Every feeling that the Doctor was feeling at that very moment had vanished. All the pain, anger, guilt, angst, everything... Vanished. Everything that he had been feeling from that moment and for such a long time had disappeared, except two; and those two were hope and desperation. He felt his heart leap into his throat, his stomach coil into a knot when Donna had said, "Why don't you ask he yourself?"
At that moment he knew, but couldn't believe it. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't believe it. Yet, when he turned around, he felt that surge of that hope and desperation flood through him. And there she was; all pink and yellow, and she was standing there, just down the street. All those times he could recall hearing the words 'bad' and 'wolf' past the lips of on-goers, and all those times, did he not once ever doubt he was going to see her again. Even if those chances were impossible.
Yet there she was. Standing bold and brave, and the question of how she got there never came to to mind. The only possible thing he could think of was getting her back in his arms and hold her tight. Hold her hand back into his. Feel that incredible sense of warmth, protection and security he felt whenever he felt her against him. It was a feeling he longed for and missed for far, too long. He was grateful for his legs when they began to run for him, towards Rose, realizing that his mind must've shut down everything except for the thought of her. And now, he was running back to her. Back into her arms. Back home.
He could see it on her face, the way she was looking at him. She was beaming, despite the conditions they were facing and the fact that this was war, and the stars were going out. But none of that mattered to him. The only thing that mattered was that she was at arms length away from being back into his arms, but that quickly changed. The look on her face was instantly replaced with fear and panic, and that's when he felt it. The pain course throughout his body. The feeling of being electrocuted. His knees had buckled out before him, causing him to fall backwards onto his back. He squeezed his eyes shut as flashes of color and pain spark throughout him.
He was so . . . Close.
"Doctor, you're going to be okay. Look, it's me," the Doctor squinted his eyes back open, only to find the shape of a blurry Rose Tyler kneeling beside him. He could feel her fingers tangled in his hair as he held his head in her hand, and her other hand splayed against his chest as she carefully held him against her. He smiled up at her. A small smile of gratitude and hope, but it quickly changed into a cry of agony.
He was dying. He knew it, and so did she. He wouldn't die, not yet, anyway. He was so close and he wasn't going to loose to death that quickly - or in his case, regenerating.
"Oh my god, Doctor! Don't die, please, don't die . . . " Rose sobbed, desperately clinging onto the Doctor just as Donna and Jack ran to their sides. The Doctor's mind could not register what was happening or what was going on in this moment. The only things he could think of was staying alive and being back him Rose.
He was going to regenerate soon, but he couldn't. He wasn't ready to leave yet.
tbc