The Death of Boe

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Groaning he picked himself off the floor. They were in some dirty run down building.

"Rough teleport… Ow!" he growled. "Great!" he said angrily. "Now I have two friends stuck down there! But you can go straight back down and teleport people out. Starting with Rose and Martha!"

"I only had the power for one trip," she told him, trying to keep him calm.

"Then get some more! Where are we?"

"High above, in the Over-city."

"Good!" he snapped. "Because you can tell the Senate of New, New York: I'd like a word. They've got thousands of people trapped on the motorway! Millions!"

"But you're inside the Senate, right now," she said quietly. "May the Goddess Santori bless them." She pressed something on her wristband and the hall was lit up. Around them were rows and rows of skeletons. He stared about in sympathy and sadness. "They died, Doctor," she said softly. "The city died."

"How long has it been like this?" All of his previous anger was completely gone.

"Twenty-four years," she said as they walked over to a small raised area where a partly mummified skeleton lay on the ground. He kneeled down next to it, his eyes filled with profound sorrow and despair.

"All of them?" he said in quiet disbelief. "Everyone? What happened?"

"A new chemical. A new mood. They called it Bliss." She bent down and picked a 'Bliss' patch of the skeleton in front of her. "Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished – even the virus in the end… It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the Under-city. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Doctor. They were saved."

"So the whole thing down there is running on automatic?"

"There's not enough power to get them out," she told him. "We did all we could to stop the system from choking."

"Who's 'we'? How did you survive?"

"He protected me," she said, her spirits brightening ever so slightly. "And he has waited for you these long years."

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"Doctor," came a low rumbling voice inside his head. His face lit up with recognition. He ran around the corner.

"The Face of Boe!" he said happily. The Face of Boe was in his glass, breathing his smoke in deeply. He seemed to be hooked up to the computers. He ran right up to the glass and knelt down in front of him. Hame followed close behind.

"I knew you would come," his deep voice hummed in the Doctor's head.

"Back in the old days, I was made his nurse, as penance for my sins," Hame told him quietly, bowing her head.

"Old friend," he murmured. "What happened to you?"

"A failing," Boe replied mournfully.

"He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke," Hame said. "But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The Under-city would have fallen into the sea."

"So he saved them."

"The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running."

"But there are planets out there," he said. "You could have called for help."

Hame shook her head sadly. "The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years."

"So the two of you stayed here," he said gently, getting up and going to her. "On your own, for all these years." He found all his anger and dislike towards her vanish in that instant. What she had done was so selfless and so loving. She had stayed to look after not only the Face of Boe, but every human left on New Earth.

"We had no choice," she told him.

"Yes, you did," he said kindly, taking her hands in his.

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"Save them, Doctor," Boe pleaded. "Save them."

?...DW…?

"How much air is left?" Cheen asked quietly. It was getting very hot in the car and it was already hard to breathe.

"Two minutes," Milo replied just as quietly.

"Well, there's always the Doctor," Rose said. "That friend of mine. He'll think of something."

"Rose, no one's coming," Milo told her.

"He's coming," she said adamantly. Tears sprung to her eyes.

"He looked kind of nice," Cheen said comfortingly.

"He's more than nice!" she said. "He's fantastic… and a little bit foxy." She giggled to herself.

"Are you and him…?"

"Oh no, no, no. We kind of live together, but we're just friends. We've been travelling together for over two years. Sometimes we pick up some friends every now and then. But it's always me and him. We look after one another. We're all each other have."

"That sounds like a little more than friends."

"If only," she mumbled, then hopped neither of them had heard her. She couldn't believe she'd said that out loud.

"I never even asked," Cheen said. "Where's home?"

"It used to be very, very far away," Rose smiled. "But I started travelling and now home is everywhere… Home is sitting back in an ally in Pharmacy Town." Then before the thought had even formed in her head she said, "Actually, home is probably chasing after me as fast as he can."

Milo and Cheen smiled at each other knowingly. "So, um, who is he then? This Doctor?"

"Just a traveller," she replied, a smile on her face. "But he is brilliant. He has saved so many world so many times, and has never even once asked for a thank you. He just loves the adventure and helping people. He's kind, and curious, and funny. He brightens the world of whoever's life he touches. He teaches them a better way…"

"He sounds like more than just a traveller."

"No he is. He's just a madman with a blue box… and me. That's all he has. And we're going to keep it that way. I won't let him lose anything else. To you he may just be a stranger, but you haven't seen the things he can do. But he'll get us out of here, just you wait. Because you've got your faith, your songs and hymns. And I've got the Doctor. If there's anything I believe in, it's him."

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"Right," Milo said. He reached up and turned the engines back on. He took Cheen's hand for a moment. "Good luck," he said to Rose.

"And to you," she said. Then he flew the car up and they began the frantic rollercoaster ride of dodging the creatures.

?...DW…?

The Doctor was looking at the schematics of the motorway when suddenly dot representing a car appeared out of nowhere in the fast lane. His face lit up and his hopes flared when he saw the number.

"Car 4-6-5-Diamond-6, it still registers! That's Rose!" he cried in delight. "Oh she is brilliant!" He had to get Rose out of there. But he knew how he could save her and the rest of the city. "Novice Hame, hold that in place," he said getting her to hold a cable. "Think, think, think," he muttered tossing around cables and flicking switches. "Take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity beds."

"There isn't enough power," Hame told him.

"Ah, you've got power! You've got me! I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch. Hame, every switch on that bank up to maximum!" he continued to run around tweaking switches and screens, using the sonic-screwdriver where necessary. "I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people."

"So what are you going to do?" she asked as he ran back over to one wall.

"This!" he cried pulling a leaver. But suddenly all the computers powered down. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" He ran back to his spot on the floor and used the sonic. He had cables looped around his shoulders and was working frantically. He knew that Rose wouldn't have long if the car was back on. "The transformers are blocked. The signal can't get through."

"Doctor…" Boe tried to say.

"Yeah, hold on, not now," he brushed him off, still frantically trying to fix things.

"I give you my last…" his words were cut off as the Face of Boe gave his life force to keep the power running. Every computer switched back on and the power came back. The Doctor's face lit up, despite the fact Boe was now in very bad shape.

"Hame, look after him," he ordered, jumping up and ran to the leaver again. "Don't you go dying on me, you big old face! You've got to see this." Then he threw the switch. "The open road. Ha!" Seeing a camera and a transmitter he ran over to that. "Is this where Sally Calypso broadcasted from?"

"Yes, but she was just a recording, a hologram," Hame said as she attended to Boe.

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He used the sonic-screwdriver to get it going and smiled when a light showed him broadcasting. "Sorry," he said to everyone on the motorway. "No Sally Calypso, she was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor. And this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now. I've opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you, the whole Under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up!" he cried getting happier by the moment as he saw cars starting to emerge into the city, through the window. "We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way. Oi! Car 4-6-5-Diamond-6! Rose! Drive up! And Martha, can you reach me? What car are you in? Get up here, both of you!"

"Did I tell you, Doctor? You're not bad, sir. You're not bad at all!" Brannigan cried happily down the line. The Doctor grinned.

"You keep driving, Brannigan, all the way up" he said happily, going over to look out the window. "'Cause it's here, just waiting for you. The city of New, New York. And it's yours." He watched in delight as billions of cars drove out off the motorway. "And don't forget, I want that coat back."

"I recon that's a fair bargain, sir."

"Doctor!" Martha's voice cut in. "You did it!" she cried delightedly. "I'm in car 4-3-Triangle-9-7. We're out in the open."

"Yes!" he said. But there was still one part of him filled with dread. He still hadn't heard from Rose. Had she gotten out okay?

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"Doctor!" Suddenly her relieved cry came across.

"Rose! Ha, ha! Yes! Alright, car 4-6-5-Diamond-6, and car 4-3-Triangle-9-7, I've sent you a flight path. Come to the Senate."

"I'm on my way." He could practically see her beautiful grin from here. He couldn't wait to feel her in his arms again and know that she was finally safe and home.

"It's been a while since I saw you, Rose Tyler," he said affectionately.

"You cant live without me, can you?" she said.

"Doctor!" Novice Hame cried before he could reply. He looked over, and in horror saw that the Face of Boe's glass was cracking. His face fell.

?...DW…?

Rose hugged Cheen and Milo goodbye and wished them Good luck. They had been through an awful lot together in the last few hours. And they really were sweet. She had been scared they weren't going to make it for a moment, back when they had been caught by one of the crab creatures.

Walking up into the Senate, she saw Martha already there, making her way up.

"Martha! She cried. Martha turned and her face lit up in relief.

"Rose!" then the two women ran to each other and embraced. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"I'm great now-" she stopped dead when they entered the main chamber. Everywhere they looked, skeletons sat. There was even one lying, twisted, on the floor before them.

"Doctor?" Martha said quietly.

"Over here," his voice came from not too far away.

"What happened out there?" she asked as they ran around the corner. But she still had a smile on her face.

Rose was grinning ear to ear. She couldn't wait to wrap her arms around the Doctor, knowing she was back home again. But the sight before her made her face fall. The Doctor was kneeling on the ground with an older looking Novice Hame, in front of the Face of Boe. His glass encasing was shattered and he did not look well at all.

"Oh, Boe," Rose cried running over to him.

"What's that?" Martha said wearily, still standing back at the doorway.

"It's the Face of Boe," the Doctor told her. "It's alright. Come and say hello." Slowly Martha made her way over to them and knelt down. "And this is Hame. She's a cat, like Brannigan. It was Boe that saved you Rose, not me."

"My Lord gave his life to save the city," Hame said mournfully. "And now he is dying."

"Don't say that," the Doctor told her.

"Come on Boe," Rose begged. "That's the second time you've saved my life. You can't die now." She knew it wasn't directly him, but she still counted that question about him when she was on the Weakest Link on Satellite 5.

"Many more times than that," Boe's raspy laugh sounded in her head. "Rose Tyler, Just as beautiful as the night I first saw you. Big Ben glowing in the fire light."

"What?" she laughed. "That wasn't the first time we met." By the look the Doctor gave her she knew she was the only one who could hear him.

"You may have met me on Platform 1, but where I met you is a different matter."

"So we've met before… or well… I'll see you again?"

"Both, my dear friend. And Rose, I'm sorry for the pain you must suffer…"

"What – what are you talking about?" she said fearfully. She didn't like the sound of that. And yet oddly his ominous words gave her a sense of anticipation.

"It's good to breath the air once more," he rasped. This time Rose knew that everyone could hear him.

"Who is he?" Martha asked.

"I don't even know," the Doctor said looking up at her, sad wonder on his face. "Legend says the Face of Boe had lived for billions of years. Isn't that right?" he asked Boe. "And you're not about to give up now."

"Everything has it's time," he replied, reminding him of something Sarah Jane once said. "You know that, old friend, better than most."

"The legend says more," Hame prompted.

"Don't," he said, his voice a little harder. "There's no need for that." Boe could make it. He didn't want to know the secret if it meant his life was coming to a close.

"It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller."

"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?" he said trying to get her to stop. Rose placed her hand over his and he twined his fingers through hers.

"I have seen so much," Boe gasped. "Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind. As you are the last of yours, Doctor."

Rose squeezed his had tighter. "That's why we have to survive," he said, his voice straining as if he were holding back tears. "Both of us. Don't go."

"I must," Boe said. "But know this, Time lord. You are not alone." With these last words, he opened his mouth to speak them, rather than in their heads. Slowly his eyes closed and he let out his last breath.

The Doctor, who had been on the verge of tears, now sat staring uncomprehendingly at the Face of Boe. What could he have meant? There was no way there could be anyone else out there. He would know. Still in shock he stood, helping up Rose who had silent tears running down her face. He held her to him. Not quite the reunion hug they had wanted, but it was what they both needed.

Beside them Hame began to sob. There was nothing they could do for her. And there was nothing they could say.

?...DW…?

Much later, after talking with Hame about what she could do to help the city. And after the Doctor had his coat back from Brannigan, they walked back through the alleys of the Under-city towards the TARDIS. He hadn't let go of Rose's hand since she had taken it once again after they had embraced. He didn't want to let it go.

As they walked into the alley with the pharmacy stalls he noticed how abandoned it looked. All the stalls had signs saying 'Closed until further notice'.

"All closed down," he said brightly.

"Happy?" Martha asked, smiling.

"Happy-Happy," he joked. "New, New York can start again," he said in the same bright tone as he swung Rose's arm. "And they've got Novice Hame… Just what every city needs – Cats in charge!" Laughing Rose bumped into him playfully. "Come on," he said. "Time we were off." They began to walk off, but Martha had stayed put.

"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe?" she asked. They stopped and turned around. "You are not alone."

"I don't know."

"You've got us," she suggested. "Is that what he meant?"

The Doctor shook his head in amusement. "As nice a thought as that is, no. I don't think so. Sorry."

"Then what?"

"Doesn't matter," he said, brushing it off. "Back to the TARDIS. Off we go." He and Rose turned and started walking again. Seeing the look on Rose's face he became concerned. He remembered the fear in her voice when she had tried to ask Boe what he had meant. He wished he could have heard what was said. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied quietly. "You?"

"I'm fine," he told her. They looked at each other and smiled sadly. They both knew the other was lying. So they gave a reassuring squeeze. Then, suddenly they noticed that Martha hadn't moved and they turned back yet again. She was sitting on a chair she had pulled from the gound. She was sitting with her arms folded, looking very stubborn. "Alright, you staying?" he called back.

"Until you talk to me properly, yes," she said moodily. "He said 'last of your kind'. What does that mean?"

"It really doesn't matter," he said, failing to appear flippant.

"You don't talk," she said in annoyance. "You never say! Why not?" Around them the sound of the city singing rose up. Martha looked about in wonder, captivated by the beauty of such faith. "It's the city," she whispered. "They're singing."

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The Doctor looked down at Rose; she was looking up at him sympathetically. She brought his hand up to hers so his was encased within them. He could feel her giving him the strength to say what pained him so. But still it was hard, he stood there for a moment longer, searching for the words.

"I lied to you," he finally said, tears coming to his eyes. "I lied, because I liked it. I could pretend. Just for a bit I could imagine they were still alive. Underneath a burnt orange sky." His hearts ached seeing the shock and sympathy spread across Martha's face. "I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else."

"What happened?" she said.

Slowly, with Rose at his side, he waked back over to Martha and picked up a chair for them both. Sitting down he took a deep breath. He had ever told anyone the full story before. Even Rose only knew bit's and pieces.

"There was a war," he started looking her in the eyes. "A Time War. The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky." Tears came to his eyes and he looked off distantly, seeing a long dead world before him. "Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song…"

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Rose and Martha listened in absolute enthralment as he told them of Gallifrey. At many moments he had nearly burst into tears. But Rose never let go of his hand. And he knew, that no matter what he would face, and no matter what he had lost. He would always have her.

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I couldn't help it! I mean, it's Jack. I've always just seen Jack flirting on his death bed! And the Rose plot thickens! Dun-dun-daaa!

And coming up in the next few days we have 'Daleks in Manhattan!' They really must have liked New York for that section.

Anyway! Reviews please! I LOVE reviews! The more the better. Tell me what you think of the Rose plot, and If you have any ideas I'll see if I can squeeze them in!