Big thanks to Miss Cam. What for? For getting me hooked on this wonderful show!
As with everything else, I don't own the characters or anything.
"Can't Let Go"
It hurt. It always did. Mostly dull, but ever-present, seeming to rest in his very bones.
He was killing her. He knew it, but he couldn't bring himself to send her away. It would be far too easy. Simply slip out during a visit with her mum, crank up the TARDIS, and slip away to another place in another time. Rose would hate him, he knew, but she would live. And he wouldn't have to watch her die.
At times, he felt as though he were searching for an excuse to send her home, to safety. After she commented on one of their risky adventures, he would always ask if she wanted to leave. This was always followed by a quick 'no' from her, and a tense 'okay' from him. Then they would go on as if the topic had never been breached.
He was torn, always, between what he wanted and what was best for her. It would be best for her if she left and forgot that he even existed. But he didn't want her to go. He enjoyed traveling with her, sharing all that he knew and discovering new things at the same time.
Rose awakened something inside of him, something new and strange. Frightening and exciting at the same time. He liked this new feeling, wanted to explore it more.
But that meant, eventually, he would watch her die.
"Doctor?" she asked, coming up from behind him, her expression one of concern. "What's the matter?"
"Just thinking, that's all." He beamed at her, all but leaping from where he stood to the console, turning dials and flipping switches.
"So, Rose Tyler, what do you think of Rasenefredon? They've got the best chocolate in the universe. Shaped like little animals and sea shells."
Rose returned his smile. "That'd be great."
"Fantastic."
End