(Untitled)

[theresme]

Rose, to recover from not being able to breathe practically in those tight clothes, is wearing loose sweats and a t-shirt. Previously, she slept for about fifteen straight hours, and she's currently devouring a rather large plate of chips like there's no tomorrow.

She's glad as hell that the music is gone. And she's keeping an eye out for a

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[timelord_lastof]

The Doctor's been worried. But when he sees Rose eating chips... surely everything's better now.

He walks over slowly, his hands in his pockets, a little uncertain, but only if you really know what to look for.

"Rose?"

[theresme]

She pauses in her inhalation of the fried potato and looks up at the Doctor. And god, she loves him.

She doesn't know why it's so strong just now, but it is. And she loves him. He would've torn the Inn apart to save her and Jack, and she knows it, and...

She's on her feet in less than a second (that's all the time it took to think about all that), plate knocked off the table, chips everywhere, her arms around his waist, her face buried in his shirt.

She was so fucking scared. She knew he'd find a way to save them, but...

She wasn't sure if she'd still be there when he did.

[timelord_lastof]

The Doctor was not expecting this. He was expecting the unsettling blue-eyed Rose, or maybe just for her to look up and wave at him cheerily and continue eating chips, not for her to all but tackle him.

He's not complaining, though. If the startled little "oomph" he lets out as she runs straight into his diaphram and the arms immediately wrapped around her are any indication... he's not complaining at all.

[theresme]

Yeah. She's... not letting go anytime soon.

And she's not crying a little. Really. That's just your imagination. Totally and completely your imagination.

Except it's not, because she feels like she doesn't deserve this, didn't deserve him trying to help, because she used people, and even though it wasn't really her...

Yeah. Guilt.

[timelord_lastof]

The Doctor doesn't let go. But neither does he really do anything for a minute or two - the crying's rather confused him, and it takes him a while to figure out how to react. Not that his solution is exactly the most brilliant.

"Rose. What's wrong?"

[theresme]

It's a while before she can really speak, and then it comes out in a rush. "It was so awful and I was just using people and playing with them like they didn't matter and I promised I'd never do that, not after Jimmy, and then I did it, to Martha, and Ace a little and-- and--" She can't say anything else, just buries her face in his jumper again.

[timelord_lastof]

"It's not your fault," he says softly, awkwardly petting her hair. "It wasn't you at all. You asked me for help, remember? There wasn't anything you could do."

He's wracking his brain for something he can do, absolutely anything. There has to be some way to make this better, right?

[theresme]

She sighs deeply and closes her eyes, just resting against his chest, breathing him in.

"I know," she says finally. "But I remember doing all of it. Saying those things..." she shivers.

[timelord_lastof]

The Doctor nods slowly. "I know," is all he can say, very softly. Under ordinary circumstances, he'd tug her by the hand to the door, out to the TARDIS, and they'd go off to have an adventure until she forgot all about it... but he's got another Rose waiting for him on the TARDIS, the Rose from his own timeline, and they can't meet, and...

"Come on," he says, and pulls her instead toward the back door. It's not the best he can do, but it's something.

[theresme]

Rose lets him pull her, and she follows without hesitation. She trusts him, and she knows him, and it's just instinct, at this point, to go with him when he runs off like that.

"What are we doing?" she asks. Outside is... outside. It's not like she's never been there before.

[timelord_lastof]

He doesn't let go of her hand, looking up at the stars as he steps out of the door.

"It's funny, isn't it? As far as I can tell, there's just us, in this little bubble of space outside of everything else. But out there... there's stars. And they're not in our universe, Rose. They're not in any universe. So what are they?"

[theresme]

Rose hadn't really thought about that, but as she looks up... well, it's just... strange. These stars shouldn't exist, but they're there, she can see them.

"Are... are they an illusion, maybe? Like one of those theaters that project the night sky on the ceiling?"

[timelord_lastof]

"Hard to say. Not a projection, because that'd have to come from somewhere down here - and I've already looked. Could be there's some sort of ceiling up there, with lights that look like stars."

He pauses.

"Or. It could be that there's actual stars and planets and galaxies here, outside of space and time. It's impossible, of course, but all the same..."

He's fascinated by it.

[theresme]

Rose looks down from the sky, grinning wickedly.

"That's what you always say," she points out. "Impossible. And then you do it."

[timelord_lastof]

And he looks down at her, grinning right back at her.

"I do, don't I? Not that I can do anything about it right now, because the TARDIS is outside, but the next time I'm in here with it..."

The next time he's here with the TARDIS and Rose is here... Well. Something must be done about this whole stars that aren't stars thing.