-IMMORTALITY-
"I can't-"
"You won't! There's a difference!"
"Not for me."
"You always say that! High and mighty Time Lord only does what is absolutely right for the greater good of the universe!" she spat out.
"Rose-"
"Don't 'Rose' me!" tears streamed down her face.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Doctor!" there was a shocked expression on her face. "You only say that to people who are about to die! Is that what I'll be? Dead to you?"
"On the contrary, I'll be dead."
"Then why? Why do you want me to leave?"
"Do you remember what I said to you?"
"Yes." She knew what he was talking about; he didn't have to specify.
"I don't age," he said, repeating the words he'd said before, " I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die." If it was possible, there was more pain in his voice this time he said it than the first. "Imagine watching that happen to someone you-" Like the first time, he hesitated, but unlike the first time, Rose didn't prompt him and he forged on. "Someone you love." Tears fell slowly and steadily down Rose's cheeks, and that in itself nearly killed him. He felt his own eyes sting. "You could spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the-"
"Curse of the Time Lords! I know!"
"I cannot watch you die, Rose Tyler. I cannot see you wither and decay."
"And I can't leave."
Four words was all it took for him to close the small distance between them and gather Rose in his arms. The Doctor squeezed her tightly, never wanting to let go, but at the same time wishing he could push her away.
Rose, though it pained her to do so, pulled away from his embrace. "I'll go, for you. You shouldn't have to- to-" she was trying so hard, but again she broke into sobs. Clutching at her face, wishing the wetness would disappear, she almost missed his whispered word.
"Forever..."
"Not like this."
"No," agreed the Doctor, "like this." On that note, he swept her into a passionate kiss, realizing for the first time that, no, he could never truly leave her behind. The moment he left his Rose, he knew he'd be gone only a moment. He'd return.
"Doctor..." she whispered.
"It doesn't matter, not now, not ever. I will spend every second of the rest of your life with you."
"Even when I go to the bathroom," she joked through water-y eyes.
"Even then," the Doctor said so seriously, she couldn't determine if he meant it or not. That is until he started laughing like the Doctor she knew.
Rose hated herself for it, but she asked anyway, "What about when I do get old, when I wither, and when I die?"
"A lifetime with you will be worth it."
"What about-"
"Sh. I don't want to waste another second dwelling on this." The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and dragged her to the TARDIS control room, business as usual. Except he didn't let go of her hand. Not this time.
4 YEARS LATER
"Rose!" The Doctor shouted enthusiastically.
"What!" she said, matching his tone.
"I just realized something!"
"What's that?"
"You aren't withering!"
"Excuse me?" Rose was a bit confused.
"It's been four years since we had our conversation about you leaving!" A shadow crossed both of their faces, but the Doctor continued, "And you haven't aged! Not one bit!"
Rose's expression turned bemused, "I noticed, Doctor. To be quite honest, I can't fathom how you missed it."
"Fathom! Brilliant vocabulary, Rose!"
"Doctor, can I ask you a question?"
"Besides that one?"
"Yes," she hit him softly.
"Ow," he complained. Rose waited for his answer, "Alright, shoot." His eyes widened, "Not literally, of course!"
"How many other people have you had on the TARDIS for more than a year or so?"
"None, aside from you."
"So then you really didn't know, did you?"
"Know what?" The Doctor found it slightly annoying that occasionally Rose figured out something before him these days.
"The temporal energy in the TARDIS halts the aging process."
"So I've now discovered. Rose Tyler, I'm so glad you stayed."
"Doctor, I'm so glad you didn't make me leave." Rose's young, yet experienced eyes shimmered with tears.
"I don't think I could have," the Doctor said, a tear of his own streaking down his face.
"I love you."
"And you, mon coer."
"I didn't know you spoke any French accept Allons-y"
"Yes, well. I do. Now!" He said, "back to the business at hand!"
"Which is?"
"Lunch!"
"Mm, yes, I'm hungry."
"I was thinking that café on Raxacoricaphalipitorious!"
"The one with the Tecruvian pickled slug toes? Ew, no thank-you."
"Oh, but I love Tecruvian pickled slug toes!"
"What about that organic fruit/oxidative winged buffalo steak stand on New Earth?"
The Doctor grimaced, "No, they have pears. I hate pears!"
"You don't have to eat them," Rose crossed her arms.
"Yes, but what if the rubbed off on the winged buffalo?"
"You're telling me that you can eat Tecruvian pickled slug toes, but not something that touched a pear?"
"Yep!" The Doctor smiled. Rose rolled her eyes and walked over to the Doctor, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"How about we just eat in the kitchen?"
"Sounds like a plan," the Doctor said, grabbing her wrist and yanking her down the hallways of the TARDIS.
3 Years Later
Rose cried. She didn't want to, and she tried to hide it, if nothing else for him.
"Doctor," she whispered, "You went six years in your tenth regeneration! How did you manage to use three more in two years?"
"I'm sorry, Rose, I'm so sorry."
"And you won't regenerate this time?"
"No," he said, his purple eyes staring deep into hers.
"At least you got to be a ginger," Rose laughed half-heartedly, ruffling his hair.
"Yep. Had to happen one day," he smiled weakly. They were on the floor of the TARDIS, the Doctor's head in Rose's lap. It was stupid, really, not even a Dalek or a Cyberman. The Doctor had been shot with a phase pistol, right between the shoulders, managing to burn both of his hearts.
"I love you," Rose said, abandoning her attempt to hold in tears. A few splattered against his face.
"I love you t-" He was cut off with a kiss from Rose. He looked sadly at her, wishing he didn't have to leave her, wishing he'd met her earlier, wishing he'd had longer to love her. But he didn't.
The Doctor's eyes glowed softly, letting Rose know he was about to explode into his final shower of gold, but rather than a new man, he would be gone. Dead. And she would be alone.
"Rose," he said, his body shuddering with the difficulty of holding in the energy.
"Yes, Doctor?" she tried to imagine a world without his two hearts beating but couldn't.
"You need to go." Rose wiped away a tear and slowly started to rise, making to lay his head gently on the floor of the TARDIS. The Doctor's hand shot out, gripping Rose's wrist. "I have to... have to... tell you something... first." He panted with exertion.
"Anything," Rose whispered.
"Well, four things, actually."
"First, I still hate pears."
Rose gave a watery laugh at this.
"Second, I love you, but you know that."
"Yes, I do," sighed Rose.
"Third, very important."
"What is it?" She asked when he hesitated, another shudder wracking his body.
"I've told you... that regeneration is like dying. I die, and a new man saunters away. Sure, he has my memories, but I'm dead. But the past four regenerations, it hasn't felt like dying, because when I woke up, I still loved you, and you still loved me. Thank you, Rose, for letting me live so long with you. I already said it, but I love you. I don't regret a moment we spent together, and I hope you don't either."
Rose put a hand to her mouth, trying to hold in the anguished cry that threatened to consume him. "Doctor, I..." she trailed off.
Once again, he shuddered, but this time he cried out and a bit of gold energy escaped his mouth.
"Doctor!" Rose screamed.
"One... last... thing..."
Rose looked at him, her pain almost unbearable. Almost.
"And fourth," the Doctor said leaning close to her head, somehow finding the strength to whisper in her ear. "My name is..." the rest was too quiet for anyone but Rose to hear.
"I- I love you," she said, sounding so much like the first time she'd said it.
"I-" the Doctor cut off and his eyes glowed more brightly, "GO!" He yelled. She heard the fear in his voice, not of dying, but of taking her with him.
"Goodbye, Doctor," Rose said quietly exiting the room, tears streaming down her face.
She heard his scream and felt numb. Felt the TARDIS shake, despite how far from him she was. She buried her head in her arms, feeling like most of her was dying with him.
"No, no, no..." she whispered, wishing she could once again be Bad Wolf and give him more regenerations. She couldn't even contemplate what she'd do without him.
All at once, the TARDIS stopped shaking. She gave Rose a quick path back to where the Doctor had died. As much as it scared her, Rose knew she had to face where he had died. And she would. She remembered what he used to say: 'I'm always alright'. Not this time, she thought miserably. Rule number one: the Doctor lies.
Rose gathered every scrap of courage she could muster and pushed open the door.
"Doctor!" Rose cried, running into the middle of the TARDIS where a thin, messy brown haired man lay unconscious.
She dropped to her knees gazing deeply into his long lost face. He stirred slightly. He was alive! She'd suspected before, but it would have been very like him to leave behind a body despite his warning that there would be nothing left.
He opened one eye, and then another. "Am I... dead? Because if I am, I'm really annoyed that you didn't leave the room, Rose."
"You- you're not... dead, Doctor," Rose's eyes shone with a different type of tears. She smiled so widely that she thought her face would fall off.
"Well that's peculiar... I wonder..." the Doctor trailed off, attempting to solve the mystery of life in the space of a few seconds.
"Doctor, you're-"
"Just a moment, Rose. Rose! I'm not dead!"
"Way to state the obvious," Rose said, giving a chocked giggle.
"I feel... familiar. It's an odd feeling. I don't suppose we have any pears, do we?"
"N-no, Doctor!" Rose stammered, surprised at his request and a bit scared.
"Good. I hate pears."
"Doctor!" Rose threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly.
After she let go, as if just realizing he was still laying on the floor, he sat up. Then he caught his reflection in the mirror.
"Rose..." He sounded amazed.
Realizing what he'd just seen, Rose smiled in acknowledgement.
"I'm not ginger anymore!"
Rose put a hand in his hair. "This was always my favorite style anyway."
"Always...?" he looked at his reflection again. "Oh! Well that explains... it still isn't possible!"
"Apparently it is. Just highly improbable."
"I just don't understand... wait a minute! Rose Tyler, you kissed me when my eyes were glowing, correct? Yes, of course it is. So if... then... and when you kissed me... ah! I get it! Rose Tyler," he said her name with relish, "you saved my life!"
"I- I did?"
"Yes! Do you remember when you looked into the time vortex and turned into Bad Wolf and-"
"Yes," Rose said quietly.
"You do?"
"Yes."
"Everything?"
"Yes."
"Since when?"
"I remembered at Bad Wolf Bay."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"It was after you left."
"And later?"
Rose shrugged. "I didn't really think about it."
"You- you didn't- didn't really- think about it?" the Doctor looked flabbergasted.
"Not really. I mean, the whole, you-kissed-me-and-gave-up-a-regeneration-to-save-my-life-and-didn't-tell-me part was there, but, you know, I didn't think it needed mentioning. I figured if you wanted me to know, you'd tell me."
"Well... anyway! You do know, then, that I kissed you and took the extra temporal energy into myself, keeping it from burning you up. There was no way I could have every gotten all of the energy out of you, so a safe amount was left in you to dissipate on its own."
"Alright..." Rose didn't see his point.
"So, you lived with a higher tolerance to temporal energy than most humans! But after seven years, all of it, save minuscule traces, would be gone! But-"
"I was left with the tolerance!" Rose said, realizing what he was saying.
"And when you kissed me, your body automatically siphoned off the most energy you can host and literally kept me from burning up!" The Doctor's eyes shone with excitement.
"Which means," Rose said," That I kept you alive for once! Ha!"
"Yes! I still have one question, though."
"Which is...?"
"Why am I my tenth regeneration?"
"I dunno."
"Well maybe... you picked me!"
"I did?"
"Yes! Rose Tyler, you managed to do three things! Save my life, put me in your favorite body of mine, and, put me where I started. Sad, so sad, but instead becoming the most happy entity alive! Rose Tyler," he said.
"I always liked those eyes," Rose said.
"Shame I'm not a ginger, though." Rose hit him playfully before kissing him passionately on the lips.
Unknown to either of them, gold light passed back and forth between their closed eyes.
"I love you."
Epilogue:
The Doctor and Rose remained in an immortal state, though the Doctor still regenerated, and Rose, apparently, could used the energy she siphoned off the Doctor to heal her own wounds. They traveled the stars together, and eventually, the Doctor's reputation on many planets changed from 'the lonely god' to 'the savior filled with love'. Rose discovered, happily, that the when the Doctor now 'regenerates', he remains with his body and personality intact. All she has to do is kiss him, siphon some power. She was more than willing to oblige. And though many horrors and attrocities befell them, the young (and impossibly old) couple stayed together for all of time, searching the Galaxy for new wonders and sometimes just exploring the TARDIS. Next time you see a blue box, or perhaps a young couple running, remember the Doctor and Rose. Because for all you know, it is them.
She looked down at him and gasped. It was a very Doctor like thing of him to do. He was bent down on one knee and holding a ring. Not just any ring, though. He held a ring of several different precious metals from several different worlds all fused together in a band, and rather that a jewel, a small galaxy whirled around the setting.
Though she knew what he would say, his words still shocked her, and she still allowed for a joyful gasp when he did. "Rose Tyler," he said," Will you marry me?"
"Yes, of course," Rose smiled happily, letting him slip the ring on her finger. Then she kissed him, sweetly, for so long it seemed the two of them had become one, three hearts beating together. And for once, nobody needed oxygen. They were immortal.
A/N: Okayyyyyyy. SO I realize there are some inaccurate bits in there, but bear with me, creative license. Also, I don't own any of these characters *sigh* and BBC and copyright and all that fun stuff. So, as I am not a television station, the rights are not mine. Ummmmm... this is set AFTER Journey's End (at least the beginning is) except there was never a duplicate Doctor, so Rose stayed with the original. Amy and Rory never happened... uh, Rose is immortal. Oh! And if you didn't catch that in the end, the doctor turned back into David Tennant. For the rest of eternity. I know. The universe just got 10 degrees hotter. Pun intended. Anyway, I couldn't help adding the proposal at the end. I'm not really one for that kind of thing in writing (don't know why, I like it just fine on TV and in real life.) but I needed a way to end it that WASN'T the epilogue, so there. I hope you enjoyed it! And please, please, review!