DISCLAIMER: YES THIS SHOW BELONGS TO THE BBC
Also this fic is inspired by a fanfic called "Weeds" by Reddwarfaddict. It's my take on a possible ending of the fic. You don't nessecarily have to read it to understand what's happening, but I highly suggest you do as it was amazing fic.
Happy reading!
The Doctor lay motionless on the floor.
Rose crawled over to him, hesitantly, before slowly placing her hand on his face.
Rose knew he was dead. One glance was all she had needed. But that did not mean that she had given up hope. He was a Time Lord. Surely, surely a miracle could happen, he could regenerate, he would come back.
His skin was stone cold.
His arms and legs were sprawled out awkwardly. His skin was a sickly pale and already tinged blue. His body was marred with cuts and bruises, clothes stained by dried blood. His eyes were wide open, yet those dark brown irises were empty and unseeing, their usual twinkle of life gone.
"Doc.. Doctor?" She said,shaking his shoulders ever so slightly.
Her hands were trembling. She shook him even harder.
"Doctor, this isn't funny. Come on doctor, wake up,wake up for me! " She cried.
Tears framed her face as she shook the lifeless body of her best friend, desperate for him to smile, to laugh and say everything would be alright.
She placed her hand on his chest, a desperate attempt to feel for his twin heart beats or anything really that would be a sign of life.
Nothing. Not a single beat, nor a sound , or a breath.
There was not even the glow of regeneration.
The doctor was well and truly dead.
She gently shut his eyes.
Rose sat there, absently staring into the distance. The Doctor's head was resting in her arms. Tears continued to pour down her face as she sobbed softly.
It was all so, so unfair. They had once again saved the universe. But the cost had been the Doctor's life.
Rose had no idea how long she stayed in that position, smoothing out his soft brown hair that had chunks of dried blood from a wound on his head, holding the man that she had loved, her best friend, the person that had lit up her life and made her world infinitely wider, holding him him in her arms, murmuring comforting words.
Whether to herself or to the Doctor, she was not sure anymore.
After a long while, she knew that she could stay there no longer.
Maybe it was the TARDIS nudging Rose to leave and prepare a proper goodbye for her Time Lord.
Maybe it was a part of her common sense stubornly reminding her of what was usually done for the deceased.
Whichever it was, she knew that she had to fulfill his last wish. She had to give him a proper funeral. It may not be grand, but it was the least he deserved.
After half dragging and half carrying the Doctor's body to the infirmary, Rose went to the console room. She had no way of operating the TARDIS all by herself, but she knew that soon, very soon, a certain programme would be activated...
As if on cue, a holographic image of the Doctor appeared.
"This is Emergency Programme 1. If this programme has been activated, it means that the designated driver of this ship is no longer capable of flying the TARDIS. The TARDIS will now return to the coordinates that it has been preset to, which is coordinates 58044 684884 from the galactic centre, 51.5074 N, 0.1278 W on Planet Earth, with the date and hear being June 3 2006." The holographic doctor said pleasantly while grinning.
The holographic doctor turned, he was now directly facing Rose, the grin on his face faded a little as he continued," Rose, if you're watching this, that probably means our plan against the Weeds has succeeded, but I ended up... I ended up in a state where I'm unable to continue being with you."
Rose tried hard to chock back a sob as she stated into the brown eyes of the holographic doctor. He looked so alive... So real. She wanted to reach out and touch him. But she knew that if she tried , there'd be nothing there but air. This was just an after image, a shade.
" Rose, I want you to know, that whatever happens, or happened, from your point of view, is not your fault."
"It is my fault," she whispered miserably.
" When you get back, you know what you need to do. I've probably told you, but if I didn't, the body of a Time Lord can only be properly be destroyed when cremated."
The holographic Doctor smilled sadly.
"I want you to know, Rose, you're brilliant. You always have been, and you always will be. You're the best companion and friend that I could have ever hoped or wished for," he paused for a second before continuing.
"One last thing Rose Tyler,do this one last thing for me. Never forget me and make sure you live a fantastic life ."
The holographic doctor gave one final smile before flickering out of existence.
Rose did her best to wipe away the tears that had come pouring down her face even though she had tried her hardest to stop them. She stood up and walked towards the console before placing her hand on the time rotor.
"I'm sorry.. I couldn't protect him. I know we had no other choice but... " Rose said, her voice cracking. " Take me somewhere where I can bury him, please? Somewhere nice yeah? Somewhere that you think that he.. he'd like."
She felt the time rotor warm beneath her hands in response.
The TARDIS gave a small jerk, Rose had to grab on to the railings to prevent herself from taking a tumble.
Finally, with a loud thump, they landed.
Rose slowly made her way to the door. She cautiously looked out and saw to her absolute wonder, that they were in the middle of a grass plain. For as far as the eye could see was acres and acres of green grass dotted with small clumps of dainty colourful flowers.
That's when it hit her. This was the place where she was going to say her last goodbye to him.
Apparently, Emergency Programme 1 now included an emergency notification to the next- of- kin of companions regarding said companion's return and related information such as location or time. Or at least, that's what Jack said when him and Jackie met Rose who had been standing in the middle of a grass plain , the blue police box by her side.
At first, Jackie had asked where the Doctor was ,what had happened and why did Rose have blood and cuts all over her body.
The look Rose gave them was all that was really needed to convey the message.
"He's dead mom. He died, saving you, saving me, saving the whole damn universe. But now he's dead," she whispered. Her voice was raw with pain and emotion.
"What do I do mom. What an I gonna do without the Doctor?" She broke down and cried out to her mom.
Jackie pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "Oh... It's alright Rose. It's alright sweetie, you'll be alright," Jackie said, trying her best to comfort her daughter.
" It's not mom, nothing's ever gonna be alright again, cuz I killed him. I'm the reason he's dead, it's all my fault."
Jackie didn't understand head or tail of what Rose was staying, but for once she said nothing. She could see how distraught Rose was, so instead she just held her tight in an embrace.
Jack placed a comforting hand on Rose's arm. She turned around to look at him before he gave her a big hug.
"Jack.."
"We're here Rosie. Whatever you needa do, we're here to help you now," he said calmly. His face didn't betray the sorrow he felt deep inside.
Rose nodded and took a deep breath.
"The Doctor, his last wish.. his last wish was that we cremate him, yeah? Something about Time Lord physiology and not decaying. So we needa.. we needa build a fire.." her voice trailed off as she looked to the sky, willing the tears to stop falling. Mourning could wait.
"Leave this to me Rosie. I'll set things up," Jack said as he gave her another hug.
"Inside the TARDIS, there's a room full of everything we need for.. for the funeral," she cleared her throat. "Full of wood and everything as if the TARDIS has always been prepared for this.."
Jack headed off inside the TARDIS to find the room Rose mentioned. He didn't have to search far. The hallway that used to lead to a countless number of rooms only lead to two rooms now. On the right was the room Rose mentioned. As she said, it was filled with wood, chopped and stacked neatly. In a corner of the room was a can of petrol and a lighter.
It didn't take too long for the Jack to set up the funeral pyre. In the meantime, Rose returned to sit next to the Doctor in the infirmary. She didn't want him to be alone. Not in these last moments.
Jack and Jackie quietly entered the room hoping not to startle Rose.
Jackie tried to hide a sob when she saw the Doctor's body.
Jack's expression was sombre, though his head was bowed, you could see his eyes that were usually full of mischief were sad and mournful.
"Rose, it's time," Jack said softly and gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.
For a while, Rose didn't move or reply to show that she had heard him. Jus as Jack was about to repeat himself, she nodded her head before taking a step away from the bed. She was no longer crying, instead, she had put on a blank emotionless mask, only her eyes betraying how much all this was hurting her.
Jack carried the Doctor out of the TARDIS before gently laying him on the funeral pyre. Rose carefully arranged his limbs so that he looked as if he had just fallen asleep, in fact he looked so peaceful lying there. If not for his tattered and bloodied clothes and all his injuries, Rose could almost pretend that he was just sleeping. It would have been easier for her if she could pretend that he was just sleeping, really. At least she wouldn't need to think about or deal with or feel that gaping, aching hole in her heart.
"If anyone has any last words, now's the time to say them," Jack said, softly.
There was a pause of silence.
" I never really liked you, you know. You and your.. your alien ways. Always flying here and there and taking my daughter along with you. I never knew when you would bring her back, was never even sure if she was still alive. But you promised me that you'd keep her safe. And you kept your promise. My daughter is alive and safe. But now you're dead, who's gonna keep her safe? Oh, you daft alien, you were supposed to stay alive too." Jackie sobbed as she reached the end of her rant.
Jack gave Jackie a small squeeze on the shoulder, before he stepped forward.
" Doc, I want you to know that the time I spent travelling with you, going on adventures, fighting badguys, picking up chicks," at that Jack gave a small wink and smile to Rose, who gave a small smile in return. "All of this time I spent with you has been the best time in my life, if I could change anything, I would never change the fact that I met you. You made me a better man Doc, and I just hope.. I just hope that you felt that way too. "
Jack cupped his hands round the Doctors face before leaning in to kiss him lightly on the forehead. He gave the Doctor one last look before taking a stepping back to give Rose some space.
There was so much Rose had to say. So much she wanted to say, so much she wanted him to say to her. But it was too late now. He would never speak to her again. But if this were to be the last time she ever get to speak to him,face to face, even if she would never get a reply, then she was not going to waste this last chance. And she would pray, pray to all and any of the Gods that existed out there, that he would hear her last words to him.
"Doctor. There's so much I wanna tell you. There's so much more I wanted to do with you. I wanted to explore the galaxies with you for the rest of my life. I wanted to continue all our adventures together. We said forever yeah? What happened to your forever being longer than mine?" She was quiet for a moment, as if expecting an answer, but she received none.
" Doctor, you let me learn a whole new way of living. You showed me the stars, and you showed me everything and more than I could ever imagine. I will never ever, ever regret the time I spent with you Doctor. I know that you can't hear me anymore but I'll never, ever forget you and if this is my last chance to say it...I.. I love you." She said the last 3 words softly. So softly that the wind seemed to have blown the words away, free to fly to another land for another heart waiting to hear those 3 words.
Rose lit the flame that would burn the Doctor's body. The flames burnt bright and high, the smell of firewood and burning flesh entered her nostrils and tainted her hair her clothes, everything. Rose reached out and held both Jack and her mothers hand.
Before them, the sun was beginning to set. The sky was a a beautiful orange colour, the grass reflected the sun's rays and seemed to turn a fiery red. There was a cool wind that blew in their direction, making the fire leap and dance.
As the flames ate hungrily at the Doctor's, a small wisp of golden light floated from his body towards Rose.
It touched her face, and there was a bright flash of golden light.
Before Rose's eyes she saw the Doctor.
He was translucent, made up of golden glowing light. He was like a ghost but at the same time... Not.
But he was very much alive. The heavy burden that seemed to have been constantly been weighing him down seemed to have lifted. In death, he seemed to have found more peace with himself than he had before in life. His eyes sparkled with joy, his smile was wide and earnest and made her heart warm with happiness and love.
He gently paced a ghostly hand on her cheek, and looked her in the eyes, before whispering in a voice only she could hear.
"And quite right too, Rose Tyle,"HK he slowly placed a kiss on her forehead.
And just as sudden as he appeared, he was gone.
Jack and Jackie looked around, unsure of what had just happened, but Rose knew.
And she smiled.
Under a burnt orange sky, the body of the last Time Lord burned.
Where his ashes lay, a single pink rose blooms. Beside it, a blue police box stood proudly, watching over her Time Lord until the end of time.