One more person to see; he'd saved the best for last. He stood, shivering in the snow in a shadowy corner, waiting to see her. Rose. His Rose. A Rose that hadn't met him yet; why do you suppose he'd want to see her like that? It wasn't because he couldn't visit her in the parallel world—no, she already had the copy to keep her company—and he could have easily picked a time that she and nine were running about. But no, he picked a time before she knew him, before she'd travelled with him, because he knew that when she saw him, she wouldn't look sad; there would be no pain in her beautiful brown eyes and she wouldn't look twice.
He leaned absently against the brick wall behind him, facing Rose's apartment. He was quiet and anxious; on the inside, a storm of pain, anger, and almost-apathy raged but with expert struggling and straining, he kept all traces of it off his face except in his eyes he couldn't hold in a look of exhaustion.
He then heard the crunch of snow underfoot of two people walking towards the apartments.
"It's late now, I've missed it," he heard a woman say; he identified it easily as Jackie Tyler.
"Midnight. Mickey's gonna be calling and everything; it's your fault!" she accused the person she was talking to. He chuckled to himself; oh, Jackie Tyler.
"No it's not!" Rose's defensive reply came, her voice practically stabbing his hearts.
"It's Jim-bo! He said he was going to give us a lift and then he said his axel broke, I can't help it!" Jackie displaced the blame.
"Stop dating him, mum, he's useless!" Rose protested, hugging herself against the cold.
"Listen to you! With a mechanic!" Jackie argued.
'A mechanic?' He wondered for a moment.
'Oh yes, Mickey.' He thought to himself with a hint of jealousy before grinning when he remembered how he'd soon be stealing her heart and giving her both his own…
"Be fair, though," Jackie started, quieter.
"In my time of life I'm not going ta do much betta." She finished, looking at her daughter as they stopped walking.
He could see Rose now; not her face.
Rose put a hand on her mother's shoulder in a comforting way.
"Don't be like that," she began. Her voice drove him out of his mind yet he remained silent and in the shadows.
"You never know, there could be someone out there." Rose continued.
"Maybe…" Jackie said, looking wistful.
"One day." She was feeling encouraged now.
"Happy New Year!" they congratulated each other, giving hugs and giggles.
"Don't stay out all night." Rose instructed her mum.
"Try and stop me." Jackie jeered as she walked off. Rose huddled off towards her apartment alone.
'Now's my chance, I suppose.' He thought.
He stared at her pensively before a sudden flare of pain coursed through him, catching him off guard.
Rose turned quickly at the sound of his gasp.
"You alright, mate?" she asked. He looked up swiftly.
"Yeah." He answered without hesitation. When he saw her face, his hearts skipped a beat each in its turn; she was so beautiful.
"Too much to drink?" she guessed, shivering in the cold.
"Something like that." He replied.
"Maybe it's time you went home." Rose said.
He almost couldn't speak.
"Yeah…" he finally got out.
"Anyway, happy New Year!" she offered him congratulations with a wide grin.
"And you." He replied. She turned and began walking away. He wanted to speak with her longer; he thought that maybe if he spoke longer, if he could hear her voice one last time, that he could let go, again, but not now; not yet.
"What year is this?' he asked. She whipped around, looking confused.
"Blimey, how much have you had?" she giggled, amused.
"Well…" he mumbled, shifting his weight and shivering in his trench coat, jerking his head back a bit and grinning.
"Two thousand and five, January the first." She said, stressing the last three words.
"Two thousand and five…" he repeated. Rose nodded.
"Tell you wot…I bet you're going to have a really great year." He told her, his smile knowing. Rose looked a bit intrigued.
"Yeah?" she said. He only smiled and Rose turned away again before turning back to smile and say "see ya."
With that, she ran to her apartment and closed the door behind her, sneaking another glance in his direction before running up the stairs inside.
The pain now of two newly broken and dying hearts was almost too overwhelming for him to handle as he turned his back on Rose's flat and tried to walk away. He leaned against the brick wall for support, gasping in his agony.
He caught sight of the TARDIS and pushed himself off the wall, trying to walk to it with pain ridden steps. A few long and hard steps and his body faltered.
'I'm going to die! I don't want to die!' he thought frantically.
He cried out and fell to his hands and knees. He whimpered against the pain and panted, looking up to see an Ood standing a couple paces away from him with communicator in hand.
"We will sing to you, Doctor," The Ood started.
"Universe will sing you to your sleep."
"Oh my gosh, sir are you alright?" a very alarmed voice called from behind. He strained to look and he saw Rose running to him.
'If she touches me, there'll be a paradox!' he panicked in his head.
"Don't touch me!" he hissed as she neared him.
Rose stopped beside him, ignoring what he'd just said. A few tears found their way down his cheeks as he began to panic, feeling weaker and weaker.
"Please…don't…" he choked, the radiation within him clutching at his very core. If he didn't regenerate now, he might never have the chance to.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, mate." She soothed, reaching out to touch his shoulder.
"A paradox is upon us!" the Ood said before it disappeared.
'Don't touch me!' he thought.
Rose's hand touched the fabric of his trench-coated shoulder and he felt energy surge through him. Images flew through his mind, images of Martha, Donna, Jack, and Rose quickly appearing and disappearing rapidly as well as every moment of every adventure that he had ever experience with them, his beloved companions, and then he was left with the feeling that something was very, very wrong.
Then black.
He shot up, looking around frantically to see he was in a bed in someone's flat.
It was Rose's flat.
"Wot you doin', bringin' a fellow like that into your flat?" a familiar voice asked in the other room.
"Wot was I supposed to do then? Leave 'im out there in the snow?" Rose's voice his his ears; he guessed she was arguing with Mickey in the next room.
"Wot…wot am I doing here?" he wondered to himself, swinging his legs off the bed and standing, making his way to a mirror on the wall by the door.
'Well, let's see how I've changed…' he thought absently.
Once he saw his reflection, his mouth gaped open.
He hadn't regenerated.
"Wot?!" he breathed in alarm and shock.
"Wot?!"