"I'm late now. I've missed it. It's midnight. Mickey's going to be calling me everything. This is your fault."
Her voice rang out in the cold snow. He heard it from around the corner or a building, where he was tucked in the shadows, waiting. For her.
"No, it's not. It's Jimbo," Jackie said indignantly to her daughter. "He said he was going to give us a lift, then he said his axle broke. I can't help it."
Rose chuckled to herself. "Get rid of him, Mum. He's useless."
"Listen to you, with a mechanic. Be fair, though. My time of life I'm not going to do much better."
Rose stopped walking and turned to her mum, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be like that. You never know. There could be someone out there."
"Maybe, one day." Jackie hesitated a second. "Happy New Year!"
A smile broke across Rose's face as she pulled her mother into an embrace. "Happy New Year! Don't stay out all night."
"Try and stop me."
They broke apart, and Rose trudged around the corner, hugging herself from the chilly night air. He saw her smiling to herself lightly. A sharp jolt of pain rang through his body, and he let out a groan, keeling over. She turned around and faced him.
"You all right, mate?"
No, he wasn't. She was there, he was talking to her. And she had no idea who he was. This was her, before he came in and changed her life forever. He was far from all right. But rule one? The Doctor lies. "Yeah."
A slight smile danced on her lips. "Too much to drink?"
"Something like that."
"Maybe it's time you went home."
Home. His companions were the home he came to. And he was tearing down that home bit by bit, by seeing them all again. For the last time. "Yeah."
A beautiful smile broke out across her face. He hadn't seen that smile for so long. "Anyway, Happy New Year."
"And you." She started to walk away. "What year is this?"
She turned abruptly, then laughed out loud. "Blimey, how much have you had? 2005, January the first."
"2005. Tell you what. I bet you're going to have a really great year."
"Yeah? See you."
She smiled one last time at him, then turned and rushed toward the building, to get out of the chill. She opened the door, and met his eyes through the window as she ran up the steps. Then she was gone.
He threw his arms out to the sides, and burst out in golden light. Rose could hear him screaming in pain, but she was too afraid to step forward. She saw his body changing, then his face. Messy brown hair grew from his head. The golden light subsided, and he burst out, gasping for air. The old Doctor was gone, replaced by a man with a fluffy head of light brown and beautiful brown eyes. He looked at her and smiled. And as horrified as she was, she stepped closer. Because although she couldn't quite place it, she had seen that face before.
Hey, hope you enjoyed the story. It's my first fic in about a month, since I've had this terrible case of writers block. Anyways, I love Rose and the Doctor. When the Doctor was visiting his companions before he regenerated, it broke my heart that he couldn't see the real Rose, or rather, the Rose that knew and loved him. I cried so much. Anyways, thanks for reading. Love you all!