No, Amy, no,” he yelled but she never really listened to him.
…
“Rose, sweetheart, you should eat something,” Jackie tried again even though she knew her words never really got through to her daughter. Her shield made of sadness was too thick for that. Rose refused any help, she wanted to deal with it on her own, she didn’t want to hear words of pity, she didn’t want people to hug her and tell her everything would be okay again.
She knew the truth.
Rose had lost the Doctor many times, she has seen him change his face, and she had seen him dissolve into the dust. But it was never like this, never so close. The ache was never so raw.
“I’m sorry, Rose Tyler. I’m sorry for not being with you forever,” he said to her just before he closed his eyes.
They all promised her “forever” but any of them carried the promise. They all lied and disappointed her, betrayed her in the end. They all were him, they all were the Doctor.
…
Amy wasn’t sure what to expect when she opened the TARDIS door, but she sure didn’t expect the hall of a very old and empty mansion. The only occupants seemed to be spiders that claimed this house as their own. Rory was afraid of spiders and Amy smirked to herself imagining his face when he saw it.
“Amy Pond I told you not to,” the Doctor said behind her and she turned around, he was still inside the TARDIS, he looked like something was holding him back, he looked afraid and for a moment Amy wondered if she should be afraid too. Maybe she should run back to the TARDIS and forget this place ever existed.
But then a massive clock struck midnight, the whole house started to shake and Amy couldn’t help but turn back to the sound. Her legs weren’t operating on their own. That sound, that horrible sound; it meant that the universe was about to explode.
…
The morning bustle at the Tyler household wasn’t so happy anymore. Her parents had forced Rose to move back with them but Pete wasn’t so sure if it was a good idea. Seeing their daughter so deeply hurt made them argue a lot, they just had very different views about the situation. Pete wanted Rose to get back to her daily life, to go back to work, to start to live.
But Jackie knew better, she understood the deep pain her daughter was going through. She went through the same.
Despite the visible tension in the house, little Tony didn’t know about the deep sadness his big sister felt. Rose never forgot to smile when he was around. The only sign that something happened were his questions about “the Doctor”. And Rose told him stories, stories that were only fairytales to her little brother.
But with him back at school, the room returned back to a dark atmosphere.
“Good morning, Rose,” Pete said and sat next to his daughter at the table. She only acknowledged him by a nod of her head and he kept silent just for the sake of his wife. Jackie told him to keep his mouth shut only yesterday; he had a few more days to deliver his speech again.
He pushed his work papers away, Jackie passed him a plate and Rose looked sideways. One moment she was sitting silently, the next she grabbed the papers and ran out of the room.
Jackie looked bewildered after her and Pete, Pete just smiled.
…
The Doctor was out of the TARDIS sooner than Amy had the chance to run after the sound, he grabbed her arm and it was Rory who suddenly appeared at their side.
“What was that sound?” he asked but didn’t wait for the answer. He was pulled toward it, as Amy was. The Doctor didn’t have time to figure it out, he let Rory go and followed still holding Amy’s arm.
“Something wants us here and that’s never good,” the Doctor looked around frantically trying to name the power that brought them here.
Whatever it was, it had control over both Amy and Rory and he could feel the mental pull himself. It was the power of knowledge, of curiosity.
It was something that all children of time had.
The deeper they went, the older the house looked. The Doctor could name a few time periods already, there was furniture from Victorian times, and the picture was Elisabeth I; as well as mugs you can only see in the National Museum of History.
The house looked like a time machine itself and the Doctor felt the TARDIS sending him a warning message.
Amy was quiet at his side, her eyes widened in fear as they followed her husband.
“We´re here,” Rory said when he stopped. The Doctor caught his sleeve and pulled him to his side. He didn’t resist and the Doctor realized that he had seen this place already. The room was small, very small, and probably just a closet.
In the corner was a massive old clock, bigger than any of them with a mirror in the middle. They could see movement in it but when they all turned at once, there wasn’t anyone behind them. But the person was coming closer to them and the Doctors eyes widened in recognition.
“Rose,” he whispered and couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and touching the cold surface. Just before darkness swallowed him, there was just screaming and Amy pulling him back.
…
Rose was surprised that the car still worked. The Doctor had tried to rebuild it many times, pulling the engine out, then putting it back and repeating it all again. It was his hobby, disassembling all kinds of things: her phone, Tony’s toys, and Pete’s car. She would stand behind him, bring him water and laugh with him when it all worked like he wanted it too.
He would grin at her and she would come closer and kiss him.
It had been perfect. Too perfect, the happy ending Rose always wanted even though he wasn’t exactly the man she loved, the human Doctor was the second closest.
The tears that had dried too many times started to flow down her cheeks and her vision became blurred but she couldn’t stop. The clock might be her last chance.
She was having dreams, dreams in which she found him again. She just had to reach and touch him and he was back with her. Rose always woke up smiling but then the reality crashed down on her with a painful force.
But she knew it had to mean something and when she noticed the phone on the top of Pete’s papers, she knew. She had lost the Doctor too many times, but somewhere up there still might be her chance at happiness. Because if the Doctor taught her something, it was that nothing was impossible.
…
The Doctor felt like he walked through death. The pain of dying and coming to life again, reminded him to much of regeneration and he shivered.
“Who are you?” someone asked behind his back and the Doctor turned around because he would recognize that voice anywhere. The sweet voice of the young girl he once kidnapped from her boring life.
Rose watched the stranger she couldn’t possibly recognize. He came from the other side; he must enter the clock as well. She couldn’t be more disappointed. She came here with one goal and one goal only, to find the Doctor.
But when the stranger whispered her name, Rose suddenly knew even though he didn’t answer her question. The man who could change his face, he had done it once; of course he could do it again.
A deep sadness fell upon her heart; the last expectation was shattered like a glass statue. Rose wanted her Doctor back, she wanted to see him grin the way he always did, and say her she was brilliant. Only his voice could make her feel that way.
This man was a stranger to her.
“Oh, Rose, my brilliant Rose,” the Doctor said and moved to her, her heart didn’t recognize his voice but the tone, the tone was still the same and started the quick beat of her broken heart. It is him, it’s still him, the voices on her head kept speaking to her but her eyes wouldn’t believe it. Her Doctor looked older and his hair was spiky not flat. And he certainly didn’t dress like he stole his clothes from his grandfather.
But when this strange new Doctor came closer to her and opened his arms, Rose pushed herself forward. And she fit perfectly, his tall frame enveloped her whole and she hadn’t felt this safe for a very long time.
“You came back,” Rose whispered despite her mistrust staying. Because it didn’t matter how different he looked, he was still the same man, those same hearts had beat under her ears before.
…
Long after the Doctor disappeared behind the mirror, Amy couldn’t move from the spot. What if he would need their help? What if he would need someone to pull him out and there wasn’t any hand that could hold his?
She wasn’t ready to acknowledge how scared she was.
Rory left to get some things from the TARDIS. The room was cold and Amy was dressed in her usual miniskirt but she just didn’t dare move, those “what if”s swirling through her head like a swarm of bees. She didn’t even notice when her husband came back.
“Come, sit down,” he said to her when her shoulders were already hidden beneath a warm blanket and another one was laid on the floor for them to sit on it.
Amy obeyed without another word and snuggled closer to him laying her head on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, he’ll come back. He always does,” Rory whispered in her hair and she nodded.
He knew she was troubled; she seemed too troubled for his liking. Rory knew that it might be just because the Doctor was her friend or maybe because without him they were stuck in this place. They still weren’t sure exactly where they were.
But there was still a small doubt in his mind. Rory couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the other world where Amy never explained that kiss, in the other world, where she believed him to be dead for such a long.
Rory couldn’t help but feel troubled too and the missing Doctor was just a small part of that.
…
“What is this place? I didn’t have a chance to look at it further, it’s some kind of portal?” the Doctor wandered in a circle around her. His question seemed to be for him to answer, not to her. And Rose smiled, the babbling stayed too.
“Yeah, it’s a portal. When one of the realities is about to be destroyed, it opens so the rest of them could absorb the energy,” Rose answered. She had just enough time to skip through Pete’s files to read this part and the Doctor looked at her surprised, there was a proud grin on his face.
“How did you find it? Was it the other me?” he asked. It was a logical conclusion. The other him probably wanted to travel to the stars again and this portal must be an infinite energy source. With something like this, you can grow a new TARDIS in days.
The Doctor was still looking at the white walls but the answer wasn’t coming. When he turned around, there were tears on her face and he immediately touched her shoulder. “I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?” he asked. Having Rose suddenly so close was making him feel strange things, after he lost her for the first time he forbid himself from feeling anything more than friendship.
But being 906 years old makes you feel loneliness at the deepest possible level. And he did, it was the reason he had brought Rory into the picture. The Doctor was afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist Amy for much longer.
Rose wiped her tears again and took his other hand. “No, it’s okay. You didn’t do anything. It’s just him, the other you. He died a couple of months ago,” she said but the last sentence came just like a whisper.
It was a good reason for him to hug her again and crave the way she smelled. His arms were used to her small frame and for a moment the Doctor felt that she had never left.
“He just wanted to go back to the stars,” Rose whispered against his neck and the Doctor couldn’t help but kiss her hair. The science, the mystery, it all meant nothing when he couldn’t get back to her. It never really had.
…
Rory found her hand under the blanket. It was stone cold and Amy sighed thankfully. He felt it had already been hours. But it could be less, without a Time Lord measuring time was a little bit difficult. Rory had to chuckle at his own joke and Amy looked at him strangely.
“Sorry, just an old joke,” he mumbled and risked a look at his wife. She still looked afraid but in her eyes was a soft look he never remembered seeing before. He couldn’t; it usually came when he was about to die or died.
“I’m glad that you’re here with me,” Amy said and kissed him softly. “Promise me, you won’t ever wander off.”
Rory grinned. He could promise her that.
…
“Did it hurt?” Rose asked and the Doctor was surprised she only asked now. He stopped exploring their surroundings; instead he sat next to her on the surprisingly warm floor. The fear that one of them will dissolve into dust any moment was too big. The Doctor wanted to be near her when it happened; he wanted to hold her hand as long as possible.
“Nah, I’ve had worse regenerations,” he said thinking about waking up after the Great War.
She smiled softly at him and traced her finger along his hand. It was somehow bigger; his fingers were longer and leaner. Rose wondered why he stopped wearing pinstripes, she was sure they would suit him.
Rosa wanted to ask more, wanted to know that he wasn’t travelling alone. She hoped that Donna was part of the TARDIS too, that there was someone who could take care of him. Tell him when to stop, but all those questions died on her tongue. These might be the last moments she could ever have with him. Rose didn’t want to ruin them with talking.
And she really didn’t get a proper kiss from him.
Doctor’s reaction was shock. He pulled away to look at her closely, the sadness he caused was there for him to see; to feel ashamed for it. Rose should hate him for everything he had done to her, instead she was about to kiss him. The Doctor really couldn’t say that he understood women.
Rose was looking at him, her lips still parted and when he could see the question forming on her lips, he leant forward.
Kissing her in this body was different, his lips weren’t used to this activity and she seemed to know that. The softest of touches, Rose didn’t kiss him like the young girl she was still to him. She had been forced to grow up and come through so many losses.
Almost like him.
Her palm caressed his cheek and the Doctor felt like a student, like she was the one who knew the answer to any question. For a while, he loved that he didn’t need to breathe as often as the human do and when the need for air was overwhelming and they parted, in the weakest of moments, the Doctor whispered.
“Come back with me.”
Rose nodded against his forehead because like him, she hadn’t count on this possibility; she had grasped the last chance of finding him without any hope of actually achieving it. But he was here, different but still the same.
“Yes,” she said just to hear her own voice and kissed him again.
For them, only minutes passed but the ticking clock let them know that the portal was closing. Both doors opened and the Doctor could see Amy and Rory on one side and an empty room on the other.
“We need to go, the portals are closing,” the Doctor said and helped Rose to get up. She nodded smiling.
“There is just one thing I need to do.”
…
“Did you find her?” Jackie asked holding her sleeping son. Tony insisted that he would wait for Rose to come home. But midnight came and there was no sign of her daughter. It was only then when Pete suddenly stood.
Jackie had a feeling that he knew exactly where Rose was.
“No, I didn’t. But she found what she was looking for,” he said a bit cryptically and gave his wife a paper where Jackie immediately knew her daughters handwriting.
“I’m back in the stars. Miss you already, Rose.”