-1"This will be your room…until you find an apartment in the city if you would prefer?" Jack sighed as Rose clutched at the door frame, overcome with sadness and exhaustion.
"Rose?" She looked at him through wide eyes, tears brimming but refusing to spill over. Jack pulled her into a hug and smoothed her hair.
"It's o.k. Rose? It's o.k. He'll be back soon enough…two weeks and he'll come running." He whispered to her, letting go only when she pulled away. He grabbed the pyjamas the Gwen had supplied, and the wash bag that Ianto had put together.
"I'll leave this here. When you want breakfast, just come to the kitchen and I'll fix you something….Rose?" She ignored him and sat on the duvet, stroking her fingers across the smooth white sheets. Jack nodded to her and closed the door behind him. As soon as Rose heard the door click shut, she propelled herself to the bathroom and locked the door. She slid down the white wall, turning on the taps as she went. The sound of running water drowned out her heaving sobs.
River watched the Doctor warily as he paced around the console, slamming down levers. He paused as he came into contact with Rose's jacket. Running his fingers over it, he took a deep breath.
"River. I'm sorry. For the arguing you've had to put up with. I'm so sorry." River rushed forwards wrapping her arms around the Doctor.
"It's alright. You should have heard some of the insults that my parents came up with during the divorce." She chuckled sadly. The Doctor's eyebrow arched.
"I didn't know that you're parents had a divorce." River sat down on the chair, patting the seat next to her.
"I was only 14. My dad, as it turned out…had trouble keeping it in his trousers." She sighed as the Doctor sat next to her. The Doctor held her hand sympathetically.
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah. Well, my mum found out…he had four mistresses." The Doctor's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.
"Blimey. I…well that's not good." River laughed softly.
"No, it's not. Long story short, divorce happened, and I spent most of my time going back and forth. Till, one day…I just couldn't take it any longer. I ran away with my first boyfriend Tony. He was an archaeologist in training."
"How old was he?" The Doctor frowned. River blushed as she straightened her curls.
"I was 16 at the time, and he was turning twenty." The Doctor nodded and tried to remind himself of how accepting her time was.
"So what happened?" River's body slumped as her eyes glazed over.
"Well…he got me into archaeology. We studied together and he taught me everything I know. We graduated together, he hung around to wait to I finished my studies to graduate together…but, um…well, he died. I was in another solar system when it happened. It was an expedition to find a rare breed of mammal on a deserted moon. He was supposed to go, but he wanted me to go. Insisted that I take it. Tony said I needed the experience. So I went, came back to an empty house. He had been murdered on his way home from the store. Got mugged. So…I decided to keep on digging, literally I mean. It hardened me in a sense I guess. Makes me less trusting." The Doctor watched the tears flow freely down her cheeks burning with sympathy.
"I'll make us some hot chocolate or something, yeah?" He waited for River's nod before venturing to the kitchen. He reached for the two mugs in the cupboard, bringing his on out. But he took Rose's out and ran his thumb over the ceramic edge. The word above the two stick people on it made him ache. Him and Rose had brought two white mugs, and painted the cups, him doing hers, and she did his. The Doctor's cup had a blue box, with shakily drawn panels. He smiled as he traced the rather dodgy figure that Rose had drawn of him. On the other side was a big banana encased within a heart. Underneath that was a sentence in wonky pink letters.(She said it was hard painting on a circular surface.)
"Lots of love from your favourite pink and yellow human, Rose." The Doctor read aloud. He sighed and held it tighter than necessary. On hers, there was just one large picture painted. A barely recognisable landscape of New Earth all the way around the cup. In front of another blue box (more artistically drawn), were two people…one with a scrawl of blonde hair, the other with a mess of brown. The Doctor let out one tear as he turned his back on the mug. Turning his back on the one word. Forever.
….Yeah. That was it : )