Rain could also be described as the tears that were falling down the elderly woman's face as she stood in front of the grave. Inside, her heart was slowly breaking to pieces as realization was slowly sinking in as she read the engravement:
"John Tyler-Smith. The man who she learned to love. May he rest in peace."
John. Her John. Was gone.
The funeral had been over two hours ago. Family and friends were already beginning to leave, only Rose remained at the grave. Standing there alone as the rain continued to pour over her, her only shelter a black umbrella. Her greying hair, once a lovely shade of blonde, flowed loosely in the wind that was also blowing faded autumn leaves across the ground.
Rose knew she should have seen this coming, after all the two of them hadn't been getting any younger. But...it just seemed like yesterday it had all happened...the day she was left in the alternate universe, again, with him. The clone of the Doctor. The man she had indeed learned to love, just like the engraving on the tombstone said. She had always thought it was just be her and the true Doctor, that was proved wrong the first time she had been stranded in the parallel universe. But it was proven, the only person she was going to spend the rest of her life first had been John.
She had to admit, it took awhile for her to accept John. At first she'd just wanted her Doctor. The real Doctor. But John...he was the Doctor, he had been the Doctor as a human. All the same memories. All the same feelings.
"I was a fool, John." she whispered as she hugged her thin sweater around her shoulders with one hand, the other hand trying to keep hold of the umbrella. "I was a fool for thinking I could be with the Doctor in the end. But..." A smile crossed her worn face. "At least I had you. You were exactly like him...you were him...well...at least as a normal human being. I figured that out a long time ago."
"Hey, Rose?" A male voice made the old woman jump right out of her skin, but she relaxed a little bit when she saw it was just her brother Tony. He was much younger than her, but that didn't place a barrier between the siblings.
"Don't scare your old sister like that, Tony." she said teasingly poking his shoulder. "Don't wanna lose me yet do ya?"
"Not in a million years." said Tony, warmly smiling.
"If I last that long." Rose said with a sigh.
"With your attitude, it wouldn't surprise me if you did." Tony chuckled. "Now come on, back to the car before you get a chill. The weather is quite ghastly today, and your kids and grandkids are gonna be leaving soon, I bet you'd like to get in one last goodbye."
"I'll be along in a second." said Rose. "I..." She paused and looked back at the gravestone. "I'm not finished here."
"Alright." Tony walked back to the row of cars waiting in the distance, lots of little children playing in the rain puddles and a few adults standing there chatting. Rose smiled again and knelt down on the ground, ignoring the wet mushy ground pressing against her legs. She reached into her purse and took out a small red rose, the petals were dried, but she could still smell the sweet fragrance.
"Remember the day you got me this rose, John?" she asked the grave. "I remember, the day from all those years ago." She could remember, she might have been in her late sixties, but she had a stellar memory. She could remember the day she got that rose, and many other days before and after that. The good days. And the bad days. All of them. Starting with the very day she was left on the beach with John Smith.