Counsel
The man wore a blue shirt, so wet you could see his skin through it. His eyes were bloodshot and his usually ruffled hair sat flat against his head. As she watched the water pouring down the Doctor's cheeks in great winding rivers, Sarah Jane couldn't decide if they were tears or raindrops.
She invited him inside and they sat in chairs by the fireplace. The Doctor gradually dried off as the heat from the burning wood radiated across him. Sarah Jane waited for him to speak. When he did, the Doctor told her everything. About Rose and his double. About that beach in Norway, the other Norway. He talked about Donna too. How he couldn't save her without destroying her memories. How he had took her home for one last time.
It felt a relief just to talk.
"Did I do the right thing? Leaving Rose with him ?" he asked, a vulnerability in his voice that Sarah Jane recognised.
"Sometimes we have to learn when to hold on and when to let go," she replied, remembering an old saying.
"Do you think she loves him?" The Doctor's voice was barely a whisper.
"Yes…I think so. He talks like you, has the same memories as you, looks like you. Oh she'll love him, I don't doubt that, but not in this same way she loves you Doctor. A love like that you never get over. Other men…they just don't compare. He can't show her the stars, can't take her to new worlds on exciting adventures…though he can be human and sometimes that's just as important," Sarah glanced at the picture of her son. "She'll have a wonderful life with him. Get married, have a family, live in a proper house…all the things she couldn't do with the real you. And yes, she'll love him."
"I never told her. All those times I could have said it and I didn't. I thought there'd be time…another time…"
"You might see her again Doctor. Look at us - I never thought I'd see you again, but I did. My Doctor came back." Sarah blinked back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
"She can't come back…the parallel universe she's in…its…its sealed off forever. Its impossible. Completely impossible."
"Then maybe its time to let go. You've held on to her for so long Doctor, maybe you should set her free. Don't forget about her…just…just move on. Find someone else to travel with and maybe, if its meant to be, your paths will cross again."
The Doctor smiled weakly and Sarah Jane took this as a sign of improvement.
"Do you want another tea Doctor? Luke will be home soon, he'd love to see you. I never did tell you what happened with Luke did I…?"