A/N: I would like to take this moment to say just how beautiful Rose and the Doctor's departure was at the end of Doomsday. The writers at Doctor Who are just so talented- I know lot's of people didn't want Rose and the Doctor's journey to end, but Billie had to leave at some point and that was the absolutely perfect way to do it. I really love heart-breaking ends, I do. It makes Doctor Who that bit more real.

That was rather heartfelt, wasn't it? So is this chapter. I've wrote a one-shot about the four months the Doctor and Ava were gone called 'Betrayal'- you might want to check that out if you want to hear Rose's side of the story. Thank you for all the reviews so far, and keep reviewing if you can!

Disclaimer: I own a vast number of Doctor Who figures, books and all the 'new' series' on DVD, but not the actual show. If I did, I would of forced Billie Piper into staying in Doctor Who FOREVER. And I wouldn't have let David Tennant regenerate. But hey, I don't own it, therefore that didn't happen. Enjoy!

*CHAPTER REWRITTEN 02/06/12*


I could feel my own heart slowly breaking inside my chest. The look on my best friend's face was so distraught, so unbearably distressed- I couldn't believe that it was me who had made her look that way. Best friends should never do that to each other; yet, here I was, watching something that shouldn't have ever happened in our relationship happen.

Rose didn't move from where she was standing for a long while. All she did was stand there, her big brown eyes filled with four months of heartbreak and betrayal. I also noticed that she'd had a haircut. Her long, blonde locks were now shoulder length and a whiter blonde than they were previously.

I really wanted to make eye contact with the Doctor to see if he knew a way out of this; but I couldn't bring myself to do it. And the Doctor couldn't help me with this- no-one could. This problem was up to me and me alone. I was the one who ran off with the Doctor without telling her, and nothing could change that now. Although it was the Doctor's false time estimations that got me in this situation I wasn't going to divert all the blame onto him.

But, of course, he wasn't going to get away scot-free. Fifty percent of the blame lay on his shoulders- I wasn't going to deny that.

"Rose," the Doctor barely whispered from beside me. It was clear he didn't know what to say either. Just how can you apologise to your best friend for abandoning them for four months without even saying goodbye?

Rose blinked back at him. Even from a distance, I could see how much she was trembling. Her mouth was unable to stay in a straight line; it was quivering and wavering like she could burst into tears at any second.

It didn't surprise me when Rose turned and skidded round the corner without a second glance.

The overwhelming pressure of reality was really beginning to dawn on me. That I had caused this. That now, potentially, my best friend would never be able to trust me again.

The Doctor began to race off after her, though I could sense that once he had found her he wouldn't have a clue on what to say. I decided that maybe the Doctor wasn't the best person to chase after her if he was going to blather on.

Though I thought that I wasn't going to be the first person who Rose would want to see either: but I sort of knew what Rose was feeling. After all, she did go off with the Doctor for a year without even telling anyone, and I was absolutely distraught after that. When Mickey was accused of being a murder suspect… God, it was horrible.

But that wasn't the same as this. I didn't know the Doctor then. It wasn't like Rose had run off with the man I loved.

I reached out and gripped the Doctor's coat so he could go no further, causing him to stumble a little on some gravel.

"Let me go," I sighed, letting go. "It's me who caused this mess, so I have to fix it."

The Doctor tutted, shaking his head. "It was me who got the date wrong. Don't blame this all on yourself, Ava."

Despite the situation, I chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm not. It's just that if I hadn't of turned up on Christmas Day, this wouldn't have happened. And Rose and I, we've been friends for so long… It's sort of my job to go and sort it out."

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. "Oh God. I can't believe I let my timing go slack for the second time… I'm a Time Lord. I'm supposed to be at least half decent at driving my own ship."

I shrugged. "There isn't much we can do now but try and sort it out. Trust me, the situations a lot worse for me than it is for you. I'll be lucky if Rose will ever look me straight in the eye again."

The Doctor pulled a face. "I suppose I'll have to go and face the wrath of Jackie Tyler then, eh? That woman is protective at the best at times… I might need to go in there wearing a hard hat or some other protective clothing."

I offered the Doctor one last small smile before shoving my hands deep into my pockets. The Doctor rubbed his nose and walked in the opposite direction, to the entrance of the Estate where the Tyler's flat was situated.

I waited until he had disappeared through the front door before turning back away from the Estate, to somewhere I knew Rose would be.

-x-

The wind had picked up, whipping my brunette curls round my face. I had to hold onto my new trilby hat so it didn't get carried off in the breeze. I tugged the rainbow scarf tighter around my neck in hope that it would somehow generate some warmth.

I was right about where Rose was. She was somewhere we always ran off too when we were kids, just to get away from it all. Somewhere peaceful and quiet because no-one ever, ever used it anymore. It was just too old.

The little park.

The term 'park' was used very loosely- if you considered two swings and a broken seesaw a park, then yeah, it was a park. It used to be bigger than that, with a slide and a climbing frame and those little rocking horse things on the big springs. But the Council had taken them away a few years ago now because they were, for some reason, 'safety hazards'.

They weren't safety hazards for a long time, but then this kid fell off the climbing frame and landed head first into the slide and got severe brain damage. That made the park unfit for use and the Council took away the necessary parts. In a way, me and Rose were thankful for that boy and his clumsiness, because without him the park would still be busy and packed with people. Without that boy, we wouldn't have had the place we so often went to to cool off and to generally chat about things.

I could hear the park before I saw it. The swings were so old now, so the joints at the top had rusted over and created a deafening squeaky noise. Whenever anyone was on one of the swings that gratey noise occurred, and you began to think whether those swings were becoming a 'safety hazard' too. The squeaky noise was squeakier than ever, so I just guessed that Rose was sat there by herself.

I took a deep breath and headed down the path. I tried to push open the little metal gate at the entrance with my fist, but it refused to open enough for me to get through. Instead I had to latch my trainers onto the bars and launch myself over.

I landed on the ground with a thud and got a streak of mud down my trousers, but the state my clothes (well, the Doctor's clothes, but they were pretty much mine now. Hopefully.) were in was the least of my problems.

Rose didn't look up as I stumbled over to the swings and sat down next to her. Her head remained low so I couldn't see her face.

I sighed as I plonked down on the leather seat. "I… Ugh, Rose… I…"

Rose again failed to look up- but I couldn't blame her for it. Her fists were gripping so tight round the bars of the swings her knuckles were a bright white.

I started again and tried not to stammer, gently pushing myself back and forwards on the swings. "Look, Rose, I'm so, so sorry."

Rose inhaled deeply and brought her head up to vision.

Her face was streaked with tears. Four months of tears she finally felt she could shed.

"Sometimes, Ava, sorry doesn't quite cut it."