The first time he sees her is the first time he sees the Master, before he realizes it's the Master because he's regenerated. Their fingers are twined and she's leaning against him, half her face hidden in the sleeve of his jacket. Both of them are bottled blondes, their eyes dancing with something that made the Doctor take a second look when he's got some place very important to be, some people to save.
It's a busy street, and people crossed in front of his line of vision. He stands on the toes of his boots, which adds to his already impressive height, and gets a better look but the spot is empty. He shakes his head and continues on his way. His mind is playing tricks on him, must be, because they are all dead. He'd know after all, he was the one who did the deed. Murderer, his mind whispers, and he doesn't need the small reminder because the memories are all there. He does not notice, or at least pretends not to, the wide berth of space people give him even on the crowded streets of London where elbow room is never given. Unless you're six feet of glowering anger, all wrapped up in leather and self-loathing.
The second time he sees them is by a bloody crime scene. They were world leaders, extremely important people to the humans who were suppose to do equally as important things for this tiny little world. The bodies, splayed out almost theatrically, doesn't bother him and he looks around with old eyes, trying to find something that would help Jack, and Torchwood, find out who's doing this. He's only here for Jack, because the man asked him, and the Doctor owes him after all. The Doctor would be dead if it weren't for Jack, though he isn't sure anymore if that's a good thing or not. After this trip he wouldn't come back to Earth anytime soon, it hurt too much.
The Doctor was looking around when he spotted them in the crowd, stupid apes and their morbid fascination with death. The couple stood close together again. Fingers entwined, but her brown eyes are on him. The man leans down, whispering something in the girl's ear but her eyes don't stray from the Doctors. The Doctor watches as the man's brow creases, how his eyes turn angry and deadly before he's wrenching the girl away with a force that has the Doctor moving before he realizes what he's doing.
"Doctor?" Jack calls out behind him, the Doctor can tell he's running after him as the Doctor shoves his way through the crowd. After nearly sending a man to the dirty ground they move out of his way automatically.
The Doctor's hearts feel like they are about to beat right out of his chest, or perhaps stop working all together because he finally realizes where he's seen that face before. The girl, small and pale and blonde. Rose, from the basement of shop dummies. Rose Tyler, the girl who invited him in for coffee. Rose bloody Tyler, the girl who saved him from the Autons and then told him no, she didn't want to travel through space with him. He had left and he thought that was that.
"What's wrong? What'd you see?" Jack asks as he comes to stand beside the Doctor in an empty alleyway.
"I don't know," The Doctor answers truthfully, but at the same time with a lie.
The third time the Doctor meets the Master, alone, and finally learns who he is. At first the Doctor feels the joy of having another Time Lord alive, but it's quickly crushed when he realizes that Rose is no longer by the Masters side. Did he finally get bored of her? Kill her in a fit of anger? Or perhaps amusement?
"She's very much alive Doctor, doing me a bit of a favor see, needed to do something but you've been sticking so very close to them." The Master is grinning manically, his plan realized as the Doctors blue eyes widen and he's running faster than he's run before.
The Doctor hadn't been close to anyone, made sure of it, didn't even ask anyone to travel with him after Rose but there was a group of people he couldn't help but get to know while he searched for a murderer who was taking out important historical figures. The Cardiff Torchwood team. Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, Toshiko Sato, and Owen Harper.
The Doctor rushes into Torchwood, bending down to check Ianto's pulse even though he knows there's no hope for the young man. He walks into the headquarters, knowing he's far too late. That it's another five lives on his hands and his conscious and he stumbles under the weight, his knees connecting with the hard concrete as he notes the bodies littering the floor.
Then she's there, her brown eyes wide and haunted, stuck in a face that was once so full and alive but now it was hollowed out and pale. There was something there though that made the Doctors treacherous hearts pick up a beat, especially when she placed a bloody hand against the side of his face.
"My Doctor," Rose whispered, caressing his face with a small bloody hand. He should have been disgusted or angry, anything really besides what he was feeling. The Doctor definitely should not have been leaning into that touch. Oh but did he know what it felt like to be a murderer.
"Oh Rose," The Doctor whispered back, lifetimes of sadness shining in his blue eyes and his soft voice. He felt like he was breaking. His planet and his people gone, the last friends he had in this world dead, and the woman who killed them was the person who finally managed to break him. Just a stupid 19 year old ape. He feels like she could have saved him. He knows he could have saved her.
Rose presses her lips so softly to his own. He tastes blood but it doesn't deter him the way it should. Doesn't even make him pause as he presses his lips to hers, his hands falling to his sides. She gasps his name, and he swallows it, feels like she's stealing his life and he doesn't even care.
"Rose, my love?" The Masters voice echoes out from the entrance room. Rose gives The Doctor a final kiss before caressing his cheek, so softly he barely feels it as she moves her lips to his nose, leaving a kiss there before moving to his forehead. He feels as if she's burning her name into his skin. Finally she kisses his ear.
"I want you safe, my Doctor." She whispers before pulling herself away but leaving her knife buried deep within his chest. She's walking away as he slumps to the ground, his eyes meeting the cold, dead stare of Jack's before watching her blood covered feet move gracefully across the floor.
The Master is waiting by the door, an almost endearing look on his face. His hand is out, open and Rose takes it without question, lacing her bloodied fingers with his. The Master brushes a piece of sweat and blood soaked hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead, than he's pulling her away and she's casting a look at the Doctor as he bleeds out.
The Master didn't mind the blood, probably even liked it a bit. The Doctor's last thought is to wonder if the Master and he aren't so very different after all.