"What d'you mean, she's crying? I know what she sounds like when she's crying, and I can't hear anything." The Doctor looked even more bemused than before. He certainly meant it when he said that he'd heard it before; it had only been once, but that had been enough.
"Why was she crying?" Rose asked softly, sensing the beginnings of distress in his voice.
The Doctor surprised her. Instead of avoiding the question as he usually would, he went straight to the point. "There was an explosion. So loud, you've never heard anything so loud. The shock hit us and I must have fallen or something, I blacked out. When I woke up we were in the Vortex, running for our lives…the explosion was still ringing in my ears, I was covered in dust. I was bleeding. And there was this noise. It was horrible, Rose. We spent three weeks on a desert planet, alone, until she stopped crying."
Although Rose couldn't see a thing in the darkness, her sense of hearing felt as though it was amplified by the loss of sight, and she could hear every hitch in the Doctor's voice as he spoke. He sounded like he was holding back tears himself, and she felt around tentatively until she could wrap her arms round his shoulders and draw him into a hug.
"The war," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"I didn't even realise I'd regenerated. I must have smelt awful, hanging around that place in the same shirt. Ruined a damn good coat, too. Do you remember when we had Margaret on board?" he asked abruptly, changing the subject. "All that light. Eternity, in that tiny space. Do you know what it's like to listen to eternity cry and not be able to do anything?"
"I do now. Why can't you hear it? It's been in my head since we left the Game Station, and that's only been a week. It must have driven you mad."
"She doesn't want me to, I suppose. Why, though? Why can't she tell me what's wrong?" The Doctor sniffed loudly and clutched at Rose even harder, but she moved away.
"I feel so stupid. It was so obvious what was wrong. I'm gonna try and do something." She scanned the oppressive blackness for any sign of light, but there was none. Slowly, feeling rather stupid talking to a wall or a roof, she said, "Talk to me. I want to help."
Rose.
"Yeah?"
Why doesn't he want me anymore?