THE END OF TIME

He will knock four times.

The Doctor closed the door behind him and hesitated before he had to go and find Rose. He had been hiding this from her for months, had been running from it for even longer. He knew the time was coming, the time when he would die. Whether or not he would regenerate remained unclear. But either way it made his hearts break. To be re-united with Rose only to then abandon her, alone with their son, again! He didn't even want to think about it.

Something is returning.

He prepared in his head what he would tell her. He knew that she couldn't join him on this one. If anything were to happen to her, or to Sammy...He had to stop the thought before it went too far. No, Rose had to stay behind. Sammy was already going to lose one parent. The Doctor would not have his son become an orphan, not if there was anything he could do about it.

Rose was with Sammy, trying to put the Time Tot to bed. The Doctor lurked in the doorway, and after a few more moments of persuasion, the blonde boy finally closed his eyes. Rose kissed the top of his head, turned off his lamp, and moved to join her beloved Time Lord. Said Time Lord wrapped an arm around her shoulders and moved them toward their own bedroom.

He had stripped off his jacket, loosened his tie, and rolled up his sleeves. He sat on the bed and let his mind run away as Rose readied herself for bed. As a Time Lord, he rarely slept, but he took it upon himself to stay with Rose as she did so. Part of him did it so that she didn't have to wake up alone anymore, but most of him didn't ever want to let her out of his sight. Since she and Sammy had entered the TARDIS, they had become quite domestic, and he was surprised at how quickly he had acquired a taste for it. There was still loads of running, but quite a bit less danger, which was perfectly fine by him. He had Rose, and they had a son. He didn't need the adrenaline anymore.

Rose reappeared. This conversation wasn't going to go well.

She sat on the bed opposite him and spoke before he could even open his mouth. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Something's going on. Tell me what it is."

He dropped his jaw to speak, but closed it again shortly after. His eyes fell, and he reached out to hold her hand in his. He rubbed it with his thumb for a moment before saying, "There's a prophecy."

"Doctor-"

"Please, Rose," he breathed. She sighed and gave him her undivided attention. "There's a prophecy. It tells of something returning. I don't know what, and I don't know when, but something's coming, and it's soon."

She placed her hand on top of his. Her expression showed him just how unfazed she was by this. "Well, whatever it is, we'll face it together, yeah?"

His eyelids flickered up and he matched her stare.

"We can't."

She pulled her hand back in surprise. He had never denied her help. He had never wanted to face things alone, not since she had come back to him. Rather than voice her objections, she merely waited for an explanation.

"Rose, whatever it is, the Master is behind it." The recognition set into her features. He had told her about the Master, everything with Martha and Jack and the year that never was. "He's supposed to be dead, but his image is invading people's dreams. The nightmare has even reached the Ood Sphere, which means that if it's him, if the Master is still alive, he's more powerful than ever." His hand gripped hers a little tighter. "The last time he and I met, he knew about you, but I don't think he knew that you were more than a companion of mine, and there isn't a way that he knows I've got you back. Rose, if he finds out...if he learns about you and Sammy...I don't think there will be a way that I can protect you. I need you here, safe."

She nodded, but he could tell he had yet to convince her.

"There's more." He breathed deeply. "Rose, I've been told that...that my song is ending, that I'm going to die." She gasped quietly, and he could see her tears form quickly. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I think I've known for a while, but I didn't want to say anything. I don't...I don't want to say goodbye again."

She replaced her hand on his in silent reassurance. "It'll be fine," she said. You won't have to say goodbye again. It'll be fine. It's always fine."

He took her hand and pulled it up to his mouth for a kiss before dropping it back in her lap.

"Not this time."

She wrenched her hand back more violently than the last time. Standing up and making her way to the other side of the room, her every move established her disapproval and frank anger. With her back turned to him, her hands came up to her face and hid it for a moment before crossing over her chest.

"So you're just giving up?!" she asked, her voice thick with emotion. "After all we went through, after losing you and getting you back...we have Sammy!" She turned to face him, and he realized that she must have been trying to hide the fact that she was crying. Her eyes were red and glossy, the reflections on her cheeks proving the stream of tears. "Doctor, we have a son! And you're just going to give up and..." Her voice caught and she ended her sentence there. She took a deep breath and allowed her sobs to subside before changing the topic. "And what does that even mean, 'your song is ending'? Are...will you regenerate or is that...is that just it?"

He itched to move, to run to her and hold her and make the hurt go away, but he knew any attempt would be in vain. She would shove him away and probably leave the room and the conversation would have to wait for another day which was no good. They had to talk about this now. They had to be prepared for the worst, and they had to be prepared for it to happen at any given moment. So he remained on the bed, his pleading eyes trying to convey everything his words could not.

"I don't know," he admitted. He couldn't stop the next words that came out of his mouth. He loved Rose, and she deserved his complete honesty now more than ever. "But either way...every time I change it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away...and I'm dead."

She hurried back over to him at that. "Don't say that!" she begged. She pressed herself into his chest, silently commanding to be held. He obeyed. "It's not fair! I've only just got you back." She cried openly into his shirt, clutching a chunk in her fist. He simply pressed a kiss in her hair. A few moments later, she pulled back.

"I have to go with you," she cried, pulling away from him enough to look him in the eye. "I need to be there, Doctor. Maybe I can stop it happening!"

He sighed quickly. "Rose, I don't think anyone could stop it from happening."

"Well then I should be there when it happens. I should be the last thing you see!"

That had almost had him convinced. It would be much nicer if Rose could be the last thing he saw, and the first thing the new him would see. It might even make the process go a little smoother if she was there to hold his hands. Suddenly a thought came into his head that immediately nixed any ideas he entertained about Rose being with him for his last adventure.

"Rose, you need to stay here. I need to keep you 100% safe, and, besides Sammy, I think you know the reason why."

She looked down for a moment, and he knew that he was right. He had suspected for a few weeks, but he was waiting for her to tell him, thinking that he may have picked up on it before she did.

"I wanted to surprise you," she admitted quietly. "I've only known for a couple of days."

He nodded before lunging forward and fastening his mouth to hers. She began deepening the kiss, and he did not object. He wasn't very present during the kiss. Instead his thoughts were occupied in much more upsetting thoughts. Sammy would never remember his face, and their unborn child would never even see it. When they pulled apart, tears were falling down his face as well.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," he spoke, his emotions getting the better of him. "If I could put it off any longer, I would." She nodded. "But I've already been running from it for so long. I was running from it when I found you again. It's time to face it." He paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "I promise you, Rose. I will come back to you. I could never leave you and Sammy. I will be there for you with our new little one the way I couldn't be there for Sammy. I love you, and I will always love you, no matter what I look like."

She pressed their foreheads together. "No matter what face you have, you and me, we'll always be-"

"Yes," he interrupted. "We will."

She lay herself down on the bed and pulled him with her. That night, as Rose fell asleep, the Doctor couldn't remember a time when he held her tighter.