Fic: Doomsday ficlet
Rating: PG-13
Words: 551
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Warnings: Spoilers for Doctor Who season 2 final
Summary: Rose and Ten on the beach outside Bergen, exchanging their last words to each other
"I love you," she said with a hint of a chuckle, as the tears ran down her cheeks and the harsh wind continued to blow through her hair. Looking at him, she could see it wasn't new to him; he already knew and had probably known for quite some time.
He just looked at her, the barest trace of a smile on his lips. "Quite right too," was his reply.
The sound of the TARDIS got stronger by the second, but neither of them seemed to notice or care.
"And I suppose... if it's my last chance to say it... Rose Tyler..." But then he was gone, faded away before he could finish saying those words.
As sad as she was, as much as she wanted to break down on that cold beach outside of Bergen, she still managed to stand up.
As sad and heartbroken she was she could still hear those words she had hoped and longed for, words she had dreamed of for far longer than she knew.
She would go on hoping, dreaming to see her Doctor again; the man who had saved her life and the lives of those who mattered the most to her time and time again. And she had saved his life as well.
He had shown her worlds, planets, universes, the past and the future. She had taken care of him, she had made sure he wasn't alone.
Because of that, they hadn't only saved worlds and races; they had saved each other. Her life would be dull now, here in this alternative universe, while he would go on in that machine of his.
She wished him all the best, and hoped he would find someone new to travel with; someone who could help him as much as she had; someone who could help him in return.
Someone to keep him company.
She knew he needed that. As much as he tried to make her believe he was perfectly fine on his own, she knew it was all a façade; a shield to keep him safe.
Why had she been surprised when she found out there had been other companions before her? He was so old, so full of knowledge.
But also sadness.
No matter how much he tried to hide it beneath smiles and laughter, she could always see the sadness. And from day one she had sworn to do anything she could to keep the sadness at bay; to make the days, weeks, months and years better.
She didn't want him sad; she loved him.
Which was why she was so quick to be at his aid, even if it meant risking her own life to save his.
How strong her love for him was didn't matter; whether or not he loved her didn't matter.
What was important was that he lived on, that he continued to exists, continued to do what he'd always done; be a hero, a saviour for people who wouldn't know what they needed until it was too late.
They didn't know they needed the Doctor, but she did.
That was the only thing that kept her alive on that different planet; the knowledge that because of her, the Doctor would go on living, helping, aiding and saving those who needed him more than she did.