Goodbye, Rose

"You all right, mate?" she asks.

"Yeah." I'm not. Seeing her... seeing her. She doesn't even know. It hurts. Oh, it hurts.

She is smiling, slightly concerned but oblivious to... to everything. Oh, Rose.

"Too much to drink?"

I nod. "Something like that." Too much radiation. Too much seeing her when she doesn't really see me. What am I to her right now? A drunk on New Years's Day; a drunk with a hangover that's come a bit too soon. Will she remember? Will she look back and see a man in a long brown coat, with a face so sad looking into hers, willing her to know before she ever could know? Oh, Rose.

"Maybe it's time you went home."

No home to go to; I'm just a traveler; a cosmic sightseer. "Yeah."

"Anyway, happy New Year!"

That smile, oh that smile. It hurts. It hurts. Oh, Rose. "And you."

She turns and walks away, and I know I have to say one more thing; maybe she'll remember it, some day. She'll remember that the Doctor said one last thing to her. But even if not... it's the last time I'll see her. "What year is this?"

Her face. Incredulous... so sweet. "Blimey, how much have you had?" Just a drunk, to her. Just... a drunk. "January 2005, the first."

"Two thousand and five." Oh, how I remember that year. That wonderful, wonderful year. "Tell you what... I bet you're going to have a really great year." I smile at her. Will she remember this one tiny meeting? Will she even remember my face? She never mentioned it to me. She probably never will remember. But it's been good: to see her one more time... before the end; to hear her voice. The one human who was more than a friend, that I loved with all my hearts.

"Yeah?" she says, with a thoughtful smile, then she brightens again. "See ya!" And she turns and walks away. She leaves.

Oh, Rose, Rose, Rose. Goodbye, Rose. Goodbye.