A prequel to Bridging the Gap. Inspired by a Youtube video about the Human Doctor and Rose set to "Fix You" by Coldplay. Tennant's Coldplay love makes it all the better, I think. I don't own Doctor Who or the songs used.
Sound of Silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
-Simon and Garfunkel, 'The Sound of Silence'
Here, in her new home, on this new yet familiar planet, she was all alone. Alone with her thoughts. While London looked like London, it wasn't her London. It was duller, less lively. Quieter. Colder. At least, she thought it was duller. Maybe she was imagining it. He had been the light and excitement in her life, and now he was gone. The silence was deafening in her humdrum existence because she knew what she was missing. All of the adventures they could be having were mere dreams in her mind.
The lack of noise in her new room was disturbing. There was no comforting hum to lull her to sleep. He was no longer there to tinker about, fixing things late into the night because he didn't sleep. No more soothing words would be whispered to her as she drifted off into dreamland, him not daring to leave her side 'til she was fast asleep. Sometimes, he would stay with her anyways, always leaving just before she woke.
No more dancing. No more running. Her hands would never clasp his as they took off down some eerie passage. No more risking their lives for one another.
Her room was designed to look like the one she had. She didn't have the pictures. She slid onto the ground, sobbing hysterically. Her life was gone, everything she lived for was gone. She should have died. At least then, she wouldn't have to think about him or dream about him constantly. She didn't want the maids catering to her every whim and the beaming mansion. She wanted him.
All she heard was a buzzing between her ears. Jackie worried, but all she could muster was a half-hearted smile that didn't reach her eyes. She felt weak, tired and alone.
Pete situated her with a job at Torchwood. There, she stared at an image of the Sycorax blankly. Blank. She was completely blank without him.
Whenever the maids vacuumed, she thought it was him coming to take her home. She had a breakdown in the produce section of the market. There, holding a bunch of bananas, she cried like a madwoman. She couldn't even look at them anymore, let alone eat them.
She bought a men's leather jacket and draped it over a chair in her room. She bought Chucks, too. She liked to pretend that he had stepped out for a moment and had forgotten it. Any second, he'd be back for the jacket. And for her. Whether it was old blue eyes or pinstripes, she didn't care. She loved them both, because they were both him.
She hated herself for missing him. On an endless loop in her mind she was bombarded with images of him. His eyes, his laugh, his smile. Silly little things had been etched into her memory until the end of time.
He had moved on. She was certain of it. She knew fully well she was just one of the many companions he had. Still, she wanted a proper farewell. He wasn't going to magically appear, and she refused to sit around waiting like Sarah Jane. She threw all of her energy into trying to find him. She needed him to finish his sentence. "Rose Tyler—" he had been cut off mid-sentence. He disappeared into thin air as if he never existed. But he did exist.
She knew that if she found him, he might've regenerated. She didn't care. She loved him with blue eyes and a leather jacket and with manic hair and a penchant for pinstripes. She'd love him no matter the face.
All of her efforts paid off. But, here she was standing on Bad Wolf Bay, watching him leave her again. Except now, she wasn't alone. The Human Doctor took her hand reassuringly. She turned to look at him, wiping the tears from her face. The Doctor hadn't been able to say it. Nor did he give so much as a backwards glance. But this man, this Doctor did say it.
"Rose Tyler, I love you," he repeated.
And for the first time on this planet, Rose Tyler smiled a real, genuine smile. The world didn't seem as dreadfully grim. Everything seemed a little lighter, and a little brighter. The terrible sound of silence was gone. In its place was the sound of waiting adventure. And it would be fantastic.
I do think vacuums do sound like the TARDIS, or maybe I'm just bonkers. This won't necessarily be in chronological order. It's jumpy and a bit timey-wimey. I'll probably indicate when a chapter takes place if it's not obvious.
Please review, it'd be greatly appreciated.