Author's Note: This Fanfic is very effective when listening to 'The Impossible Planet' score from the Doctor Who Soundtrack. Someone uploaded it on You Tube if you don't have it yourself, just look it up and play it in the background.
Silence.
The Doctor wandered around in circles on the planets uneven flooring. His steps quickened after every second that passed, each one as intolerable as the last. Ida watched him closely; it seemed she was counting his steps. The Doctor ignored her. He had no time for human nonsense.
'Rose! What is it Rose?' he cried into his communicator.
This was the first time Rose had ever ignored him. Rose always replied when he asked for her, always, so, why is she silent? The Doctor felt a terrible fear, seeping in at the back of his mind. Thoughts of might have happened came flooding into his head.
'I'm going back!'
That was the first time he heard her silence. And he hated it.
- - -
The Doctor watched as the Void sealed itself before his eyes. His tears were being blown back into his eyes and they began to sting as his head reeled over what had just happened. When the Void closed, The Doctor fell limply to his feet, still gripping the black handle tightly. And there it was again, that numbing silence. Roses silence, drowning him. Standing up slowly, he walked towards the white wall. Everything was quiet, even the computers hadn't made a single sound. Just that agonizing silence. He placed his face against the wall, hoping for some warmth, hoping to feel Roses warm tenderness against his skin. Nothing. Not a sound, not a motion, just a bitter cold.
He hoped Rose was alright. Please let her be alright! The Doctor silently prayed to himself. He remained there for a few moments, but it could have been several minutes, before he pulled his hand away from the wall. He couldn't feel anything, but a distant pull, something crying out to him, silently. A low call for help, echoing in his ears.
It was Roses silence.
- - -
The Doctor walked around the TARDIS control panel aimlessly. There was a familiar silence in the air, one he had felt ever since Rose had left. Like a Black Hole, it sucked everything into it, all the realization of the present, all knowledge of the moment, leaving behind that empty space where she had once been. As the powerful and fearless Last of the Time Lords, The Doctor thought it almost embarrassing to be intimidated by something as domestic as silence. But still, he couldn't escape that sense of loss and fear that loomed over him. The Doctor pulled a small black lever and turned a silver orb to left before stepping back and watching the TARDIS' blue hue illuminate the room. The familiar cry of the engine broke the silence, but The Doctor tried to think if he thought it a relief, or a discredit.
When the TARDIS' cries finally ceased to its normal hum, The Doctor took a step towards the doors. He remembered the way Rose would always bounce up and down when he brought her somewhere for a surprise. He smiled to himself. The silence from earlier had returned, and it seemed even thicker that before. Opening the doors, as if hoping for some sort of escape, The Doctor stared out of the TARDIS. He had brought himself into the orbit of the Scarlet System. He punched in the date five hundred years before himself and Rose had witnessed its passing. He stared at the strokes of red, mixed into the golden tone of the systems centre. It was almost hypnotising, watching the lights dance and streak across the ebony universe.
The Doctor remembered the very first time he had ever heard her silence. It was insufferable. Everyone has their own unique voice, and likewise, their own unique silence. And Roses was painfully pronounced right now. Roses silence was comforting, and daunting at the same time. Maybe that's why The Doctor was so fond of her? That she could be exactly the hug he needed, or the threat she was often used as. At least a dozen times Rose had been used by someone as a lever to get The Doctor to do their bidding. And without any second thoughts, he would almost immediately oblige. Anything to stop her petrifying silence, that long, low cry for relief…
The Doctor took a breath. He had tried teaching himself to avoid a trail of thought that led to Rose. The Doctor choked on his own breath. At nine hundred years, after leaving and losing over half a dozen companions, he thought he would be able to keep it together a small bit. Then, the TARDIS made a low moan. The Doctor turned around and sprinted towards the captain's screen. It was accessing old security records. The Doctor watched as the TARDIS opened a file, and began to play it;
Rose's image flickered on the screen; she was straightening her pink hair band and watched The Doctor affectionately as he combed his hair. She giggled quietly, but loud enough for The Doctor to hear.
'What?' he asked.
'It's just, you combed your hair, and you never comb your hair!' Rose said, choking a bit on her laughter. The Doctor gave her a puzzled look. 'It looks, strange on you…'
Rose smiled at him devilishly. The Doctor rolled his eyes and tucked his comb into his front pocket. Rose began swinging her dress, smiling broadly. 'This is so cool! Maybe we'll see Elvis!'
The video kept playing; all the while The Doctor smiled as he blinked back tears. Even in a video, her laughter, her voice was the only thing that could stop the silence. The Doctor couldn't hear a thing, just Rose laughing at some human thing. Maybe she said an inside joke to herself, and used The Doctor's hair as a cover up? That seemed the kind of thing Rose would do…
'Doctor? What are you doing?' Martha's sleepy voice drifted in. The Doctor turned around to face his companion.
'Nothing,' he answered. 'Just, trying to break the silence.'