Title: Not Alone
Rating: K+
Summary: My little fix for the events at the end of 'Journey's End', which (according to the file date) has been languishing on a flash drive since 2008. *sigh*
"You can do it for him."
The Doctor was wrong. She wasn't strong enough to do it again. Not by herself. She was about to protest, when the new Doctor cut in.
"She can't, and you know it. Not alone. She helped you, but we're just enough different. I'm half-human, and all that entails." He shook his head. "She'd do it, because you asked her, but it wouldn't be fair."
"What else can I do, then?" the Doctor demanded. "I can't just leave you here by yourself."
The new Doctor shrugged. "Take us with you. No rules against it." He met the Doctor's eyes. "And you'll need her there, to hold your hand," he said quietly. Rose's eyes softened. She knew…they all knew…that Donna Noble couldn't survive with the knowledge of a Time Lord. It had almost killed her, and it had 'killed' him, when she'd taken in the Time Vortex.
The Doctor pressed his lips together tightly, as his piercing gaze shifted between the new Doctor and Rose. His Rose. Their Rose. His other self was right. The thought of leaving her again was almost enough to cripple him, and knowing he was about to lose Donna as well…he found that he couldn't bring himself to be that self-sacrificing.
Decision made, the tightness in his chest eased somewhat. He held out his hand. "Rose?"
She moved forward, bypassing his hand to catch him up in an emotion-filled embrace.
"Told you I'd never leave you, you git," she mumbled into his chest.
He chuckled. "So you did."
She took a step away and wiped the tears off of her face as she laced her fingers with his. Then she did something unexpected. She turned and offered the new Doctor her hand. "Come along, then. We've got worlds to see."
And they did.