Author's Note: This is probably completely insane for me attempt, but I think I'll try anyways. This is the first chapter of my Series Three rewrite with Rose. I tried to make it sound alright, but I'm not sure how I did. This is completely unbeta'd so if this sucks, it's completely my fault.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Doctor Who.
The end never feels like the end. When you're on the last page of a book, you can tell it's over because everything's tied up in a little bow. Everything solves itself, and even if it's not happy, the characters grow to accept what happened.
What confused Rose, then, was why that wasn't happening right now. She wasn't going to accept being sent away from the Doctor, and she hoped that he wasn't about to accept her leaving either. Her mum, Jackie, certainly wasn't happy. So how could this be the end? Right at the second when Rose came to that conclusion, she felt the Doctor slip something around her neck. She wanted to scream, to yell, to say something that would prevent what she knew was about to happen but someone beat her to it.
"No!" It was Jackie. It stunned Pete enough to make him pause, which gave Rose and Jackie both a change to throw their buttons on the floor.
"How dare you." Jackie said softly. "How dare you!" She was almost in tears at this point. "Doctor, Pete, what were you thinking? How could you be so stupid as to try to make Rose and my decision for us?"
"Jacks, I-" Pete began, reaching out towards Jackie. "I have to go back to my world. It'd be selfish of me to leave them to fend for themselves in the time that we're in. You understand that right?" His expression was pleading, his arms open for Jackie to come to him.
"I do. Pete, I understand your responsibility just as much as I understand the Doctor's. You can't force me to leave my baby girl here, though. She's been all I've had for a while now." Rose could feel the tears threatening to spill over prick her eyes at her mother's words. "M' sorry, I really am but I can't leave her."
A lone tear rolled down Rose's cheek and she felt a familiar arm wrap itself around her. She looked up at the Doctor, hesitating for only a moment before burying herself in his shirt. It was comforting to have his now familiar double-hearts beating near her ear.
"Jackie, please don't make me go without you. I've lived alone for too long now." Pete begged. "Mum, you've got to. I swear I'll be fine." Rose paused for a moment. She wouldn't be fine. No matter how old she got, she was sure she would always need her mum. "You've done so much for me, you need to go with him! Remember all those times when-"
"No! I said no! I'm not going to leave you, and I'm sorry Pete, but you're going to have to go without me!" Jackie yelled, and it echoed through the plain white walls of the room. There was a silence for a moment before Mickey cut in. Rose had almost forgotten he was there.
"Pete, M' sorry, but we need to leave soon."
"Rose, you could still go." There was the Doctor. Rose was beginning to think that maybe he didn't want her around. Maybe she annoyed him to the point of madness. But she couldn't risk it though, and Rose knew that the Doctor should never be alone.
"Never. When are you gonna get it through your thick head?" Rose gave him a tight smile. "I made my choice a long time ago, and I'm never gonna leave you." And at that, something visibly softened in the Doctor's eyes. He looked less like the Oncoming Storm and more like the man she knew from their quiet moments in the TARDIS.
"Well," Pete interrupted them, "I suppose this is goodbye, then."
Jackie nodded, and Rose noticed her shaking hands. Why wouldn't she just go? This was killing Rose to see her mum this way. The next thing she heard was a click, then Pete and Mickey disappearing out of this universe forever. Mickey, her former best friend. Pete, her dat. They were gone.
"Mum, are you alright?"
"Of course, sweetheart. I'm with you and the Doctor, aren't I?" Jackie gave her a smile, and Rose wondered how many times Jackie had given her that smile after crying over some old photographs, or feeling her heart break one more time.
"Rose, come on." The Doctor said gently, guiding her to the computer he needed her at. "We need to get started." He gave her one last look before darting over to Jackie and showing her where to stand.
"Now, Jackie, you sit right here and keep your head low. You don't have to hold on to anything because you doing have that background radiation, but Daleks and Cybermen could still his you on their way out." He explained quickly before hopping back over to Rose and looking over her shoulder.
"We've got Cybermen on their way up." Rose told him.
"Let's get started then. Rose, you're over here," he said, gesturing to the lever on the right side of the room, "and I'm over here." The Doctor stopped and stood in front of Rose, grinning.
"That's more like it." She said, grinning right back at him. "The old team!"
"Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake."
"Which one's Shiver?"
"Oh," the Doctor said confidently, "I'm Shake!"
"Would you to stop flirting already? The world's in danger!" Jackie said, causing both the Doctor and Rose to smirk before running over to their individual clamps.
"Jackie, remember, stay down. Rose, push the red button!" As soon as he finished speaking, a wind blew, pulling Rose toward the hungry mouth of the Void with more power than Rose would have ever thought possible. Her hair was all over her face and her arms were already becoming sore from having to hold on for so long, but when her eyes met the Doctor's, she couldn't help but grin. Everything was working out, solving itself. And, Rose suddenly realised, that could signify the end of her story.
"Lever offline."
The scary thing was that Rose knew she had to fix it because there was no other option. She began to slowly let go of the clamp and lean towards the lever, feeling the Doctor's terrified gaze on her.
"Rose, wait!" There was her mum, jumping up from her position and crawling under the tornado of aliens to Rose.
"I've got you, sweetheart." Jackie smiled as she set the lever easily back in place, spinning back around to face Rose. The Cybermen and Daleks continued streaming into the Void, just like they were supposed to. Until one Cyberman came with its arms outstretched. Until it slammed straight into Jackie.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion for Rose: the Cyberman, Jackie's eyes becoming glazed over before shutting completely, the Cyberman dragging Jackie into the Void with it. Then Pete appeared out of nowhere, suddenly grabbing Jackie and disappearing once more. That was when everything became silent. The Void crumpled closed like a paper was and Rose dropped to the floor. She was faintly aware of the Doctor calling her name, of gathering her in his arms, of a sob escaping her own body. A pain like she had never known washed over and she just at on the floor with the Doctor, sobs wracking her body and the Doctor holding her the whole time. _
Rose wasn't sure how long had passed before the Doctor helped her up and gently guided her to the TARDIS. The tears had stopped eventually, and after a few hours, she had managed to even out her breathing.
"You need some rest." The Doctor's voice shocked her; they had sat in silence for a long time now.
"I'm alright." She mumbled, barely able to keep her voice steady. He gave her a small smile and got up from the console, walked over to her, and picked her up.
"Oi! Put me down! I can walk, you know."
"Well, obviously, but I doubt you'd walk yourself to bed." He replied in a matter of fact tone. Smiling despite herself, Rose realized how much lighter she felt being able to banter with him. There was a comfortable silence before he twisted her door knob opened and put her down in her room.
"Promise me you'll at least try to get some sleep." The Doctor requested. She stared at him for a moment.
"Okay…" She paused, "But you've gotta promise me something."
"Anything."
"Don't blame yourself for this." The Doctor opened his mouth to argue but Rose continued. "It's not your fault and it never ever will be."
"Never say never ever."
"I just did. Do you agree to my conditions or not?" She watched him hesitate and wondered if he had been blaming himself. Oh, who was she kidding? Of course he was and she probably wasn't helping at all.
"Yes. I promise." The Doctor was staring at his Converses, not meeting her eyes. Finally, he looked back at her. "Good night."
"Good night." Rose watched him walk down the hall and then shut her door. The TARDIS had already dimmed her lights, so all she had to do was get changed and go to bed. Taking a deep breath, Rose undressed and redressed herself in less than a minute. She was exhausted. As soon as she hit the bed, though, it hit her again. Her mum was gone, possibly dead. Rose would never know if she made it. And if by some miracle Jackie did manage to live after that rather harsh blow, Rose would never know what happened with her and Pete. Her pillow quickly became damp with tears, and Rose closed her eyes. Maybe in the morning it would all be a dream.
"Rose." Someone was shaking her awake. "Rose, wake up."
It was the Doctor, staring at her with wide eyes. She hoped he didn't notice the mascara stains on her pillows. or the cold sweat that had covered her body during the many nightmares that had plagued her sleep.
"I'm awake, I'm awake." Rose replied groggily.
"This is important. Are you listening?" He looked at her with concern.
"Yes!" This was getting ridiculous. "What is it?"
"I think I've got it!" the Doctor jumped up and ran a hand through his hair.
"Got what?"
"A way contact your mother."