Don't forget

by The-trio-until-the-very-end

Rose loses all her memories about the doctor and is given a random life. She's married with a perfect daughter. That leaves the 1oth doctor alone and searching for his Rose. The Rose that isn't real anymore. That Rose is gone. But when Rose starts remembering, and the Doctor finds a letter, the two might be back to traveling through the stars once more.

"Mummy?" The little girl called from her bed. Rose smiled, turning the light back on. "Yes love?" It was late, too late. Rose had a long day and was ready for some sleep, but her daughter didn't always agree. "Read me a story?" The women walked back to the bed. Looks like she wasn't getting rest anytime soon. "Do you want to hear about the princess again?" The girl shook her head. She looked just like her father. She had his bright orange hair and his blue eyes. "Make one up." The little girl said, sitting up and hugging her teddy tight to her nightgown. Rose sighed. "I'm not good at making up stories." But the girl begged until Rose gave in. "What do you want it to be about?" The girl was silent, thinking. "Space." The blonde women got a weird look on her face, like she just ate a lemon, "space?" the girl nodded, "and time." Rose's brown eyes got big. "And far off places. Please mummy? Tell me something like that. A story filled with adventures and stuff." Rose tried her best to make up a story.

"There was once this man," Rose started, "who traveled among the stars. He could travel anywhere, through space and time. He did everything from seeing the Earth's death millions of years into the future to meeting the queen of England. Could you imagine how cool that would be, Love? Just think of it, you could go wherever you wanted. " Rose smiled to herself. "Some people thought this man was mad," the little one interrupted her, "was he?" Rose shrugged, not giving much thought to the question. "Maybe, but that's what made him special. The man traveled for ages, meeting people now and then who would help change time." Rose liked this story. It was different, better, than anyone she had ever told. Her daughter liked it too, and was upset when her mother told her it was time to get to sleep. "But can you tell it again tomorrow?" Rose smiled. "I'll tell it to you every night if you want. Night sweetie." Rose turned off the light.

As Rose got ready for bed, she thought of her daughter. Why had she picked space and time for a bedtime story? Rose wasn't a big fan of science and didn't know if her daughter was. Rose looked at her bed, it empty. Rose sighed. John often went on trips for his work, he was some big manager. She was stuck at home alone most of the time. The lady looked at her reflection in her dresser mirror. She looked older than she looked. Her blonde hair was turning gray and her eyes looked tired. Rose made a face, this wasn't what she wanted. She wanted a life like the man in her story. "Such a silly made up story that was." She said at loud. Rose shook the thought about that away. She had lived a great life, met a wonderful man in school and made a perfect child together. She liked this life.

"Doctor, what if I forgot you?" Rose Tyler asked, getting a chuckle from the tenth Doctor. The couple was walking back to the TARDIS, leaving a planet far away from Earth. "Why would you want to forget me?" The doctor opened the phone box and the human stepped inside. "I don't!" She smiled at the doctor, "I would never want to forget you, but what if I did?" The Doctor started the machine and they were launched into time. "What if I forgot all about you and everything we've done? What do you think I would be like?" The Doctor moved from the controls to where Rose was standing, "you would be quite ordinary." Rose laughed and all the thought was gone from her mind. How could she forget something as wonderful as this?

Rose climbed into bed just as the phone rang. She picked it up off the side table, seeing her husband's name on the screen. "Hello?" "Rose? Hey honey, how are things?" Did he really have to call this time at night? "Tired. When will you be home?" She heard typing in the background. "Some time Sunday. Honey, I have to go. The email should have been sent out an hour ago." Rose smiled, John was always behind. He even winged his vows at their wedding. "Ok, see you then. I love you." John replied, and then ended the call. Rose put the phone back onto the table, noticing the picture of John and her at school. The two had met at a university and dated all through school. Rose had forgot what she had been studying, but dropped out once the two married. She stayed at home now, keeping busy. She looked after the neighbor's kids every so often and the rest of the time she read. Nothing much, just whatever she picked off the shelf, most of the time romance stories. Speaking of which, she remembered the one she was currently reading. Rose wanted to finish it soon, and since she was already up late, what were a few more hours? Rose got out of bed and out of the room. She walked into the living room in search of the book. It was right where she left it, sitting on the couch. Rose smiled, her memory was leaving her slowly. Rose picked up the book, reading the cover. It was a bright blue, and it was such a pretty blue. She was going back through the dark room when she got a feeling in her head. Rose grasped her head in pain, dropping the book.

The Doctor was off in some compartment of the TARDIS, looking for a spare part. They had broken down in the middle of space with no one to call for help. Rose was waiting, watching the controls for, well she really didn't know. "Did it change?" the doctor asked as he walked back in. Rose shook her head, the Doctor smiled. "Good! Don't worry Rose Tyler; I'll have you back home before you can say 'doctor'!" Rose was about to smile when she collapsed onto the floor. The Doctor yelled, running to her. "Rose, are you ok? Hold on don't move!" The doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and waved it around her. He frowned and looked at Rose. "Are you ok?" Rose, her hand placed onto her head, nodded. The doctor placed his hand onto of hers. "I'm going to have to keep a close eye on you." Rose looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Rose snapped back up, her head feeling better. She blinked a few times; she wasn't sure what just happened. She saw something. It was blue, a blue box. The box was bigger on the inside. She saw herself running into the box, but then the vision ended.

"Doctor, what is happening to me?" Rose asked, scared. It was a few days later and the two were staying at an inn in the eighteenth century. "It's nothing. You're fine." He told her, but Rose knew he was lying. He never looked at her when she asked that question. Something was very wrong.

Rose took her book back up the steps and checked on her daughter. The little girl was sound asleep and the sight made Rose smile. She left the pink room and went back to her own. Rose gave up on her book after a few chapters; her eyes were getting too heavy. Rose closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep. It wouldn't be a restful sleep; she would toss and turn all night having nightmares. They were all about a crazy man called the Doctor.

Rose was crying. The doctor could hear it from the other room. She had cried more often than he had ever seen her do. And there never was a reason, she never knew why. She would call out his name in her sleep, but by the time he found her, she would say she didn't yell anything. Rose was sick. The doctor didn't know how long she had before she would be gone. He hadn't told her yet, he was trying to figure out a cure. The tenth Doctor hadn't found anything yet though. He sighed and went to comfort his companion once more. The spell lasted a half hour, longer than any of the others. After she had dried her tears, Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand. "Tell me what's wrong with me. Please." He couldn't, the news itself would kill her. "Please doctor?" She asked again.

After very few short hours of sleep, Rose woke up to the sun coming through her window. She stretched as she thought about her nightmares. Such strange nightmares. They sounded like the story she told the night before. But there wasn't time to think on that, she had things to do. "Come on, breakfast is on the table." Rose was saying a little later, trying to get the girl up. "If you don't get up, you'll be late for school!" Rose's daughter slowly rose, rubbing her eyes. "Can't I just stay with you today mummy?" Rose shook her head, already getting her child's clothes ready. "You need to go to school so you can be smart! And then get a good job and make a ton of money. Then you could buy all the dolls you wanted too." Rose's girl got out of bed and tugged off her gown. "I wanna be a doctor!" The child proclaimed. "A Doctor?" The girl nodded, her red bedhead bouncing every which way. "Yeah Mummy, a doctor!"

Rose finally broke down the Doctor a few days later. He took her to Rome, she had never been there, and always wanted to. He couldn't help but smile as she took in all the sights. This would be the last place she would travel. She would get too ill. The couple stopped in a small village, resting on a small stone bench. "Do you really want to know?" He knew she would say yes. "When we went to planet Faxet, you remember getting bit by that bug?" Rose nodded, they had visited the small planet a few months ago, and didn't see why it was important. "It was nothing at the time, it didn't harm you. But slowly, over six months, it takes your memories." Rose didn't understand. "All my memories?" Thankfully that answer was no, it didn't take it all away. "You're going to forget time traveling. The bug, don't ask its name. It's a very long name and it sounds stupid when you say it out loud. But these bugs, they shucked your memories on traveling, taking them for their own. These bugs use to rule Faxet, but where overthrown. They want to go back in time to help protect what they think is rightfully theirs. And they think taking your memories and putting them in their big head will help." He finished it all in one breath. The tenth Doctor could tell Rose was thinking hard. When suddenly her eyes got big. "I'm going to forget you." The doctor nodded and Rose let a tear fall. "I'm going to forget everything we've ever did. All the places you took me. All the people we met. And I won't remember." The Doctor, not sure what to tell her, nodded again. "How can I forget you? You're my Doctor." The words broke his two hearts. My Doctor. His Rose. "Rose- tell me, do you remember where I took you on or first trip?" It was almost two years ago, but he'll never forget it. His hearts broke even more when Rose answered. "No, where was it?" She had already stated to forget.

One the girl was off to school, Rose decided it was time for a little house cleaning. While dusting the bookshelf, Rose came across a high school yearbook. She smiled as she looked at it. It had been so long, she couldn't even remember any of her friends she had made while she was there. On the cover of the book was a tiger, clawing towards the reader. West Field High School it read. Rose opened the book to the T section. She scanned the page, looking for her name. It wasn't there. It had to be there, it was her yearbook for crying out loud! A thought crossed her mind. "Did I go to West Field High School?" She asked the book, waiting for an answer. When it didn't come, the blonde sighed and placed it back onto the shelf. Maybe she was listed somewhere else in the alphabet. That had to be it, why would she have a yearbook that wasn't hers?

Rose had a ton of questions to ask the doctor about the virus. "What's going to happen to me?" She asked one day as the TARDIS was flying through space. The doctor looked up from the panel to see Rose leaning on the rail. "It will drop you off somewhere. In a point of time. It gives you a whole new life. New parents, new job, everything." He walked over to her, putting his screwdriver in his pocket. "Will I have a husband?" She questioned, looking in the doctor's eyes. "More than likely, I would say yes. And possibly a child. Could you imagine it? I'm sure you'll be a great mother. Me, I've never been a big fan of babies. " This wasn't what Rose wanted. "I don't want to be a mother. Or have a husband. I want to be with you." She told him, a sad look on her face. The doctor tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. He always liked it when she did that. "Rose," he hated to ask her, "Who is Captain Jack?" Rose stitched her eyebrows together. She should have remembered him. "I don't remember Doctor. Is this what's going to happen? Am I slowly going to start forgetting everything we've done?" the doctor gave a sad smile, "Yes." Rose one again looked lost, "yes what?" The doctor walked away from the woman, he couldn't handle this.

After lunch, Rose decided to go shopping, she was out of paper plates and John needed new socks. Out the door and down the street she went. It was a very small walk to the town's center, and the lady soon arrived there. Going into the small supermarket, she quickly found what she needed and was ready to check out. It was an older lady at the counter, smiling when Rose placed down her basket. The woman had her black hair up in a bun and her nametag read Maggie. "Hello dearly. Find everything you needed?" Rose nodded, "lovely. Are you new here? I don't think I've ever seen you here before." This woman must have been older than Rose thought, this was the only market more miles, and she came here every week. "What's your name honey?" Rose replied, "Rose Nicholas." The woman's eyes got big. "Are you married to John Nicholas? Red hair, lives a mile or so out?" Rose nodded. "I thought his wife died years ago?" The woman was losing it. Rose was very much alive. "No. We've been married for years and have a little girl together." She answered, wanting to leave the store. The lady named Maggie was shocked to hear this, and hurried to bag Rose's things. All the way home Rose thought about that what she said. "His wife died years ago." But that's crazy. Rose and John had been married for years. Rose had pictures to prove it.

The tenth Doctor was lost. He had never been lost in the TARDIS before; he didn't even know that was possible. He always knew the TARDIS was huge; he should have brought his map. Along one of the halls, he stumbled across a door. Just one door, far back in his TARDIS. It was just a metal door, no carvings. That meant it wasn't an original part of the ship. The machine often added on rooms whenever one was needed. Who needed this room? Wondering what was inside; he tried to open the door. It wasn't until he used his sonic screwdriver on the handle that it let him in. A bedroom, it was a bedroom. It was small, just enough room for a single bed and a dresser on the opposite wall. He walked over to the dresser looking for clues. There, in a pile, was a purple jacket. Rose. This was Rose's room. He took time studying all her things. She had a picture of the ninth doctor and her when they went to the year three thousand and five. It was a pit stop to where ever they were meaning to go. Rose had her blonde hair down and was wearing a deep red hoodie. The doctor touched Rose's face. She looked so young. She was smiling her big smile, and the ninth doctor was looking at Rose, smiling at her. This is one of the last trips they went on before he changed. His big ears and leather jacket were long gone. This was the only thing left. The tenth doctor studied the photo more. Why had she kept this photo? What was so important that Rose never wanted to forget this day? The doctor let out a huff of frustration. She was going to forget it anyway. This photo didn't matter at all anymore. The doctor took the photo out of the frame. Rose didn't remember the ninth Doctor anymore. He had thought about keeping it for himself. He could look back and remember her before she was sick. They didn't have many photos, they never had the time. Except for this one. But as the Doctor stood there, looking at the picture, the purple jacket came into view. The doctor walked to that corner if the dresser and found one of the pockets. With one last look at the happy memory, the doctor shoved the picture in the pocket.

When the little girl arrived home, Rose studied her. Even though Rose knew that Lady at the store was crazy, she couldn't forget what she said. "Mummy, are you ok?" The child asked. The girl looked just like her father, nothing like her mother. She had orange hair and blue eyes. Rose had blonde hair and brown eyes. She didn't even have any of Rose's features. The girl was hers. Rose has pictures of her when she was in the hospital, it happened. But she couldn't remember being there. "Mummy's fine just tired. Go do your homework honey." The little girl skipped out of the kitchen and Rose could hear her going up the steps. Rose started dinner and it was almost ready when her daughter came back in. "mum, I need a poster board. Do we have any?" Rose thought about it. "We might have some in the closet in the upstairs hallway. You eat, and I'll go get it." The girl thanked her mother and sat down at the table. Rose went upstairs, searching for a board. There was an old closet by Rose's room that stored random objects. This was the only place a poster could hide. Rose opened the door and was greeted by a pile of clothes falling on her. Rose looked at the heap of baby clothes; she thought she sold them all at a yard sell. Among the pile of light pinks and yellows, was a purple object. Rose picked it up; surprised to see it was a jacket for a woman and not a child. The purple zip-up looked worn, old. Rose slipped it on over her t-shirt. It was a perfect fit. Confused, Rose searched the pockets. In the left one, Rose felt something. She pulled her hand out, grasping the paper. It was a photo. Rose saw he younger self smiling up at her, and a strange man smiling at Rose. Rose gasped, she remembered.

Couldn't you just go back in time? Keep me from getting bit? I would turn out ok, wouldn't I?" Rose asked, a tear falling from her eye. Rose stood there in the middle of the control room, dressed in her favorite purple jacket, but the doctor didn't look at her. "I can't, there's nothing I can do." He combed his hair with his hand. This couldn't get any worse. "THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING YOU CAN DO!" She yelled. The sound echoed through the TARDIS. The doctor knew she wouldn't take this like he hoped. He shook his head. Another tear down her cheek. "But you're the Doctor, heal me." Her voice was small, now pleading. She had given up on the fight, but wasn't ready to lose. He couldn't do this. She meant so much to him. He couldn't lose her to a virus. "I'm so, so sorry Rose." The girl covered her mouth with her hand to compress a sob. Her hand started shaking, then her arm, her shoulder. It was happening. There was so much he had to say to her and she only had a matter of seconds. He let his first tear fall. He had lost her. The whole upper half of her body was now shaking. "Doctor, hey, stop crying. Look at me." He looked up. Her face was dry even though she kept crying. And she was trying to smile. The Doctor gave one last look at her, studying everything about her. His Rose. "I have had the best time traveling with you Doctor. But you knew that, didn't you?" She asked, her voice starting to shake. "I'm going to find you Rose." Her whole body was jerking. But she looked at the doctor, just for one second. That look said everything, even though she didn't speak. But then it was gone, as fast as it came. Another look replaced it. "Rose? Who's Rose?" And then she was gone.

She remembered. This man was the Doctor, and she was Rose Tyler. His companion. Rose felt younger than she had in years, like a teenager again. She started to cry, tears of joy, or sadness, Rose really didn't know which. "Mummy?" the little girl came up behind her. This wasn't Rose's daughter, Rose didn't have a daughter. "Honey, what's your name?" the child looked puzzled. "I don't know mummy, you never say it." Rose gasped. This child was made up. The woman at the store was right; John Nicholas had no wife or child. That's why Rose couldn't find her picture in the yearbook, or remember giving birth. She didn't do any of that. Fake memories, such as pictures and thoughts from when she had been dropped off in this town had been put in her head to fill the space where the Doctor once was. The Doctor. She whispered his name. Doctor. How she missed her doctor. How long had she been away? Did he have a new companion? Was she pretty? Did he miss her?

The Doctor was alone. The TARDIS was recharging at a rift and that left him walking through hallways in his box. He was deep in the TARDIS, but wasn't lost. He was just exploring. He turned left down a hall, and stopped when he saw a door. He knew this door. The handle unlocked when the tenth Doctor touched it. Like the room wanted him to come inside. As soon as he stepped inside, the Doctor remembered the room. It was Rose's old room. The TARDIS had kept it. It looked the same, the bed was made, an empty picture frame on the dresser. He walked over to the frame, touching the glass. Rose. Where was she now? It hurt the Doctor to think about her. He was about to leave the room, sealing it off forever. He didn't want to stumble on this room again. He walked towards the door, going past the bed. When something caught his eyes. It was a letter. The doctor picked up the letter and licked it. The letter had been sitting here for a few months, untouched. He opened the sealed, and now wet, envelope. It was in Rose's handwriting. It was a letter from Rose, to him.

Dear Doctor,

If you're reading this, it means you're snooping through my room without asking me. I'll get you for that later. But If you're reading this, it also means I'm gone. Off living a made up life, somewhere on Earth. By now I've forgot all about you and our adventures. I never wanted to forget Doctor. I'm sorry if I disappointed you.

The doctor had to look away from the paper and take a few deep breathes. Rose wrote this just after the Doctor had told her what was wrong. She wanted him to find this after she was gone, to remember her.

I always tried to make you proud. Did you know that? I never wanted to see you disappointed. But I'm afraid I did in the end. It was my fault, I got bit. I'm so sorry Doctor. I promise you I held on for as long as I could. Hopefully I'll get a get a good life. Live long, maybe have a family. Will you tell my mum what happened? I hope she doesn't kill you for it. That's all the world needs, you dying at the hands of my mother. Then we'd all be in trouble. I hope you like my room, it's quite small. I like it though, it suites me. The only thing I have is my clothes and that picture on my dresser. Do you remember that day? I can barely, and it kills me. We were going to some far off planet, and we stopped for a break. Sitting outside the TARSIS, I begged you to take a picture with me. You finally gave in. I know I'll forget it soon, so I look at the photo as many times while I can. That day wasn't important. It was just us, traveling through space on an ordinary day. But that's just it, there's never and ordinary day with you Doctor. But I like the photo. I miss that smile, and those ears. I'll always miss them. I'll always miss you. So I want you to keep the picture Doctor. Keep it, so you can remember everything we did. And doctor, don't cry. Please, don't cry over me. I hope when I left, you didn't cry. But I know you did. Because I'm sure I cried too. Never forget me, doctor. Because you know if I had a choice, I would never forget you.

I love you,

Rose Tyler.

The doctor let a tear fall on the letter. He would remember Rose Tyler until the day he died.

"I have to find the doctor!" Rose said suddenly, jumping up from her spot on the floor. The little girl watched her mother run down the steps. Rose didn't have the slightest clue what to do, where to look for the doctor. But he promised he would find her one day. He promised. "Doctor! Here I am! Doctor!" She yelled at the sky, hoping for a blue police box to fall from it. "DOCTOR! Doctor! It's me." She slowly lowered her voice. "It's me. Rose Tyler." She stopped talking, and looked at the photo in her hand. They looked so happy. She let a tear drop on the photo, she was never going to find the Doctor again.

The Doctor stared at the letter, one tear drop on the five last words. She loved him. She never told him until she wrote the letter, and now she doesn't even remember saying them. The doctor heard a splash, and looked around, expecting rain. But when he didn't feel any water, he looked back at the paper. There was another drop of water, over the first Doctor Rose had written. Confused, the Doctor turned the paper every which way. How did that spot get there? "It can't be!" The doctor yelled, dashing from the room and to the main control. "Rose, Can you hear me?" The doctor asked the paper. "You remember don't you. You remember me. Rose?" The Doctor placed the paper on his dash, and turned on the green light. The light scanned the paper, and there was a beeping before the Doctor was launched into space. "Rose Tyler, I'm coming for you!"

Hours had passed by. But Rose stayed where she was. She stood right in front of her house. Waiting for the Doctor to stop the TARDIS and pick her up. She had stopped crying; now she just stood numb. She tried to remember everything she could about the mad man in the blue box, hoping that would bring him closer to her.

The beeping in the TARDIS stopped; it was filled by a voice. "Doctor! Here I am! Doctor!" It was Rose. Her voice was from fall away, it was just an echo. "DOCTOR! Doctor! It's me." She was calling him. Remembering him. Dragging him through space and straight to her. "It's me. Rose Tyler." The name he never thought he'd hear again. The Doctor gave a toothy grin. He was almost to her.

The sun had started to set, sinking below the homes around Rose. All the children were called in for dinner and the streetlights slowly came on. The little girl who wasn't Rose's daughter was gone. She was never born. Because Rose remembered, all her things from this life were now gone. Her car, the flowers she planted with the girl in the spring, her clothes. All gone. But she still had this photo. She wouldn't let this go. It was quite, everyone getting ready to go to sleep, if they already weren't. Rose didn't know how long she planned to stand here, but she had nothing else to do. She would wait forever if she had too.

The Doctor traveled to Earth, smiling the whole way. He had done it. Well, Rose had done most of the work. The Doctor just tracked her through her tear. Which he still wasn't sure got on his paper. But it didn't matter; he was going to see Rose again. The doctor landed, getting thrown to the floor. He quickly got up and rushed to the door. With great excitement, he opened them and stepped into the night. The doctor noticed he was in a small little town, somewhere east of London. Rose must have been close. The doctor walked away from the TARDIS and down the street.

It was now completely dark and just after elven at night. The only way Rose could see was from the faint glow of the lights above. She shivered; something in the air had changed. It got colder, and Rose got at a headache. She looked around, up both ways of the street. She saw someone. A man, walking towards her. She squinted. He looked familiar. He was a real part of her old life coming back, not something placed inside. When she looked at him, her head felt better and she felt different. She felt younger, she looked at a piece of her hair. It was blonde again. Rose looked down, her body was now skinnier and her clothes had changed. She still had on jeans, but they were darker and she was wearing that purple jacket. This is what she wore when she left the doctor. Everything was the same around her, but Rose had changed. She was who she was when she left. She was back to being Rose Tyler.

The doctor could see someone down the street, looking different ways. Like they were lost. It was Rose, the tenth Doctor just knew it. He started running, "Rose!" He yelled with a smile on his face.

"Rose!" She turned towards the voice. It was the man down the street. It was the Doctor. "Doctor?" She yelled back, running too. He had found her, The Doctor had kept his promise and found her. The couple ran until they ran into each other, embracing. "Doctor," Rose said through tears. "You found me." The doctor nodded, "I never stopped looking." They hugged again. How great it felt to be in his arms again. "I remembered you doctor. I found this photo and I remembered us. And I've waiting all day for you to drop out of the sky. And you did." Rose smiled, he was back.

Days later, the couple was back on the TARDIS and Rose was telling stories on how her life had been. "I can't remember much. I had a daughter. She was a ginger." The doctor smiled, "I've always wanted to be ginger." Rose laughed. How he loved that laugh. Rose was back to normal and back as his companion. He wouldn't have it any other way.

Rose remembered everything about traveling with the doctor, but he would remind her of things. Like saying, "you like fish and chips," Whenever they ate, or questioning her about her past at random times. Rose never said anything about it; she would just smile and say the answer. It was always right, Rose remembered. She remembered her mother's name, where she went to high school, and her job at the shop. She remembered Jack, and Mickey. But most important, she remembered her mad man in the blue box. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Once, while among the stars, Rose remembered the story she told her daughter. She repeated it to the Doctor as best she could. "That sounds like a lovely story. You made that up?" the Doctor laughed. "I still didn't remember much about you! I thought it was nice! Stop making fun of my story." Rose playful hit the doctor. He smiled, "then answer me this," he told her. "That man, who traveled among stars and time, was he a good man?" Rose thought about it, tugging her hair behind her ear. "Yeah," She finally answered, "he was a great man."