Three Doctors and a Choice
Part III: Three Doctors, a Companion and Choice
Note: I'm having Rose refer to the original Tenth Doctor as "her Doctor" as she has not accepted the half-human Doctor at this point in the episode. As you will see, I borrowed some lines from Journey's End. Also, this will be a pretty long finale chapter as splitting it into two parts would leave two very short chapters.
Rose Tyler's Point of View:
When she woke up this morning she knew that she'd be having a hell of a day. But she'd thought that it would be paperwork hell. After all, a weevil escaping and the following memory wipes left Rose with a stack of papers as high as the TARDIS on her desk. Then, again traveling between universes was never boring. There had been that time she ended up in Ancient Rome. Every day she set off looking for her Doctor across all of time and space. Now she had three of them.
She had seen many strange things in her life but she knew this one took the cake. The fact that the crack was there in the bay meant that something was very much not right. The Doctor with the bow tie glanced nervously at the crack and then something amazing happened. At the exact same time her Doctor took out his screwdriver the shorter Doctor took out his screwdriver and scanned the crack.
"Ten minutes. I have ten minutes to let Rose make a life altering choice, save the universe, and maybe find a new fez. First things, first do any of you have a fez? Red would be lovely." The Eleventh Doctor looked around expectantly.
Rose couldn't help but laugh. The blue suited Doctor didn't seem to think it was funny. On the contrary he looked like he wanted to snap the fez loving Doctor's neck in half. Rose's Doctor murmured something about beauty of humans' limited resistance.
"Are you all sure you don't have a fez somewhere? Oh, right not the important thing here now is it? Right, hello Rose Tyler!" He continued and spun around to Rose.
"Hi." Rose waved at the new Doctor.
"Here's thing. In about eight minutes that crack is going to engulf this entire little scene. It'll probably return time back to normal. No one will remember it any different then if I hadn't been here. Now, two things can happen. You can either take the offer that my younger selves will give you, which if I do say so myself is pretty remarkable. Or you can take my option. Which is in about seven minutes my little trip down memory lane will be ending. At that time I will be pitched into a state of time that is very much like the void except I'll be in my TARDIS. If you'd like you can…join me. You'll never grow old. It'll be relatively safe. Safe with me. That's something new. The TARDIS can provide us with anything."
Rose's mind just shut down for a full thirty seconds. She could take a Dalek invasion across two universes. She could take a Doctor from the future. She could accept her father of whom she witnessed die, impregnating her mother. One thing that she couldn't comprehend was a Doctor, from the future with the universe collapsing or whatever was happening, asking her to forever stay with him. This coming from the man who refused to let Rose put up any decorations in the TARDIS during Christmas when she first met him.
"Oh, yes and one more thing. Since, I'll or we'll be flying into the other side of the cracks, we'll most likely be forgotten unless someone remembers us with distinction. But, I think you can count on Captain Jack to do that. I'd just have to send him a quick message before we depart." He added on.
She looked up at him. He was clearly waiting for a response.
"Well, Doctor you seemed to have that plan thought out well. I only have one question, what were you going to say to me Doctor?" She turned to the Doctors in blue and pinstripes.
"This world is not safe for him." The Tenth Doctor turned to his Meta-Crises self. You were born in battle. Full of blood and anger and revenge. to Rose. Remind you of someone? That's me, when we first met. And you made me better. Now you can do the same for him."
"But he's not you." Rose couldn't believe it, after all this time, after all that searching. He didn't even want to spend time with her. Then, she looked at his face. She truly saw in his eyes that it was killing him to say this. She stared waiting for him to continue.
"He needs you. That's very me." Rose understood what her Doctor was trying to say, what he never be able to say. She'd always known that in the back of her mind that things with the Doctor weren't forever. He'd always grow older and regenerate. There were always the dangers. He was not only trying to save Rose from heartbreak but also himself. The pain must be cruel and antagonizing, to see his loved ones leave while he was always left behind. Luckily, for Rose she didn't need to respond as Donna walked over with an inpatient look on her face.
"But it's better than that, though. Don't you see what he's trying to give you?" Donna whirled around to the Doctor who had previously committed genocide a few moments ago. Meanwhile, the future Doctor was looking annoyed and inpatient. He stuck his hand up to indicate that they had five minutes.
Donna continued, "Tell her, go on." She looked back and forth between the blue-suited Doctor and Rose.
"I look like him, I think like him, same memories, same thoughts, same everything. Except I've only got one heart." He explained.
"Which means what?" Rose asked.
"I'm part human. Specifically, the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life... Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you. If you want."
Rose was pretty sure that she knew what he meant. But, she needed to be sure. It would be very embarrassing.
"You'll grow - grow old... at the same time as me?" She asked.
"Together." He confirmed.
The Tenth Doctor's TARDIS began to make the grinding sound that usually was accompanied with danger.
"We've got to go, this reality is sealing itself off... forever." The pinstriped Doctor said as he and Donna began to leave for the TARDIS.
The bow tied Doctor clearly couldn't restrain himself and said,
"Can we please hurry this along in three minutes I need to close the cracks in the universe so, as you would say, Allons-y?"
All of these events, was no one giving her anytime to think. To process the information that would change her world.
"But... it's still not right... cos the Doctor is... still you." She said.
"And I'm him!" Her proper Doctor said.
Rose needed to know something the earlier Doctors before she could consider the futuristic Doctor. She thought of the worst and also best day of her life that took place right here.
"All right. Both of you, answer me this. When I last stood on this beach, on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me? Go on, say it." She crossed her arms and waited.
The original Tenth Doctor grew very red and for the first time since she'd known him, tongue tied. It looked like he was being torn apart on the inside.
"I said, Rose Tyler." .
"Yeah, and how was that sentence gonna end?"
The whole back and forth thing was really beginning to piss off Rose. However, she also knew her Doctor. He needed encouragement and he might get there.
"Does it need saying?"
"And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?"
The newly recreated Doctor leaned to Rose and whispered in her ear. She knew the decision that she had to make. She yanked him by his lapels and kissed him profoundly. Those three little words "I love you" that had been whispered in her ear allowed her to understand. Even the eleventh Doctor would never be able to say those words to her. It was that human part of the newest Doctor that made him say it. She walked over to the suspender wearing Doctor.
"Doctor, I'm sorry. I barely even know you. I don't think that I'd do too well in the TARDIS, not traveling. I'm sure there is someone else for you Doctor. It's just not my turn for you. I'm sorry."
She kissed him on each cheek and walked towards the meta-crises Doctor. He was not crying. This did not surprise her at all. It was not like him to cry in public.
"I'll remember you." She added on.
He nodded and smiled. It was a sad sort of smile.
Rose saw the full Time Lord Doctor giving a chunk, probably TARDIS coral and saying something. Donna then stepped probably to correct them. God, Rose would miss her. She was just what the Doctor needed. Then, in a blink or you'll miss it second, there was a bright white light.
And that was the last thing she saw of that universe.
The End
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read. Until, next time….
