(no subject)
He stood, leaning against the box of blue wood, staring out at the endless starry expanse above him. For all of his nine previous lifetimes, he could not recall the last time he had been able to stop running and take in the world around him, to appreciate the intrinsic incandescence of the star-lit midnight sky. "And who could blame me?" he thought to himself. Between the Daleks, Cybermen, Sycorax, Slitheen and every other alien specie that came knocking, his plate had been plenty full and what precious time he had was almost entirely devoted to either running for his current life or figuring out how to best contravene the current threat. Moments like this truly were few and far between.
"What're you doing?"
He turned and his gaze fell upon Rose Tyler, her form silhouetted by the glow of the TARDIS console.
"Ah, you know... Just taking it all in," he replied, gesturing to the sky.
She smiled gently, then walked over to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
He turned his head to look down at her. She was resplendent, her body silvered by the starlight. Their eyes met and she smiled again.
"Doctor...?"
"Yes...?"
"You've traveled all throughout time and space... met all sorts of species... gone on all kinds of adventures.... wore several different faces...."
"Ten, to be precise," he thought to himself. Then he realized she had stopped talking. He studied her face for a moment.
"...Why, of all the people, places, species in the world, why you?" he ventured.
She blushed and nodded.
The Doctor found himself momentarily speechless - he knew full-well what he wanted to say but found himself entirely unsure of how best to say it.
"D'you recall - and I know you do - when we first met?" he began.
She nodded. "My last shift at Henrik's, thanks to you."
He smiled. "Well, yes, our little skirmish with the The Nestene Consciousness and the Autons. But, more importantly, do you remember who I was when you met me?"
She looked up into his big brown eyes. "With your leather jacket, short hair and Northern accent?"
He stared a moment more at the heavens, then looked down at her.
"I was the sole survivor of the Time War... Well... Until we discovered that one Dalek and... And then the Dalek Emperor, which you.... Y'know what, I'm getting off track here..."
She loved to see him flustered.
"Anyway... I was still fresh from the Time War. Oh, sure, I traveled here and there to try and clear my mind but..." He sighed, then turned to face her. "Rose, I was a dead man. I was alive, but with little to live for. I hadn't even seen my new face until the day after I met you and, blimey, those ears and that hair? I s'pose I should be standing here, asking you 'Why me?'."
She chuckled at this.
He motioned towards the TARDIS. "She's always been, always will be my first love, having taken me all over the universe, throughout all of space and time... But the one place she can't bring me back from is from the brink.... from perdition itself. I can't begin to tell you what it was like facing the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child or any of the other threats I stared down during those final days of the Time War, or how it felt to have to decide that the Time Lords - my own people - needed to die so that the rest of the Universe might live..."
The silence grew thick... He continued.
"...But at least in those, oh, let's say, 'difficult' times, I knew what was on the line. And after I made my choice, sentencing my own people to their death for threatening to unravel existance itself, a new kind of hell arrived... I realized I began going through the motions. My heart.... hearts weren't in it, the way it... they... My soul wasn't into it, the way it had been for my previous eight regenerations. D'you recall how I referred to humans back then?"
She gave him a wry grin. "I believe you called us 'stupid apes'."
He looked down, smiling. "Tha's right... With that daft Northern accent and those gigantic ears... No really, Rose, why me?"
"Oi, no changing the subject - we're on you, right now. Why me?" she laughed.
"A'right, fine... Anyways... What I'm trying to say - and failing miserably by my own impossible standards - is this: you relit the fire in my soul, Rose. You made me take a second look at the new world around me, at the new me, and made me want to become a better man. In my final moments as the ninth me, when the regeneration cycle took over, all I could think of was 'Whatever I'm about to become, let it be something worthy of Rose Tyler.'"
"You did not!"
He stared intently into her eyes. "Someday, I'm going to have to tell you about my fifth regeneration and how I very nearly choked out my then-companion in the first moments of my sixth form. And don't get me started on the beyond aberrant sense of fashion that followed."
Rose couldn't imagine The Doctor strangling a companion, but all the same was grateful that his tenth form had a peaceful demeanor to it.
"Rose, I was an empty shell when you met me. An empty shell, waiting, yearning to be filled with.... ah, no, wait, that's a 'That's what she said' just waiting to happen.... I bounced back 'n forth, one moment seemingly bright and happy, the next dark 'n dour. And then I met you... and the dark 'n dour seemed to just slowly melt away, right up to that last moment when I said you were fantastic. And finally, for the first time since before the Time War, so was I."
She smiled, feeling the warmth flowing out of him. It was almost impossible to fully believe, that the man before her, who had seen such incredible sights, who had had such spectacular adventures, wanted nothing more than to be the best man he could, all for her.
He looked over at her, saw the solitary tear brightly-lit by the light of the moon, registered the uncontrollable smile of perfect happiness on her face and pulled her into his arms.
"...Was it something I said?"
"What're you doing?"
He turned and his gaze fell upon Rose Tyler, her form silhouetted by the glow of the TARDIS console.
"Ah, you know... Just taking it all in," he replied, gesturing to the sky.
She smiled gently, then walked over to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
He turned his head to look down at her. She was resplendent, her body silvered by the starlight. Their eyes met and she smiled again.
"Doctor...?"
"Yes...?"
"You've traveled all throughout time and space... met all sorts of species... gone on all kinds of adventures.... wore several different faces...."
"Ten, to be precise," he thought to himself. Then he realized she had stopped talking. He studied her face for a moment.
"...Why, of all the people, places, species in the world, why you?" he ventured.
She blushed and nodded.
The Doctor found himself momentarily speechless - he knew full-well what he wanted to say but found himself entirely unsure of how best to say it.
"D'you recall - and I know you do - when we first met?" he began.
She nodded. "My last shift at Henrik's, thanks to you."
He smiled. "Well, yes, our little skirmish with the The Nestene Consciousness and the Autons. But, more importantly, do you remember who I was when you met me?"
She looked up into his big brown eyes. "With your leather jacket, short hair and Northern accent?"
He stared a moment more at the heavens, then looked down at her.
"I was the sole survivor of the Time War... Well... Until we discovered that one Dalek and... And then the Dalek Emperor, which you.... Y'know what, I'm getting off track here..."
She loved to see him flustered.
"Anyway... I was still fresh from the Time War. Oh, sure, I traveled here and there to try and clear my mind but..." He sighed, then turned to face her. "Rose, I was a dead man. I was alive, but with little to live for. I hadn't even seen my new face until the day after I met you and, blimey, those ears and that hair? I s'pose I should be standing here, asking you 'Why me?'."
She chuckled at this.
He motioned towards the TARDIS. "She's always been, always will be my first love, having taken me all over the universe, throughout all of space and time... But the one place she can't bring me back from is from the brink.... from perdition itself. I can't begin to tell you what it was like facing the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child or any of the other threats I stared down during those final days of the Time War, or how it felt to have to decide that the Time Lords - my own people - needed to die so that the rest of the Universe might live..."
The silence grew thick... He continued.
"...But at least in those, oh, let's say, 'difficult' times, I knew what was on the line. And after I made my choice, sentencing my own people to their death for threatening to unravel existance itself, a new kind of hell arrived... I realized I began going through the motions. My heart.... hearts weren't in it, the way it... they... My soul wasn't into it, the way it had been for my previous eight regenerations. D'you recall how I referred to humans back then?"
She gave him a wry grin. "I believe you called us 'stupid apes'."
He looked down, smiling. "Tha's right... With that daft Northern accent and those gigantic ears... No really, Rose, why me?"
"Oi, no changing the subject - we're on you, right now. Why me?" she laughed.
"A'right, fine... Anyways... What I'm trying to say - and failing miserably by my own impossible standards - is this: you relit the fire in my soul, Rose. You made me take a second look at the new world around me, at the new me, and made me want to become a better man. In my final moments as the ninth me, when the regeneration cycle took over, all I could think of was 'Whatever I'm about to become, let it be something worthy of Rose Tyler.'"
"You did not!"
He stared intently into her eyes. "Someday, I'm going to have to tell you about my fifth regeneration and how I very nearly choked out my then-companion in the first moments of my sixth form. And don't get me started on the beyond aberrant sense of fashion that followed."
Rose couldn't imagine The Doctor strangling a companion, but all the same was grateful that his tenth form had a peaceful demeanor to it.
"Rose, I was an empty shell when you met me. An empty shell, waiting, yearning to be filled with.... ah, no, wait, that's a 'That's what she said' just waiting to happen.... I bounced back 'n forth, one moment seemingly bright and happy, the next dark 'n dour. And then I met you... and the dark 'n dour seemed to just slowly melt away, right up to that last moment when I said you were fantastic. And finally, for the first time since before the Time War, so was I."
She smiled, feeling the warmth flowing out of him. It was almost impossible to fully believe, that the man before her, who had seen such incredible sights, who had had such spectacular adventures, wanted nothing more than to be the best man he could, all for her.
He looked over at her, saw the solitary tear brightly-lit by the light of the moon, registered the uncontrollable smile of perfect happiness on her face and pulled her into his arms.
"...Was it something I said?"