Author's Note: I'm a little bit upset that they took Doctor Who off of Netflix, but I guess I'm just one of many. It's still on Crave TV for anyone wondering about it. Anyways, hope you're enjoying this story so far, as I've been enjoying writing it. It's going to have a few more chapters to it, which is great that the ideas keep coming. Sometimes you just grow tired of having a great idea and only being able to write a short one-shot on it. This chapter features injured!Doctor and caring!Rose. With a little bit of bitter sweet heartbreak in between. Enjoy the long chapter, not actually sure how that happened.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the story itself.
She had to give it up, and she couldn't stay; that once what echoed through her mind as she finally stepped off the Tardis and into what she once considered her London. Now it was only another city, one where she wouldn't be able to be by his side. She was brave, braver then she had been weeks or technically more than a year ago. Which was why she had been able to keep it together on the short walk to the Powell Estates. Keep it together in hugging her mother and announcing that she was home and getting to watch her mother's face light up with happiness. Like it didn't burn her inside to see that her mother had been lonely all this time and wishing for her to just come back home. Rose of course, had hugged her mother tight and smiled all the way through an early diner before retiring to her old bedroom.
One that she had spent years in and after meeting him and living on the Tardis it felt like her old childhood bedroom, instead of home. Rose just supposed that she would get used to it with time like and maybe she would stop feeling like she had failed and had to move back home because of it. It was just another part of her life, disappointing to herself, but really when was she not disappointed in herself. Maybe it was time to go back and get her A levels, after all she couldn't picture going back to work in a shop for the rest of her life, not now.
Rose hadn't ever cried as much as during that night, not sleeping a wink and only making herself feel sick to the stomach with the amount of negative thoughts swirling around her. She got through it without ever falling asleep and applied a large amount of make-up to her face in attempt to hide it from her mother. Jackie wouldn't even be likely to notice considering her mother hadn't seen her since she had slowly been putting on less. It just had been nice when traveling to other planets, whom didn't even know what human were or weren't supposed to look like. Most places thought her beautiful simply because she smiled at them. It had been nice, not thinking about how she looked for once in her life.
The knock to the door came after an extremely early breakfast for Rose. Her mother wasn't up yet, but Rose hadn't wanted to lay there for another moment. Dry toast and tea seemed like a grown-up meal, but she had eaten it for weeks with the Doctor and hadn't quite wanted to break her habit.
Opening the door, Rose hadn't really been sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly hadn't be a miserable and beaten Doctor. He looked ragged and was slightly bloody, that alone broke Rose more than she should have let. Even though they hadn't been getting along and not spoken before she left less than 20 hours before. Rose was playing adult once more and pulling him in by his elbow before closing the door quietly behind him.
She led him to the washroom and had a small flashback of perching on the end of the tub as the Doctor shaved his face. Laughing as he accidentally nicked his skin and cursed all races in existence. Now, she was keeling in front of him, playing nurse and wiping the blood off his face. She had always known that he was a warrior, whom hid behind sass and smiles. Yet, a fierce and powerful being none-the-less. It was hard to see him withdrawn and seemingly broken as he was.
The worst part was that he hadn't even bothered to speak to her yet, like it was all fine and he hadn't even meant to come here. Like he knew she would help and then he could just leave and they could continue on as though it never happened. Rose bit her lip pensively, everything was entirely too new for her to have to deal with this. Too fresh were her own heart wounds, but still Rose couldn't stand the thought of him being broken and alone. He was so much more and she needed to be strong, because he needed help and she might be the only one in the entire universe that he could rely on.
Rose hadn't even realized she was crying until one of the Doctor's hand shot up and wiped away a stray tear. The silence was killing her in that moment, but it would be entirely too human of her to beg him to take her back. Beg him to forgive her inexcusable behavior. To say she would care for him in any way that he'd let her without expecting anything back. Entirely too human and he just wasn't.
"How long has it been for you?" The question had been on her mind and she finally let it slip as she carefully pulled away from his hand. It wouldn't do him any good to be covered in domestic-ridden human tears. He hated all those sappy and emotion-y kind of things.
The Doctor open and shut his mouth like a gapping fish and looked at her like she was his last sane link on the Earth. Rose let him have all the time he needed, taking in his features and trying to commit them to her memory. "Weeks, months." His deep voice was a lot squeakier then it usually was, and she could only wonder just how long ago that he had actually used it. He wasn't even smiling, a thing that he had always done toward her; maybe it was no longer worth the effort as he had let her go already.
Rose wanted to ask if he had had another on board with him since her then, since it had been so long. Though, the question simply did on her tongue as he hissed at the peroxide she was applying to his damaged skin. Some cuts probably needed stitches, but she wouldn't be able to help with that and didn't want to admit that she was useless either. Besides, he knew more about thing then her, if he needed actually needed stitches she was sure he would do them himself.
Rose found herself speaking, trying to break the tension in the room like the primitive ape she was and only succeeding in making herself feel more incompetent. "It's only been hours for me, but it still feels nice to see you again. Not that I can judge my time to yours, but it felt like weeks went by before I left and you just weren't anywhere, even if we were in your own ship. I mean -" She cut herself off after that, not wanting to blabber more then she already had. Rose didn't want to upset him even more with her, because she wanted him to stay longer.
The silence returned as she bandaged him up, along with the want to lightly kiss even single bandage she dawned onto his body. It wasn't her right to though, so she refrained. Choosing to chew on her lips as she finished up, and started put away her the tiny amount of medical supplies that her mother seemed to own. She wanted to say so much more, but he was probably leaving in his mind already. No point on spilling your heart out over spoiled milk, nothing would make it better.
She moved away from him, still chewing on her lip. It was beginning to hurt at this point, but the pain at least distracted her from everything playing out in front of her. Keeping her from crying her heart out. She could do this, Rose chanted in her head, offer him tea and let him walk out that door complaining she tried making things too domestic for him. Be strong for a few more minutes and she would be rewarded with silence in her world.
"Would you like to stay for a cuppa-" Rose was cut off when a hand whipped out and caught her wrist, jolting her back towards him. Rose gasped, never feeling more surprised in her life then when he wrapped his arms around her and held her against him.
Rose was sure the Doctor could feel just how fast her heart was beating, but there was no calming it down when being this close into his space. He held on to her like he hadn't thought it possible to see her again, and for a few seconds she couldn't help but wonder what he had been through in her absence. She let him hold her without complaint; blushing as he nuzzled into her neck. Like he wanted to try to hide himself away and just not think about the universe. Rose found herself patting his head lightly, running her fingers over his scalp, trying to relax the alien whom had destroyed what hope she ever had at being happy with a normal life.
The he released her from his hold and stood up, which made her back up out of his space. The Doctor was holding her hand like he had before everything had gone sour, and Rose was trying to imprint the moment into her mind. "Tea would be good." He answered before pulling her along to the kitchen of her mother's place, like he owned the world. She wouldn't have it any other way.
Their early morning tea time was filled with uneasy smiles, and stolen glances. Gone and over too soon in Rose's opinion, but nothing seemed to last forever. Maybe here time traveling with the Doctor had forced her to grow up a bit more then she had thought possible; so much had been shoved into that short amount of time. It made her uneasy to turn her head towards him and out of the corner of her eye, see him just whip his head away. Fine, if that's how he wanted to play it then Rose wasn't going to call him out.
Taking the dishes to the sink, Rose immediately busied herself with washing them. Like it was the most important thing in the world; that there wasn't a mess for her mother to wake up to. It nearly broke her heart to hear him stand up and walk away from her. She whipped herself around so fast she ended up feeling dizzy for a few seconds, and he froze when her eyes worriedly found him. Like she was stopping him from leaving by showing in her eyes that she really didn't want him to.
Then their eyes met for a few quick seconds and Rose had to turn back away from him to escape sobbing. Falling apart after all this effort to not to that exact thing would be a waste. "Are you leaving already?" She asked, trying not to sound like she was falling apart and dying on the inside.
If Rose had been looking at the Doctor, she would have caught his wince and distraught expression; but facing the other way all she witnessed was his footsteps towards her and the hand which traced over the back of her neck. It was a light touch that sent a shiver down her spine. The hand was gone in seconds though, and he was away from her even faster. "Thanks for the help Rose Tyler." He sounded more sincere then she had ever heard him, and more than a little bit sad. "I'll be back again, soon."
That was the last thing said before he was out the door and out of her life once more. Rose let herself wake back to her room then, lay down on her bed and actually fall asleep. Things didn't make since, the Doctor had come to her injured and actually said he would be back again and soon on top of all that. He didn't do domestics, but this had actually seemed like he had come to visit her. Checking up and making sure she was okay. Rose suddenly didn't feel so miserable anymore, because she knew she would see him again.
If he came back to her, then at least she would know occasionally that he was okay. As much as it broke her to think about him moving on, it would be better if next time had had someone else with him. She didn't want him to be all alone out there; he deserved to be happy.
She slept peacefully that morning, with a smile on her face. He hadn't said goodbye.
