Chapter 29

"Angel!" The Doctor lurched forwards and caught Angel as she slumped over, unconscious. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the TARDIS, straight to the medbay; he paused once only to check that Rose, who was lying beside the console, a telltale bruise forming on the side of her jaw forming, was alright. The Doctor gently lay Angel down and immediately checked her vitals. She was alive, but barely. Her face was pale without a scrap of colour, her eyes flicked around unconsciously under their closed lids, and her cheek was clammy to the back of his hand. Telepathically, the Doctor could feel no more than a whisper of Angel's mind, and he let out a frustrated sigh. What was happening to her?

"Angel Destler," intoned a soft voice, inside Angel's head. On the outside, Angel gave no recognition. But she heard it, in the garden. "There is a hard decision coming to you, dragon child."

Angel heard the voice, looking around.

"Who are you? Where exactly am I?" The last thing Angel remembered was looking into the heart of the TARDIS, then, nothing. Was the Doctor ok? What about Rose? Well, she knew Rose was ok, she would be pretty mad at her when she woke up though, that much was certain. The Doctor, was he ok? Was he hurt? "Is the Doctor ok? Please, tell me he's ok." Her voice cracked some. The Doctor was her best friend, and if anything happened to him, she would never forgive herself.

The voice gave a small musical laugh.

"The Doctor is well, Angel, as is Rose Tyler. You will have to trust me on that." The voice sighed, and a warm comforting wind blew gently around Angel, playing with her loose hair. "Your mind has been severely weakened, Angel Destler; you stand within your own consciousness right now. You made yourself a sacrifice to save your friends, and it is only because of that selflessness and bravery that you are being given this choice, and your soul has not already passed on." A washed out, transparent figure clothed in white with long red hair appeared in front of Angel, and though she was barely visible, her face glowed with a sad smile in Angel's direction. "Your choice is this," she spoke, and held up a hand, palm up. "One, you can wake up. Continue life with your Doctor and your Rose, continue to travel and see new things." The figure held up her other hand. "Or, you can complete the sacrifice you made when you looked into the heart of the Doctor's ship. You can continue with me, into the next life. Stay, and your soul will rest here, in the garden of your last conscious emotion."

The lithe red-head gestured all around. "Love, Angel. The emotion with which your last action was taken was love, for your friends." She sat cross-legged on the grass before Angel. "Choose wisely, Angel Destler."

In the medbay, Rose sat by Angel's side, holding her best friends hand, tears slowly making straight tracks down her cheeks.

"What's happening to her?" she whispered, and the Doctor rubbed her back sympathetically. She leaned into him, never taking her eyes off Angel's slack face, and he kissed Rose's head.

"Rose... I'm sorry. I don't know."