Chapter Ten: The Cruelty of a Dream
"I'm so sorry, Doctor." said Donna gently putting a hand on his arm. He gave her a sad smile. He looked over at Amy and the others who had all wondered off and were walking along the beach. They didn't seem dully concerned that they had just found a body on the beach and that the Doctor had been crying his hearts out. It fact it rather seemed as if they had suddenly forgotten about Rose's body.
He looked down at her. Her head was on his lap and she looked so peaceful, almost like she was asleep, instead of dead. He gently moved a strand of hair from her face. He frowned. He knew, he knew that this was just a dream and that the real Rose was out there somewhere...with the real human doctor.
Even though he knew this wasn't real, it made him realize just how much he really missed Rose. She had been the last human being he had seen before he regenerated into his current form and he had tried not to think about her, but she was such a big part of who he was that he could not forget her entirely and it was until he had seen the projection of her lying dead on the beach that he realized that he still loved her...and that he always would.
Only the projection of Donna knew what he was going through and he was glad that she was there, projection or not. He wished that there had been another way...any way to save her life. But no. It was the curse of a Time Lord to lose those he cared most about.
He glanced back at the others and his frown deepened. "This is just wrong. All of it is." he muttered.
"What is?" asked Donna.
"How come they can't see? Why did the human doctor just vanish into thin air? And how come they don't seem to remember finding Rose's body?"
"I thought you thought this is a dream." said Donna. "If it is, anything is possible."
The Doctor shook his head. "Not this dream. Not this kind of dream." He stood up and picked up Rose's body and held it protectively in his arms. "This is a shared dream. Someone designed it. Someone is controlling it. But who and why?"
"Doctor!" Amy coming running up to him. She still didn't see Donna or Rose's body. "Doctor, it's River!" she pointed to a woman walking like a zombie along the beach. "I tried talking to her, but it's like she can't hear or see me."
He sighed. Things just kept getting more and more complicated. "River!" he turned to see Rory trying to get her attention, but River just kept on walking.
"Where's she going?" asked Amy. The Doctor shrugged.
"I don't know, but let's find out." Amy and the unseen Donna trudged after him as he caught up with Rory. Cobb and his team seemed to have disappeared just like the human doctor.
As they followed behind the zoned River, the Doctor felt the cloud around his mind tighten and he frowned. What was going on? The cloud had been getting bigger as the dream went on. He sighed.
Suddenly a metal door appeared from nowhere. River opened it and it closed shut behind her. Rory tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. He and Amy both turned to the Doctor expectantly.
"What?"
"Sonic screwdriver." said Rory.
"Ah! Yes. Of course. Um.." He was still holding Rose's body, unseen to Rory or Amy, and he didn't just want to lay her on the ground. But looking through his pockets was going to be difficult holding her.
"Here," said Donna, holding out her arms."I'll take her." The Doctor nodded and then careful lay Rose in Donna's arms. Then he patted his pockets and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. Donna looked at it in surprise. "It's different." He nodded in the affirmative. He aimed the screwdriver at the door and pushed the button. The door flew open.
The Doctor hesitated and then slowly poked his head through the open door. He turned back to look at his friends. Donna wondered what he had seen, for he suddenly looked very sad. He stepped back from the door and waved them through. Amy and Rory went first. Donna hesitated and shifted her hold on Rose's body. "I'll take her back now." said the Doctor, his voice held infinite sorrow.
She gently handed Rose back to him and then stepped threw the door. She gasped. She suddenly found herself in the most beautiful place she had ever seen. They were over looking a cliff, starting at a magnificent white city. Amy and Rory were oohing and aahing. She turned to face the Doctor as he came forward, clutching Rose's body close to him.
"Where are we?" Donna, Amy, and Rory all asked at once.
The Doctor sighed. "We're on Galifray." A tear rolled down his cheek.
"Oh, Doctor." said Donna. First Rose and now this. She didn't know how he could bear it. Amy and Rory, however, were looking puzzled.
"What's Galifray?" asked Rory.
"My planet. Home to the Time Lords. It's gone now. Destroyed in the Time War, along with the rest of my race."
"Oh." Rory didn't know what else to say. "I'm sorry" just did seem adequate enough. He couldn't imagine how the Doctor must be feeling right now. How would he feel if Earth had been destroyed and he were the last human alive?
"Where's River?" asked Amy suddenly remembering the reason they were here. The Doctor studied her closely before answering. How come she remembered River, but not Rose's dead body lying on the beach? She didn't even seem to notice that the human doctor, Cobb, and the others were missing. Had she forgotten them to? And how come she couldn't see Donna? Something was definitely not right.
"I don't know." he said finally.
"Dad!" The Doctor froze. The voice had come from behind him and he slowly turned around to see a young blond woman running towards him, waving and smiling.
"That can't be!" said Donna. "That's...that's Jenny!" As the Doctor watched the projection of his daughter coming towards him, he suddenly felt very angry. Whoever had designed this dream was getting crueler and crueler. Rose, Galifray, and Jenny. How much more of this could he take?
"That's it! We are waking up and we are waking up now!" He handed Rose's body to Donna, kissed it on the cheek, and then sauntered over to Amy and Rory. He remembered what Cobb had said about a kick. Without bothering to explain what he was doing, he threw himself at this two companions causing all three of them to tumble over the edge of the cliff. As they went over he heard Donna and Jenny scream.
The Doctor's eyes snapped open and he was relieved to see that they were back in the abandoned warehouse. Rory and Amy were awake too. Amy rubbed her eyes. "What on earth just happened?" she asked.
"It was a dream," said the Doctor, "and I just woke us up."
"By knocking us off the edge of a cliff?" said Rory. "What were you thinking?"
"I knew we'd wake up." said the Doctor. Rory and Amy looked like they wanted to argue, but then the Doctor suddenly realized that he had bigger problems to deal with. Cobb and his crew were no where to be seen. "Where are they? Where are Cobb, Ariadne, and the others?"
Rory and Amy just stared at him blankly. "Who?"
Author's Note: Alright, how hard is it to write a simple review? So far only one of you is reviewing this story and I know there are much more of you reading at. So please! Review!