Title: Many Ways To Say "I Love You"
Rating: G
Spoilers: "Journey's End".
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler.
What It's About: Basically, the plotbunnies saw a certain scene in "Journey's End" and jumped on it. This was the result. It does borrow a certain idea from "The Princess Bride", sort of.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
"And what's the rest of that sentence?"
"Does it really need to be said?"
He meets her gaze. And that look… that look says so much, so much that would be impossible to put into words.
The truth is, he knows what she wants him to say. In his dreams he's seen this moment so many times. In his dreams, sometimes he says those words and sometimes he doesn't. It doesn't matter. They're just dreams.
In reality, though, it's different. Because really, every time he spoke to Rose, since the regeneration at least, he was telling her that he loved her, that in a way he's always loved her. Every word… every time he told her to run, or reassured her that everything would be all right… everything he'd ever said to her was really I Love You.
So standing there, in Bad Wolf Bay, with Jackie nearby and the other Doctor facing him, he looks into her eyes, and he knows that she understands.
She looks at his double in the blue suit. The other Doctor leans closer, murmurs something into her ear. He can't hear, but he knows what the other Doctor said. After all, they're the same man. Same memories, same feelings. He watches as the other Doctor kisses her, and wishes that it was him kissing her, and knows that it can't be. He knows she'll be happy in her world, with her mum and her dad and her baby brother… and she'll have the other Doctor. She'll be loved and safe and happy, and she'll have that thing he always, always wanted for her, from the very beginning.
She'll have a fantastic life.