Hi! so, this is my very first Who-fic. (please be gentle) I never really had an intention of writing a who fic, to be honest, this story was the result of a short story assignment given by my creative writing teacher. Before I realized what was going on, Boom! Rose Tyler and the Doctor appeared in the Tardis.
I may or may not be any good at writing who fics, but I needed to get this out of my system to pleas my muse, as I have a chapter for my bleach fic due for Saturday.
Well I hope you all enjoy it, and would love to get your feed back on improvements! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Who
The Whole of Time and Space.
The screeching sound of the Tardis parking fell silent, for not a soul was around to hear her cries. Rose Tyler stepped through the Tardis doors and was met with the smell of salt and the deafening roar of waves crashing upon the cliffs they landed on.
Rose walked briskly to the edge of the cliff taking in the scene. It was a heavily clouded and windy day, from atop the cliff, the crashing waves looked like white stallions racing into battle against the unmoving stones.
Battle.
Rose cringed at the word. The squeak of the Tardis door ended her thoughts as the Doctor started towards her, taking in the scene as he went.
"Weeell, it's not the most… populated area, but Look! Look at that view! You know you can't get a view like that just anywhere, Earth! I swear you think you know a planet, and it still find ways to surprise you!" he said with his usual manic grin.
Rose tried to force a smile on her face, but knew it would do no good. The Doctor knew her like she knew him. He always seemed to know when something was bothering her.
"Oh come on Rose! Lighten up! I'm sorry I can't take you with me, those are the rules though." The Doctor said, his usually light demeanor deflating.
Rose just had to laugh. "Am I hearing things right? Is the Doctor actually enforcing rules?!"
A glint appeared in the corner of the Doctors eyes. "Oi! Even I have to bow down to the rules sometimes! Just because I don't usually, doesn't mean that I never do!" the Doctor said defensively. "Not all Time Lords are as flexible as I am, or Romana for that matter! They're all a bunch of uppity bores who think themselves too superior to even interact with any outside being. They wouldn't take to well to a human Rose, Believe me, I wouldn't be going If I wasn't summoned."
Rose was quiet again, lost in her own thoughts. She remembered meeting Romana, back when the Doctor had his big ears and big nose, and just clad in leather. She laughed at him but then stated that he had worse bodies. At that time it confused Rose, she didn't know about the Doctors ability to cheat death.
She didn't think that the old version of the Doctor would have told her about that unless he absolutely had to, he was rather upset with her about saving her dad and creating a paradox, which in turn summoned the Reapers and Romana to investigate.
"I know, I just… I got this bad feeling y'know? Like something big is about to happen." She said softly.
The Doctors face changed to a sympathetic one. He hugged Rose, pulling her tightly against his chest and resting his head atop of hers. "Heeey, don't you worry Rose Tyler, it was a mass telepathic summons, every Time Lord, and Time lady is being called back to Gallifrey from across Time and Space. There can really only be two reason for that. Either there is an important ceremony going to take place; and mind you those ceremonies can be long an dull the worst that could happen is that's I'd regenerate from sheer boredom!" He said a bit to chipper.
Rose didn't smile. "And the other?" she asked
The smile fell from the Doctors face, as he began pulling at his ear.
"Weeell… there would have to be a… oh never mind! Chances of that are, well not good. There's nothing to worry about."
Rose could feel her eyes begin to water. She needed to change the subject.
"So how long do I have to wait for?"
The Doctor let Rose from his embrace and stuffed his hands in his coat pockets. "Well that all depends, do you want to wait, five minutes? Ten? Twenty?" He said with a teasing grin.
Rose forced a laugh. "Can you even do five minutes? Knowing your driving skills I'd probably end up waiting five years." She said, her voicing breaking softly.
The Doctor sighed. "Is that what this is about Rose? Are you afraid I'm going to leave you?" He asked a bit outraged. As if he'd ever entertain the thought.
Rose huffed. "Is it so wild an idea, your track record certainly speaks for itself." She said a bit more harshly than she intended. "I mean look at what happened to Sarah Jane! You dropped her off just like this promising you'd come back and looked how that turned out!" The Doctor flinched.
That wasn't his finest moment. He was overjoyed to see his long lost friend again, but it hurt him how fickle he used to be.
"Rose, that was a different situation, I had to leave her behind, I became the president of the Times Lords and no humans are allowed on Gallifrey! I didn't know how long I would be gone and I didn't want to promise her anything, I- I don't do goodbyes so well." The Doctor said sadly.
Tears began to pool in Rose's eyes. "S'that why you left Jack? Cause you couldn't say goodbye?" She asked, testing him.
The Doctors face became stone like. "That was his own time Rose, he was needed to rebuild earth." He said, not making eye contact.
Tears were now freely falling down Rose's face.
She knew the Doctor was lying. Back then, when the Doctor tried to call the Time Lords for help against the Daleks, they refused. Time Lords didn't interfere and the Doctor chose his path. They were backed into a corner with no way out, and the Doctor did the only thing he could think of. He sent Rose away to protect her.
But Rose had other plans, she managed to open the heart of the Tardis and absorbed the Time Vortex, becoming the entity Bad Wolf. With the whole of Time and Space running through her mind, she was able to scatter her message across the universe to lead herself to this point. Save the Doctor, destroy the Dalek fleet and bring her dear friend back from the cold grip of death.
But all that power was killing her. She saw all that was, is and ever could be. She also saw what must be. An event in time so gruesome, so horrible she tried to erase it from her mind, but it was too late. Her knowledge held and her memories were set in stone as the Doctor pulled the vortex from her mind with a gentle kiss.
The Doctor believes she remembers nothing of her time as The Bad Wolf, but she retained every memory, every possibility. Rose knew that a storm was coming, a terrible storm the likes of which the Universe has never seen, and at the eye of that storm was her Doctor.
The Doctors hearts felt as if they were being ripped apart. He hated to see rose like this.
"Where are we exactly?" she finally spoke.
The Doctor took a deep breath and stuck his tongue out. His brilliant brown locks being carried by the wind as he did so making him look rather ridiculous. "Hmm, the taste in the air says… Norway mid-August 2007."
Rose smiled ruefully. He was avoiding the question. "Where exactly in Norway?"
He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Darlig Ulv Stranden."
Rose arched her brow. "Meaning?"
"Bad Wolf Bay."
So this was it. This is when it all begins, the beginning of the end. Rose steeled herself, she would have to be strong. She knew this day was coming but tried with all her might to change it. But it was futile.
"Guess I better get a move on then, Time Lords! You'd be surprised how easy it is to always be late." He said, his last ditch effort at breaking the tension between them.
Rose let out a shaky breath, whirled around and hugged him, letting her sobs wrack her body. "Am I really going to see you again?"
He let out a short laugh. "Of course you are. Why would you think I wouldn't?"
She pulled apart from him, her watery brown eyes looking into his. "What if this is the last time I ever see you?"
The last time he would ever see Rose Tyler? He never wanted to entertain the thought, but there was always the possibility. If that was the case…
"Well then Rose Ty-ler, If this is the last time I see you, if… if it's the last chance I get to say this… Rose Tyler, I-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, Rose grabbed hold of the lapels of his suit and brought his lips to hers, relishing the feel of them. This moment, this perfect moment in time will serve as a reminder for the both of them. The Doctor, after a second of shock, grabbed hold of Rose and brought her a close as inhumanly possible.
The feel of his lips on hers was just right, as if this version of him was made just for her. When she felt the familiar light caress of his mind nudging hers, she gasped, breaking the kiss.
"Sorry! Sorry, it's just… I-I haven't done that in… quite some time… What was that all about then?"
Rose took one look at his disheveled appearance and couldn't help but laugh. "Does it need saying?" she said softly.
The Doctor had a smug look of satisfaction on his face. "Yep, still got it" he said as he fixed his tie and smoothed out his hair.
Rose sobered up quickly and looked passed him, to the Tardis. "I guess, you have to go now…"
The Doctor's face was somber. "Yeah well, I suppose." He said opening the Tardis.
Rose grabbed hold of his arm one last time. "Wait Doctor!"
He turned. "Yeah?"
"Promise me something." She said.
The Doctor smiled at her. "Anything."
Rose could feel her eyes water again. "Promise me you'll come back, Promise me that I will see you again." She choked out.
The Doctor hugged her once more. "I promise. Five minutes tops." He said. She nodded and pulled herself away.
"You had better not be late." She said Turning from the Tardis. She did not want to see him fading into the darkness that awaited him.
She heard the click of the doors and soon after the screeching sound the beloved Tardis fading from her sights.
When she was sure that the Tardis was finally gone, Rose fell to the ground, letting her loud sobs out, only to be drowned by the sound of the crashing waves.
She was a horrible person. How could she let him leave! She knew what waited for him when he reached Gallifrey, the beginning of the Last Great Time War. The destruction of hundreds of worlds, thousands of lives lost. The end of his race… the only Time Lord left in existence.
She was a fool.
NO!
She did what was right. She did what was necessary for the whole of creation. If the Doctor did not take part in the last Great Time War, There would be no more universe. No more, smiling, no more laughing, no more holding hands or kissing. No more love.
Rose stayed like that for a good while, finally calmed down enough to stand on her own, she check her watch. Twenty minutes had gone by. She felt ridiculous, after everything the Doctor went through, she still held out hope that he would keep her silly promise.
She could feel a fresh wave of sobs bubbling to the surface, but kept herself in check. She knew she would have to find her way to a town eventually. Call her mum and see about a way to get back to London. But for now, she just wanted to stay… a little while longer.
Rose stood near the edge of the cliff again, staring off into the horizon, her mind blank of any thought.
She checked her watch once more and noted that exactly one hour had passed since the Doctor left. She let out a breath.
It would be dark soon and she needed to get to the nearest town. With a deep breath and a resolve of steel, Rose managed to get three feet from her original spot before she heard a noise that made her heart stop.
It can't be
But it was, slowly materializing in front of her was the Tardis. With the swiftness that only a Weeping Angel could achieve, she turned her attention back to the ocean.
She was too ashamed to face the man she loved, to ashamed to look that man in the eye and tell him she knew that she was sending him off to death. How can she possibly be in the same galaxy as him?
She would rather hide her shame.
Minutes passed and still nothing happened. Rose didn't know if he was waiting for her to come in, or for her to knock. Or if he was steeling himself to come out to face her.
It was the latter. The Doctor stood in front of the Tardis doors. He's been trying for the last seven minutes, and twenty-three seconds to make his hand move. He tried willing his body through the doors, he begged his feet to take him where they've been longing to go for the last 300 years.
He too was ashamed. For all the things he's done, the crimes he's committed and the sins he washed himself in. Most of all, He broke his promise. He was returning to Rose Tyler a broken shell of a man that he used to be.
How could he face her? For a long time he thought about his final minutes with her. Never stopped thinking about them actually. His almost confession, that heated kiss, and her tears… yes her tears. He's suspected for some time now that Rose somehow knew what was going to happen. He reasoned it out that it was impossible, she couldn't have that kind of knowledge, and if she did, why wouldn't she stop him?
But of course he knew why. Without him the battle would have been lost. He was the only one with enough power left in his Tardis to power a Delta Wave strong enough to wipe out the hoard of Daleks, the Nightmare child, The would be King and his armies of never where's. But it came at a cost. The cost was his people, his planet.
He was the last of the Time Lords.
And he was utterly alone.
Alone.
He didn't know to expect when he finally got the courage to come back. A hundred scenarios played through his mind. Would she throw open the Tardis doors and come barreling in the moment he parked? Would he bang obnoxiously on the outside asking for him to come out? Would she even still be there waiting for him? No, of course she would wait, she's Rose Tyler, and she's the woman that he loves.
Right, without stopping to give one more thought, he cautiously opened the Tardis doors and stepped out.
Rose could hear the slow creek of the Tardis door opening, then a crunch of gravel beneath solid footsteps.
The crunching continued until the sound stopped fairly close to her, but far enough away to be polite.
'He's changed' she thought. Her Doctor didn't know the meaning of personal space, or manners for that matter. She didn't have to turn around to know that much.
Minutes past by and neither said a word.
'He's quiet too… so he really did…' a strangled whimper left Rose's mouth, her Doctor couldn't keep his gob shut if he tried. She regretted that sound immediately as she heard footsteps falter.
Rose managed to reign in her emotions enough to speak. It was obvious that he wasn't going to be the one to break the ice with his ramblings anymore.
"You're late." She said just loud enough for him to hear.
She got no response.
The Doctor smiled a ghost of a smile. Yes of course he was late, one hour if his math was correct (as if it were ever off). And there she was, his Rose.
He wanted to speak, he wanted something to come out of his mouth, but apparently that wasn't happening.
"You've regenerated haven't you?" She asked him.
He was astounded. He would be speechless if he weren't already. Rose Tyler did not even have to turn around to know his difference. It was probably the silence that gave him away, he did used to have a gob on him…
Used to.
Is that why she is turned away? Does she know that he changed? Is this is her way of rejecting his new self?
No, it can't be. Rose knew about his little trick before he regenerated the first time, granted it took her a while to adjust but she came to love him. She wouldn't leave him because of his appearance.
It was time that he stepped up.
"Yes." Good start!
Rose seemed to take a deep breath and turned herself around. She prepared herself for… well she didn't really know what, but she knew who. The Doctor. But no matter how prepared she was, it was still almost a physical blow.
Standing in front of her was a young man, wearing a tweed jacket, a pair of high waters, and a Bow tie. He had startling green eyes and looked like a nerdy professor Rose was torn between laughing and breaking down.
"Doctor?"
He smiled softly. "Hello."
Rose's knees were shaking. Before she knew what she was doing, her legs carried her over to a startled looking Doctor. As soon as she was close enough, she grabbed his hair and pulled his lips to hers.
The Doctors gangly limbs wobbled for a few seconds, but he caught the gist of it.
A little embarrassed, rose pulled away, and stared at his boot clad feet.
The doctor cleared his throat and readjusted his Bowtie, a smug look on his face.
Rose rolled her eyes. Some things thankfully never changed.
"A Bow Tie?" she asked with an arched brow.
He smirked, as if waiting for her to comment on it. "Bow Ties, are Cool." He said in a sultry voice.
She laughed at him. That's right, no matter what the Doctor looked like, he was still the Doctor, and she still love him.
"Doctor?"
"Yes Rose?"
"I love you."
The Doctor smiled that wicked smile of his and answered.
"Quite right too."
Thanks for reading! Feed back welcome with open arms.
