Disclaimer: I do not own anything Doctor Who related.
He clutched her broken body in his hands while he walked the road to the Powell Estate. The rain was pouring down heavily, and the Doctor cradled Rose Tyler to his chest, shielding her from the pouring showers. His heart leaped to his throat as he gazed upon her face- she looked much younger in sleep.
With a jolt, the Doctor realized that this would be the last time he would ever be able to lay eyes on his pink and yellow human. His mouth clamped tightly together, as he brushed aside her hair, fearful of waking her.
The trek to Rose's doorstep wasn't long, but along the way, the Doctor still had time to think about what happens next. Would Rose go back to working in a shop? How could he cope without her?
He ducked into the entrance of the Powell estate, the rain reducing to a distant thud behind him. He climbed the stairs, carrying her over his shoulder, to the top floor of the Powell estate. The Doctor readjusted her in his hands before taking a deep breath and knocking at her mother's doorstep.
Jackie Tyler hurried along to the door and pulled it open. In a span of three seconds, the emotions on her face changed rapidly- from joy at seeing the Doctor, to confusion at not seeing Rose behind him, to horror when finally noticing her in his arms.
"I need to come in," he ordered.
For once in her life, Jackie was silent as the Doctor placed her into her bed, gave her one last lingering look, and stalked away.
He sat down slowly on Jackie's couch, wondering where to begin. He started off with the Dalek fleet.
His throat was dry after he explained everything. Jackie readjusted herself on her chair and finally asked, "What happens now, Doctor?"
"She can't see me," he said bluntly. "She can't remember anything that we did together on our travels or any alien encounters we had together. When she asks you about the supposed "alien" encounters she saw on the roof, you need to firmly deny them as false. Anything strange and abnormal or out of the ordinary needs to be treated with absolute caution. And she can't remember me or the TARDIS."
Jackie wrung her fingers together. "She was everything with you!" Jackie yelled. "Everything! Every time she talked about you, she smiled like it was Christmas. Every time she came home, she had a new story to tell: 'The Doctor and me', Rose would say, 'we saved the universe today!' You can't take that away from her! You just can't!"
Jackie was fuming. Her face was the same shade of red Rose got when she was furious with him. Normally, the Doctor would have stepped back, but this was no normal situation. "She'll die if she realizes who she was. Her head will implode, and she-"
The Doctor was interrupted by a rustling in the back. Shocked, the Doctor jumped out of his spot on the couch.
"Mum?" Rose Tyler called out. "Why am I drenched in water?"
Rose Tyler wrapped her arms around herself as she walked down the hallway leading to the living room.
Jackie gave one last panicked glance at the Doctor before improvising. "It's all those parties she goes to. She drinks and drinks and drinks until she can't even remember her own name. Well, at her age, I was the same, but at least I had more sense not to walk home during pouring rain!"
It took a few seconds for Rose to realize that these words were directed at the man in her living room.
She ignored her mother's words and frowned at the Doctor, who was standing in shock. "And who are you?"
The Doctor couldn't speak. To have Rose Tyler, his Rose Tyler not recognize him made his hearts stop. He remembered everything about her- her dancing with him and Jack, her compassionate glance at a Dalek, his worst enemy, and her bravery, knowledge, and utter Roseness coming into play when she became the Bad Wolf.
To have her stare at him as if he was just a stranger very nearly killed him.
Jackie saw his hesitation, and explained the situation for his sake. "He's a survey man, one of those government worker type things. It's all official and everything- he has a seal!" The Doctor whipped out his Psychic Paper for effect, and Rose seemed to accept his explanation when she glanced at the paper.
"Well!" the Doctor said. "Thank you, Ms. Tyler, for helping me fill out this survey. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, you can contact my department at-"
"That won't be necessary." Rose interrupted, looking vaguely bored. The Doctor paused only for a moment where he pushed back what he wanted to say.
"I'll be off then!" The Doctor smiled so widely that it felt as though his skin was being pulled apart.
He walked over to the doorway and turned back to face them.
"Goodbye!" Jackie called over to him. He looked back and saw that she looked like she was going to tear up. Rose headed to the kitchen, oblivious to the Doctor and her mother.
The Doctor took one last look at Rose Tyler and whispered to Jackie, "That's Rose Tyler. Defender of the Earth. Too bad she'll never know it."
As he closed the door to the Tyler residence, the Doctor felt both of his hearts shatter.
Thank you everyone for being so patient! You probably have forgotten about this story now- it has been such a long time! But that's on me. Next update will be A LOT sooner, I promise ;)
Unfortunately, my draft doc for Clara Takes Manhattan was deleted, so that story hasn't been updated. I plan to update that story first before updating this one.
Thank you for reading! A review or two would make my day!