A/N: This originally just started out with the opening portion but rapidly became a depressing drabble. This is un-beta'd.
Disclaimer: I own nothing; Doctor Who is the property of the BBC.
Inspiration Song: As always, the title comes from a song that either inspired the story or I listened to while writing for the mood. Please go listen to the song on youtube while reading. "Everything Trying" by Damien Jurado.
EVERYTHING TRYING
Rose Tyler was beginning to suspect that Hollywood got everything wrong.
Movies always oversimplified life, and things like falling in love. It was so so much more messy and painful and wonderful than movies ever portrayed. So much more worth it too.
And it goes without saying that they completely screwed up on aliens. Martians were neither little, nor green. They actually kind of reminded her of anteaters from back home on Earth…
Time travel, nor time itself worked the way they said. Space ships didn't go lightspeed. Teleporting was definitely not as fantastic as they wanted you to think. Nothing was how it is in the movies.
And neither, as Rose was finding out, was dying.
In the movies, you could die an assortment of ways, but they all boiled down to a few types. You could die like an unimportant character that served only as an obstacle, like a member of an invading horde, quick. One shot, one scream, instant death.
Or you could die like the tortured soul, endless excruciating pain from same small wound as the unimportant character. It would be slow and cruel and if you were important enough, like the main character, you'd struggle on just long enough to save the world only to die in agony.
The most unrealistic type was the tearful, lingering goodbye. You suffered no pain, just whisper some prophetic words, an 'I love you', and let your eyes drift closed.
Right now, she was hoping for the last one.
Rose blinked for a moment, her ears ringing from the sound of the gunfire, staring at the sheer terror and panic on the Doctor's face. It was so surreal, but only for the moment, then it all came crashing back. She screamed in agony from the pain, her knees buckling beneath her. Searing, scorching pain erupted through her body as the Doctor caught her, cradling her against him. Rose was dimly aware of Jack yelling something angrily, a gunshot, another anguished scream.
"Rose…" The Doctor breathed, his eyes wild and panicked. She squinted up at him, gasping from the pain. Fire was burning through her, clouding her vision. Tears welled in his eyes as he held her helplessly for a moment. The Doctor pressed a shaking hand against two of bullet wounds in her abdomen in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. Rose spasmed, screaming, and the Doctor let out a sob, not moving his hand.
Suddenly, a quick death seemed appealing. She had never really thought about it before.
"Jack!" He yelled, his voice sounded so anguished. The Doctor looked down at Rose, thoughts racing, he gave her a gentle shake when he realized her eyes were closed. She moaned in pain. "Rose, Rose! Stay with me! Don't go to sleep!" Rose obediently opened her eyes, watched his lips form with words. Why had she never kissed him? Oh wait, they had. But never properly. Never right.
"Jack!" the Doctor's scream became desperate when Rose's eyes drifted closed again, only the sluggish beating of her heart and the pulsing flow of blood from her wounds reassured him that she was still alive, for the moment. He looked up with wild eyes as the captain ran over, shoving his gun into the back of his waistband.
"Shit… Shit! Rose!" Jack exclaimed, fighting back the fear that filled him. He cradled one arm underneath her back, next to the Doctor's, and the other under her knees. With a grim nod at the Doctor, they lifted her in tandem as smoothly as they could. Rose shook with gasping sobs of pain, whimpering and pleading incoherently.
The movies really had no clue. They had no way of capturing the amount of pain she was in at that moment. If they did, no one would ever want to watch a movie again.
Blood covered the Doctor's hands and suit, pouring out as her heartbeat accelerated. Rose obliquely noticed she couldn't feel her legs, one of the bullets must have hit her spinal cord. Oh well, she wasn't going to need them very soon.
"No, no… Rose! Stay with me!" The Doctor begged, working with some sort of tool that reminded her of the sonic screwdriver. "No, NO! Work! Damn you!" He swore in a multitude of languages, pressing buttons, aiming the machine at the wound. Apparently, there wasn't a setting for gunshot wound either.
Rose looked at Jack, who was bandaging one of the wounds, tears in his eyes. Blood from a gash on her forehead dripped into her eyes, obstructing her vision. She blinked slowly, pain roaring in her ears, drowning out her own gasps and sobs. Her eyes met the Doctor's for moment, tears coursing down his cheeks.
Cold. God, she was so cold. Why didn't the movies ever warn you about that? How could she be cold when the pain burned so hot?
"Common iliac…" He whispered in daze, looking back at the worst of her wounds.
"What?" Jack asked sharply, fear growing when the Doctor's hands stilled. "Doctor?" His attention snapped to Jack, his face shuttered.
"It hit her left common iliac artery" He replied simply. The Doctor set down the tool and gathered her gently in his arms, eyes locked on hers. Rose brought a trembling hand up to his cheek, he caught it with his own, squeezing gently. She whimpered softly, tears falling, the fear evident in her eyes.
"I can't save you" he whispered, finally breaking down. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" His words were half screamed into her hair as he clutched her to him, sobbing. Rose trembled, spasms of pain streaking through her like white-hot lightning.
This would be the part where she'd have her long prophetic goodbye, full of forgiveness and love.
"D-Doct—" she stuttered, her gasps becoming rapid as she hyperventilated. He released her just enough to look into her eyes again. One hand ran through her bloodstained hair, over and over.
But her life was never a movie.
"No.. No! Please!" he pleaded harshly, stiffening. Somewhere behind them, Jack punched the wall with a yell. The Doctor shook her roughly, gripping her with white knuckles. "NO!"
Rose looked up at him lifelessly as he screamed.
A/N: Please review! As for the medical bits, I'm going by the best of my knowledge here. The common iliac artery is a major artery, couple with the fact that she received multiple GSWs (including one to the spinal column), I think it would be fairly impressive for her to have survived that long. If you have any medical expertise and would like to give me some advice, that would be appreciated. Or if you have any questions, just ask in the review and I'll do my best to respond. Thanks for reading.