A/N- So this fic came to me after hearing the song Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift and I just had to write it down. insert standard disclaimer here if you recognize it, i don't own it.
Rose Tyler didn't do this often. Most days it felt silly, trivial, and a waste of time. Most days, she got up and went to work at Torchwood. Most days she could laugh and live her life. Most days she was fine. But today, this exact date every year, she was definitely not okay.
So every year, on this day she found herself in a pub. Trying to drown her memories in a few pints until the pain stopped. It had been years since He had first left her standing on a beach where she had declared her love. Alone in a parallel world with no knowledge of his feelings in return.
She knew to an extent. They had been lovers for quite a while at that point. Ever since the child in the gas mask, the day everybody had lived. They'd fallen into each other's arms in giddiness and passion for life. And they had returned to each other's arms after particularly dangerous adventures. Celebrating victory, relishing that they were still alive, and coping with the loss of friends. They had come together with such passion and lust . For her there was love as well. But she was never really sure about his feelings on the matter...
And standing on that beach, she still hadn't known...
Sure she had had her family but she had spent every moment fighting to get back to him. Then he had left her again. That time with a copy of himself. One who both was and wasn't HER Doctor. One who every other day of the year was her best friend, her lover... But today... Today she dreamed of being with the original him again. Today her heart broke at the memories and the wondering if he still thought of her, wherever he was.
Tonight was karaoke night in the pub and after two pints, she was belting out her emotions to the song lyrics on the screen in front of her. "He said lets get out of this town..."
Across town the Doctor, the meta crisis one, sat in the flat he shared with Rose, fiddling a new gadget he had been working on. One that could detect rips in time and space. He knew why Rose wasn't home. The same night every year and he had come to accept it. Every other day of the year, she was his. She didn't let the memories or thoughts of the other him distract her. But once a year, he just wasn't what she wanted and seeing his face was too painful. So he sat in the empty flat with his phone close by in case she got so drunk she needed him to come get her... Like the first year he had been in the parallel universe with her. That had been a tough year and he hadn't understood. Now he did.
The flat was quiet except for the sounds of his tinkering and the noises of the street outside. But still he almost didn't hear the sound. Surely he was mistaken. It was his imagination. Clearly.
But still he walked to the window and nearly fell over at the sight of the blue police box that now stood at the corner of the street across from the building.
He ran down the stairs and stood in front of the Tardis in shock.
The meta crisis doctor stood in front of the Tardis waiting. Waiting for the other him to stumble out. But at the same time, he had no idea what he was going to say.
The door opened to reveal an older man in a black coat and attack eyebrows. 'You.'
'Oi. Yea. Me. You! What are you doing here? How are you here? Geese! I... I mean you... Regenerated old. What the hell happened? ' the meta crisis doctor exclaimed.
'Gah I did I ever shut up in my past regenerations.' The Doctor shook his head and looked around. 'Where is she?'
'Oi! No, you don't. Do you know what day it is?! You can't just show up and see her then disappear again! I don't know if she could handle that'
' what does today matter? I've come all this way. Broken my own rules. And after 100s of years, I can't be without her anymore. I just can't. This man I am now, I need her. ' The Doctor started walking down the street, leaving the human doctor to stare after him.
' you don't even know where she is. He'll I don't even know what pub she went to tonight!'
'your problem. Not mine.'
"I said "No one has to know what we do,"
His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room
And his voice is a familiar sound, nothing lasts forever..."
Rose let all the emotions in her heart pour into the words as she sang along to the music. She didn't pay any attention to the crowd. In her mind, she saw the doctor. Her doctor. First all big ears and leather then spiky hair and pinstripes. Her doctor. She remembered falling asleep in his arms and waking up to find him reading in the chair next to the bed. She remembered his smile and the way his eyes would light up when he saw her. Images of her pressed against the console of the Tardis. Images of them laughing in the library and trying to bake in the kitchen. Watching him tinker and work on repairs while teasing him until he stopped and made love to her on the floor of the console room. She remembered the running and the exhilaration. Remembering it all. Every little shared moment. She wondered where he was now. Did he remember her?
"Say you'll remember me..."
She didn't tell the human doctor that she lived with and loved that she still dreamt of the her Doctor in the Tardis. That she often wondered what adventures he had gotten himself into. Who he was traveling with? It just wouldn't be fair to the human version of him. It wasn't his fault. And he had all the memories of before. And that both helped and didn't. He was the Doctor and knew all the things. Every time they had been together. Every moment. He remembered. But it just wasn't the same. Sometimes she could pretend it was. When they were laughing and talking and falling into bed together. But tonight. It wasn't the same. Deep down, it wasn't the same, no matter what she pretended. And in her wildest dreams, she could be with her Doctor. Running through space and time with the man she loved.
She struggled not to cry. Not to let her voice break as she sang. As images of them together flooded her mind. Scenes of them kissing, remembering the feel of his hands in her hair and on her body. The way he knew how to make her moan and scream his name. The way he had so often said her name. Sometimes a growl... Sometimes like a prayer. "You see me in hindsight. Tangled up with you all night."
-
"Some day when you leave me. I bet these memories follow you around."
The Doctor didn't know what drew him into the pub. But the voice singing broke his hearts. There she was. On stage and pouring her heart into the song. And the words ripped at him. Tore at his soul in a way he never dreamed. Despite everything he had done. Everything he had seen. Amy, Rory… River… Nothing ripped at him like remembering Rose. And seeing her now, seeing her pain. Pain he had caused….
Her eyes were closed as she sang the lyrics. But her emotions were written on her face and he didn't know if he was sad or glad that she couldn't see him. Not that she'd recognize him. But her pain matched his. The words of the song brought all the images of them together to the forefront of his mind. Then the lonely years that followed only made the pain worse. He couldn't leave her again. Even if he had to drag the meta crisis version of himself along too. He could live any longer without her. And the words of her song only solidified that.
"Say you'll see me again even if it's just in your wildest dreams." As her song ended and the last words left her lips, Rose opened her eyes as the crowd in the pub applauded. She managed to get down the stairs and went straight the the bar and ordered another drink. Taking a seat next to an old man in a dark coat with particular angry eyebrows, she did her best not to cry.
'I remember you' he said softly but loud enough for her to hear. 'standing in a nice dress from the 1950s... And staring at the sun as it consumed the earth... All red lips and rosey cheeks…. always in my dreams.''
Her eyes went wide as she understood his words. Looking at his eyes, she wanted to cry and scream and break something...
'Doctor? ' she breathed in disbelief...
'Quite right, too.'
A/N- I hope you liked it. Please let me know what you thought of my little song-fic... is it a one-shot? do you want me to continue? drop me a line and let me know! :D -Mystrye
