Disaster
a Ten/Rose fic
–
Ashes rain from the sky, coating the burning ground with black snow. The land is still blazing with heat, but the lava has cooled enough to create an irregular oceanic landscape of grey basalt. The Doctor stares unseeingly into the aftermath from their secure perch up above, his hands in his pockets. Rose stands beside him, the air scratching her throat and stinging her eyes, making them tear.
The volcano had been active for years, but none of the inhabitants of Caeio had paid it any mind. They had called it jolly; they had called its bubbling cheerful; they had said the smoke and ash expelled from the top was just the volcano god smoking his pipe. Its rumble was his laughter. It's swelling—simply the aftereffects of a generous meal.
But now half the inhabitants were dead and the other half were being tossed about in wooden boats on the sea, trying to make it to the mainland before the thick air made it impossible.
Rose unthinkingly folds her arms and flinches as her hand grazes a nasty burn. It is tender—but then again, it shouldn't come as a surprise; she had just gotten it, courtesy of a flaming falling branch that caught her as they were trying to lead a group of Caeions away from the epicenter. The branch had been heavy enough to pin her down for a few agonizing seconds before the Doctor was at her side, tossing it away as if it were weightless.
She looks back to her savior, but his back is turned to her. After that, he hadn't quite been himself. Of course, it had been hectic down there and they had been running for their lives—not to mention the fact that they'd had the lives of the Caeions in their hands—but even since reaching the safety zone, he had remained distant.
Well, hasn't he the right to be a bit quiet? After seeing so much death and destruction, she can't blame him if he isn't exactly keen on conversation.
But apparently he is done with his introspection. He turns around and spares her the barest of glances before starting to walk away.
—
They are back in the TARDIS, but he does not appear to have gotten any better. In fact, it seems that he's gotten worse—his face is sickeningly pale and his hands hover over the controls as if they are lost. But what worries her most is his vacant expression.
"Doctor?" she asks, "are you alright?"
Which is stupid, because he's obviously not okay, and he's sure to deny anything's wrong because that's just how he is, and it really just makes her feel a bit silly—
But he doesn't call her out on it and he doesn't muster up a reassuring smile and he doesn't say Of Course I Am in that flippant manner she's grown accustomed to hearing when he lies.
She places a hand on his shoulder and only then does he turn to acknowledge her. His countenance is blank, but his eyes are cold and desolate, harboring an abyss of something she's never seen in him before.
Fear.
And she doesn't know if she initiated it, or if he did, or if they both reached out to each other, but they're in each other's arms and he's clinging to her like a drowning man clings to a lifesaver.
"It's alright, Doctor," she finds herself saying. Surprisingly steadily, considering her arm is on fire. She shoves the pain aside. "Some disasters can't be avoided. 'S not like you coulda saved allof 'em in time."
He doesn't respond for a moment. She hopes he doesn't blame himself too much; really, they did all they could and the death toll would have been a lot higher if it weren't for them—
"I nearly lost you," he says quietly, catching her off guard. "That would've been the worst disaster imaginable."
She chokes up, blames it on the air outside, and holds him tighter
A/N – This was actually the result of a challenge between my friend and me. We both generally dislike Rose Tyler, so I thought it would be particularly challenging to set aside our biases and write an honest, legitimate Ten/Rose fic. Unfortunately, his was not so honest or legitimate. Was I successful?