The Doctor took a deep breath, turning away from the dead body lying on the rooftop behind him. He looked out over London, his long coat billowing in the wind. The sound of a car door slamming shut caught his attention and he looked down to see Rose, his Rose, walking towards the building. Taking a slim phone from his pocket, he dialled and lifted it to his ear, watching as his companion did the same.

"Hello?" came her voice, grainy through the speaker.

"Rose."

"Doctor. Are you okay?" she asked casually.

He blinked slowly, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Turn around and walk back the way you came. Now."

"No," Rose paused, "I'm coming in," she said, looking around behind her.

"Just do as I ask. Please," the Doctor said quickly, his voice cracking.

Rose turned back, walking along the road, "Where?"

She kept walking, waiting, until an urgent "Stop there," came through the phone.

"Doctor?"

"Okay," he said, releasing a steady breath, "look up. I'm on the rooftop."

Rose frowned, looking up to see a tall figure standing on the edge of the roof of St Bartholomew's Hospital. A look of horror crossed her face as she breathed in sharply, "Oh God."

"I... I... I can't come down, so we'll- we'll just have to do it like this," he said.

Rose chewed on her lip nervously, "What's going on?"

"An apology," the Doctor said simply, "it's all true."

"Wh-what?"

"Everything they said about me. I invented the Master," he said turning to look once more at the grinning body behind him.

"Why are you saying this?" Rose said, shaking her head.

"I'm a fake," the Doctor spat, his voice breaking.

"Doctor..."

"The newspapers were right all along," he said, his eyes becoming wet, "I want you to tell Mickey, I want you to tell Pete and Jackie... In fact, tell anyone who will listen to you that I created the Master for my own purposes."

"Okay, shut up. Just shut up," Rose closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead, "I met the Master, he- he was a Time Lord."

"He was an actor."

"No, he wasn't," she said desperately, "you wouldn't lie to me."

The Doctor laughed, "I had to."

"No. No," the companion started walking towards the building, "All right, stop it now."

"No! Stay exactly where you are. Don't move!"

She halted suddenly, "Alright," she said, looking up worriedly at the figure.

The Doctor stretched out a hand, reaching for her, his breathing turning rapid.

"Keep your eyes fixed on me," he said, verging on wild, "Please, will you do this for me?"

"Do what?"

"This phone call- it's er, it's my note. It's what people do, don't they? Leave a note?" his voice had quietened, softened.

Rose's eyes widened slightly as she dropped her arm, still loosely cradling the phone. She took a small step backwards, visibly recoiling from the realisation that had just hit her. Raising the phone back to her ear, she spoke shakily, "Leave a note when?"

"Goodbye Rose."

"No. Don't."

The Doctor gazed down at Rose, before lowering his arm and chucking the phone down onto the roof. He brought his eyes back up to look straight ahead, wiping the moisture from them quickly.

The dialling tone rung out from Rose's phone as she dropped it with a crack of shattering plastic. She looked up at her friend, afraid to blink, "No. DOCTOR!" she screamed.

He raised his arms up, spreading them either side of his body as he fell forward, his body plummeting to the ground.

"Doc-"

The sound of the impact rang out through the streets as Rose stood, dumbstruck for a second, before running towards the corner of the building. She slowed, seeing the still figure lying on the pavement. She failed to see the bicycle coming towards her, slamming to the ground as it crashed into her side. Rose struggled to stay conscious, watching as a crowd began to gather around the body of her friend. She groaned as she slowly got to her feet, stumbling towards the pavement forcing herself towards him.

"Doctor, Doctor," she whispered.

Reaching the crowd, she pushed through, muttering mostly to herself "I'm his friend. Let me come through, no, please let me come through."

A paramedic moved towards her, blocking her path

"No. He's my friend. He's my friend, please," Rose said, as she numbly pushed past the paramedic.

Her knees gave out and she collapsed next to the body and reached out to grab its arm. A few members of the crowd came forward, attempting to pull her off as she felt for a pulse, anything just to show he was alive. This couldn't happen. He would regenerate, why wasn't he regenerating?

Two paramedics carefully rolled the body onto its back, revealing the cold, dead eyes and a face covered in blood. There was no cheeky grin; no wink, there was nothing of the Doctor she knew reflected in the matted hair or broken nose.

"Jesus, no," she breathed, trying to stand once more. She fell back against an onlooker, watching as her friend's body was placed on a stretcher and carried off through the doors of the hospital.

Rose stood properly, shaking off the people around her. She turned away from the hospital, her eyes empty, and began walking.