Author's Note: I own nothing, etc. I wrote this a long time ago and thought I might as well publish it. I may rewrite later.
"Good morning, Doctor." Amy said with a yawn, walking out to the console room.
"Oh, Amy!" The Doctor whirled around from a screen he had been facing, quickly turning it off, "Good morning! How did you sleep? What's for breakfast? Let's try Paris. I knew this excellent place in 1934 that used real eggs from-"
"Doctor," Amy cut him off, stopping him in the middle of pulling all of his fancy levers and switches, "What was that I just saw?" Normally she wouldn't push him, but there was something in the way he was acting that concerned her. The Doctor seemed to be hiding something.
"What was what?" he asked, a bit too innocently for Amy's liking.
"This," she quickly crossed over to the screen the Doctor had been looking at when she entered and pressed a button, turning it back on. When she saw the image more clearly, Amy gave the Doctor an amused grin.
"Oooh, Doctor, who's that?" she asked playfully, turning the screen accusingly toward the Doctor.
On the screen was a slightly grainy photo of a girl. She couldn't have been a day older than twenty, perhaps younger. The girl's long blonde hair was blowing in the wind and she smiled up at a man in a long coat. The man was nearly entirely out of the frame, which was centred on the girl's face.
The Doctor's expression changed into something Amy had rarely seen. It was sad, with a hint of guilt and more than a bit of longing.
"I'm sorry, I was just having a laugh… Doctor? Are you okay?" She had no idea what had gotten into him…
The Doctor recovered slightly, "Oh, don't you worry about me, Pond. I'm always alright."
Any crossed her arms and gave him a look, "Well obviously you aren't."
"She's just… She was a friend."
"A friend? Just 'a friend'? Doctor please. Who was she? What happened to her?"
"Her name was Rose." The Doctor turned off the screen and faced away from Amy. She pretended not to see the tear streaming down his face. "Today would have been her birthday. But I lost her."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" She stepped toward him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Of course you didn't. She doesn't matter anymore. I've moved on. So has she."
"You loved her," Amy observed.
He didn't say anything.
"…What happened?"
"I lost her to a parallel world. All my fault. She trusted me…" The Doctor's voice cracked, "She went off with a clone of mine, basically. I'm sure they're very happy. But that was in another life."
"Hey," she turned him around and hugged him, "I'm sure it wasn't your fault…"
"But it was…" He said quietly.
Amy didn't know what to say. She stood there with him for a long silence.
"Morning…" That was Rory, walking groggily down the stairs.
Amy turned away from the Doctor as he straightened and wiped a tear from his eye.
"Ah, Rory! Good morning! I was just telling Amy about breakfast in Paris. The most wonderful little place, not a block from the Eiffel tower…" The Doctor started pulling levers and pushing buttons and soon the TARDIS was off.
Amy met the Doctor's eye and he soon looked away. Whatever was troubling him with this Rose woman, Amy knew she wouldn't be hearing any more of it. That was the Doctor. He was always pressing on, burying things deep down in hopes he would forget.