A/N: I don't own Doctor Who. I actually put a lot of work into this so hopefully it turned out well.
She was alive. Tave was dead.
She could keep her eyes closed tightly forever, and both of those would still be facts. Ara was not a coward- she had fought in the war since she was able to hold a weapon- but from this she hid.
Opening her eyes mean acceptance. It meant admitting that the only one that she had ever loved was gone. And while loss in Ara's life was nothing new- her parents were killed before she could even speak- this was different.
This was Tave. He was the bright eyed boy who had accepted her when she was first sent to the camp. The teenager who had fought right beside her and had never once let her down. He was the man who had stolen this ship from the fleet, and ran away from home with her.
They ran from the fight neither had ever wanted and from the war that no one would ever win.
This was all her idea and now he had been the one to pay the price. The unbreakable pair had been shattered just like the Steel Glass window of the flight deck. That glass she could feel embedded into her cheeks and the shards of her love for him were in her heart. They were the painful evidence that nothing is unbreakable
She waited for death to stake a claim, for that small act of mercy. How could she live if he was gone, what was there to live for now? But it didn't come to release her, and she conceded that she was meant to live. She finally pulled her eye lids open.
Ara was forced to blink rapidly until the light that was pouring into their space seemed less harsh. With the glass completely gone, a view presented itself- all greens and browns. A forest? Foreign air grasped stray locks of her pale hair and used it to tickle her sensitive cheeks.
She longed to brush it away but stayed her hands. It wouldn't do to touch her face until she could pull the glass out. Instead she set about saying goodbye.
She glanced at him, for the first time since the alert had shrieked through the craft. He was still buckled in, though slumped, and his eyes were closed. His chest was still, but just to be certain she reached across the gap and pulled his wrist to her fingertips. His skin was still warm against her palm but there was a very real lack of life.
Biting her lip, which hurt, but it was a pain she was in control of, she looked him over this one last time. She would never see him again, and this helped to distract her from the agony that was rising up to push past the initial shock of the event.
Parts of her were starting to scream for attention and she simply couldn't focus on them. She used all her training to push it to the back of her mind, thinking of nothing but Tave. The only evidence on the outside of him that this ship had gone down was a long scratch across his once perfect forehead.
She bit back a sob. She had never cried because of death. It was something she had seen and caused since she had been enlisted in the Force. Never once in her twenty years had she shed a tear for the loss of someone, and now that was all she wanted to do.
She would cry forever if it meant that he would open those eyes. Flash her that white grin, and tell her that everything was going to be okay.
It hardly seemed fair that he could live way past the life expectancy of a soldier and die like this. At her hands.
She sighed, the only noise, even the forest was still outside. She was beginning to worry the crash had damaged her hearing, but she could hear the exhale, and the seat beneath her groan as she shifted.
She swallowed, which hurt as well, and she tried to ignore the growing list of potential injuries. She unbuckled herself, using the hand that was willing to cooperate. She didn't think the left one was broken but it hurt and was swelling. She tried to use her legs to push her closer to the console but the right one refused to bear weight.
It got added to the list she wouldn't address, yet, and she wiggled instead. When she could finally reach the console her fingers found the sliding door compartment. Inside was a single emergency transport.
Fleet ships were required to have a band for each person on board, but this wasn't a fleet vessel. Not anymore.
She had no intention of going back. She slid it onto Tave's wrist and thought of all the things she had never said.
Now it was too late. So she settled for a kiss on his cheek, and a soft goodbye.
Pressing the correct button he vanished before her eyes.
He was going home, if it could be considered that. But there he would be buried; there he would be among others he had known.
When he was gone she searched for one last thing, sliding it into her pocket inside her jeans. She crawled out of the ship, only making it just beyond before it became too much. She leaned against a tree, and closed her eyes.
She had to move, but she just couldn't. Maybe if she just rested for a moment. She slid into that in-between place- the halfway between dreaming and awake. She couldn't rouse herself when she heard men's voices or when the footsteps came close to her.
She couldn't answer their questions or protest as she felt herself being pulled into solid arms. She couldn't fight back and as the darkness approached she found she didn't want to.
DW
The Doctor stepped out first, only because he wanted to see the other two's face when they came out into the festival. Rose took the step first, and he watched with a sense of his own wonder as she lit up. She kept him trying. The captain came next and he smiled easily. It wasn't the same innocent way that Rose had, but Jack added something to the mix.
The Doctor didn't like to admit it, didn't want Rose to think all pretty boys were a success, but he liked Jack.
"It's beautiful," Rose breathed out in enthusiasm. She was wearing an outfit the TARDIS had picked out for her.
A pale blue dress and sandals which would fit into the local décor nicely.
"You think?" the Doctor smiled, and they moved out of the alley and into the streets. They paused just on the edge, letting them take in the sights.
The city was full of people, from all over. They came here every year at the beginning of the summer months to celebrate the festival of Hope. It was a weeklong festival that was basically an excuse for a party. Winters were hard here, and dangerous temperatures used to claim many lives.
These days they did fine, but it was tradition.
"The planet is Alpha 329, otherwise known as Halfway. This is the festival of Hope."
Rose just beamed, "Think you are so impressive."
"Don't think," he corrected easily, grinning first at her, then Jack. "I know I am."
"I don't know, Rose," Jack started, "sure he takes us places, but he never really lets us see how impressive he is, right?"
Rose giggled, and the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Come on you two," he prompted.
He took Rose's hand and Jack followed close by.
They ate a sweet concoction that even the Doctor had never tried before. It tasted a little like strawberries and honey, but the Doctor couldn't process the thought much farther. Rose was licking the treat in a way that made him forget what he was doing.
"All right, Doctor?" Jack asked, but his tone was far from concern.
The Doctor shot him a glare, grunted an affirmation, and they moved on. The Doctor led them away from the crowds, to a chapel.
It would be quiet in there, and cool. Rose was looking a little red in the face, and he didn't want either of them to suffer a sun burn.
Inside he gave them a brief history of the city, and planet. Then he told them about this chapel.
Years ago, back when the festival was new they used to make a sacrifice at this chapel. Not a death sacrifice, but of the first born daughter.
She would be given to the city. In return they were given protection throughout the year, and fed and taken care of in general.
That had stopped many years ago of course, and the society matured, but it was still a part of their history.
"Can we get some more of that drink?" Rose asked him, using those big eyes.
He simply nodded, though cautioned, "Too many sweets and you'll be groaning."
Rose just stuck her tongue out at him. He sometimes wondered if saying things like that made him seem more like a father figure than he would have liked. He couldn't help it, even if that wasn't the goal. He had enough experience that it led him to be watchful of his companions.
But he bought them all another big cup full, and they wandered, taking in the sights.
They stopped to watch a street play, and when it was done he started to say something to Rose, but she wasn't there.
He looked around for Jack who was also looking around. They caught each other's eyes.
Jack shrugged, and bit his lip.
The Doctor sighed. She couldn't ever just hold still. He instructed Jack to go right and he would go left. He was sure they would find her quickly, but he couldn't help the feeling of dread that filled him.
He moved faster. He had to find his Rose.