So I've been randomly writing one-shots every now and then and this is one of them so I hope you like it. It's a bit random but it was a dream so...yeah :P
The Doctor was depressed; there was no other way to put it. All of his companions had left him and then Donna had to forget him. It seemed nothing in his life was fair, but that was just the curse of the Timelords, to live on while those he loves are left behind to die. The problem was that he couldn't walk past a blonde woman without tears coming to his eyes. It was the same case with ginger women or brown-skinned women or even men that looked like Jack or Mickey. He was losing it and he needed help.
He made his way along the cold London streets. Almost everything was shut except a diner down by the water. As he entered, the bell clattered to announce his entrance. Several tired looking waitresses looked up at him, but didn't even attempt a friendly, welcoming smile. He plonked himself down at a table and observed his surroundings.
There was only one other occupant in the whole place. A woman sat several tables in front of him, facing him but with her face obscured by the newspaper she was reading. He glared at the woman. He hated not being able to see people's faces. The only reason he knew she was a woman was because of the knee-length skirt she was wearing with black heels, and the way the slender fingers clutching the newspaper were very delicate, with polished nails.
A waitress came over and he ordered a piece of banana cream pie. Another waitress approached the woman and gestured to her mug, holding out a jug of disgusting instant coffee.
"Oh, no more for me thanks," said the woman. Her voice was very familiar to him, yet he knew that he couldn't know her. He didn't know anyone from that area of London let alone the city, well...not anymore anyway. His pie was delivered and he fiddled with it as he snuck glances at the woman. She was clearly very interested in her newspaper, which was making him increasingly irritated.
The bell clanged and another similarly dressed woman made her way over to the other woman, with perhaps a little more excitement than anyone else in the establishment. "Oh Ro you'll never guess what happened today!" she exclaimed excitedly, sitting opposite the other woman.
'Hmm,' the Doctor thought to himself. 'Ro is an interesting name'.
"Well, you wish to tell me and I have no objection to hearing it," the other woman replied, lowering the newspaper just slightly to talk to her 'friend'. The Doctor frowned. 'Did she just quote Pride and Prejudice?' She had moved the paper enough the he could see a little more of her. She only looked about twenty one. She had golden hair that looked perfectly natural. There were spectacles on her face and her eyes were the colour of a storm-tossed sea, dark and mysterious. She wore no makeup around her eyes so they were natural and almost pale looking. Her resemblance to someone he knew made his hearts clench in his chest.
The Doctor had been so fascinated with the woman that he hadn't been paying attention as the other woman launched into her story excitedly. He soon caught up with the conversation which was of course about boys. He rolled his eyes and glanced down at his pie. When he looked back up again his eyes met those of the woman across the diner. Hers seemed to widen for a moment, but she soon appeared perfectly normal and listened to the other woman's tale.
After what seemed like hours the second woman left and the Doctor finished scraping his plate of the last of the pie. He stood up slowly, trying not to glance at the woman as he approached the counter. He could feel her eyes on him as he paid for his treat and the hairs stood up on the back of his neck.
He almost ran from the diner and only slowed his pace when he was across the deserted street and he could look back and see what was going on inside. The woman had stood up and was standing at the counter to pay for her coffee. When she turned to leave, he quickly glanced away so she wouldn't see him looking at her. She walked slowly down the street and stopped after only a few metres. He watched as she brought her hands up to her eyes and took out what appeared to be contact lenses. She then pulled her hair out of its bun and gently shook it out of its confines. Next came her shoes which she changed to flats and her skirt which she changed to jeans.
He didn't understand why she was getting changed in the street, but he certainly didn't want to be caught staring at her so he made his way down the street and prepared to cross, heading back to the alley where the TARDIS was parked. As he watched the woman he soon discovered that she was heading down the same way and he stopped dead in the entrance to the alleyway she'd just turned down.
When he peeked around the corner he saw her standing in front of his TARDIS. She was stroking the wood gently as if she knew it were a living creature. He observed her for a few more minutes until he couldn't help himself and he stepped out into the mouth of the alleyway. "Who are you?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"I could ask you the same question," she replied in a slightly teasing tone still not turning around.
"If you know what you're touching right now then you know who I am," he almost growled. "I am in no mood to play around. I have just lost everything I held dear. My friends, my sanity, even the woman I love, so very, very much," his voice shook as he said the last part.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't realise it was so soon after that".
"Who are you?" he repeated, slowly moving closer.
"No one," she sighed, "well, not anymore anyway. I was someone, a whole other world away, but now? Now I work in London as a private investigator. Away from the family I loved, the man I loved, but it's too late now".
"Why is it too late?" he asked with a frown. "What happened to them?"
"They grew old, Doctor," she breathed, "and I was left alone. Sure I had a couple of billion dollars, still do in fact, but I had nothing else. Well nothing else until tonight that is".
"Why until tonight?"
"Because you finally said it," she murmured.
"Finally said what?" his frown grew bigger. He felt uncomfortable around this woman now, like there was something about her that wasn't quite right.
"That you loved me," she turned to face him and his eyes widened in shook. She was Rose Tyler. The perfect, beautiful, Rose Tyler. Her hair was more natural and she wasn't wearing her usual war paint, but she was her and she was real.
"Rose," he managed to breathe.
"Hello Doctor," she managed a small smile. "Long time no see".
"Well actually it's only been twelve hours, twenty two minutes and fifteen seconds for me," he swallowed hard.
She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah I figured that the moment I saw your face," she let the accent slip to reveal her old cockney that he had learnt to love so much.
"How-how long has it been for you?" he stammered.
She shrugged. "About a century".
"How is that possible?" he whispered.
"Well, when you were a little bit distracted with your regeneration you kind of forgot to check up on me. You know, after I'd been burning? Anyway one of the 'side-effects' I guess you could call it, of Bad Wolf was to make me just like Jack".
"You mean you're a walking fixed point in time just like him?" the Doctor looked terrified at her.
She nodded. "Yep, big old walking fixed point. I can't die, many have tried but they never could kill me".
"You're really here?" he breathed out shakily and inhaled slowly.
"Yes Doctor," she reached forward and placed a hand on his chest. "See, I'm not an image," she smiled for a moment. "You can touch," she added as a little joke back to when they had said goodbye.
The Doctor managed a small smile and closed his hand around her shoulder. When his hand connected with the solid material he exhaled loudly. "Oh Rose," he pulled her into his arms and cradled her against him. "I thought I'd never see you again".
"Well you're very lucky you did," she murmured into his chest, "I didn't know if I could do it you know? Face you. I started using a minor perception filter and everything, so I didn't quite look like me".
He looked down at her with a broken expression on his face. "I'm sorry Rose; I thought I was doing what was best for you. You held my hearts with you on that beach and even though it's only been a few hours for me, I never got them back. I felt empty like I had no purpose in life".
"I know Doctor," she nodded. "Your clone-I mean John, explained as much to me before he died. He told me to come back to you. He even gave me a way of doing it", she took a gun-like device from her bag and held it up to him. "He was a genius like you obviously," she smiled softly. "Figured out a way to bring me back without causing any trouble".
"Oh but that's brilliant!" the Doctor exclaimed, taking the device from her and examining it "Travel between universes without tearing a hole in the fabric of either universe. Like a cat-flap in a door, absolutely brilliant!"
"Well you should know," she grinned. "That was his last gift to me before he died," she added soberly.
"I'm sorry," he handed the device back and she placed it carefully back in her bag.
"You really need to stop saying that," she laughed breathily. "Honestly, I'm fine now".
"But you must have felt so betrayed by me".
"You were doing what you thought was best, and I can't blame you for doing that so I could be happy. As it turns out I'm glad you did it. I got to see my parent's lives, my brother's life. Their deaths were painful for me, but I got closure. Knowing that I'd be able to come back to you without any guilt of leaving them behind? It felt peaceful. Now I won't feel the guilt that I always felt before when I travelled with you, because you're all I have now Doctor".
The Doctor stood quietly while Rose talked. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. He'd done the right thing by her? She was glad? She still wanted to be with him?
"You still want to be with me," he blurted out before he could stop himself.
"Yes," she smiled up at him.
"I..." he broke off, unsure of what to say.
"I understand if you don't want me," Rose added quickly.
"Of course I want you," he pulled her into another hug and looked down into her eyes. "There's no one I'd rather have with me, Rose Tyler". He placed a soft kiss to her hair.
She grinned at him, her tongue poking out slightly between her teeth. "Guess what Doctor?"
"What?" he frowned slightly.
"I still love you," she murmured quietly. It was taking her best efforts to look him in the eyes and not run away.
To her relief a grin spread across the Doctor's face. "I don't know what I've done to deserve you, Rose, and I honestly have no clue why you'd still love me after everything that you've been through, but I'll always be here for you because despite my best efforts to run away, I love you too".
Rose smiled up him. A happy tear ran down her cheek as she met him halfway in their first real kiss. She wasn't possessed, he wasn't removing the time vortex from her and though she had loved him, he wasn't John. Looking back it almost seemed like all of those things were meant to happen in the grand scheme of things, and despite the hurt and sorrow these things had caused, neither the Doctor nor Rose would have had it any other way.
The end :)