Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, they are borrowed from the BBC and I have merely used them to devise a more likeable ending to the series.
Summary: What if the Doctor had been solid? A new ending to 'Doomsday'. Spoilers for 'Army of Ghosts' and 'Doomsday.' 10/Rose. Oneshot.
Author's Note: Although the ending to 'Doomsday' was incredibly amazing (I cried for the last ten minutes of the episode) and RTD is unbelievably brilliant, there were just a couple of things which would've made the ending perfect (or as perfect as it could get without re-writing the entire episode.) So this is my re-write. Hope you like. Xx Ravena Storm xX
The Ending
I heard him calling to me. In a dream. I told Mum and Dad and Mickey and we packed up and went. Just like that. We followed the voice for miles and miles. Across country and ocean. Just kept on driving. Unless one day I knew we were here. On a lonely beach in Norway. I walked away from them expectantly but saw nothing. I turned to watch the waves lap on the sands and wondered if he'd come. Then he did.
"Rose."
Rose turned to see that crooked smile beaming at her from a few metres away. She returned it and walked closer. The Doctor stood on the sand, hands in his pockets as always, looking transparent as if he wasn't really there.
"You look like a ghost." She greeted him.
"Do I? Oh." He pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and pointed it at something she couldn't see. His form began solid and he put the device back into his pocket. "Better?"
"Much." Rose moved until she was stood a couple of feet in front of him. She looked at him, the Doctor, and found herself at a loss for words. She had thought so much about what she would say if she saw him again. And now he was here, she couldn't remember any of it.
"Don't you want to know how I'm here?" The Doctor encouraged gently.
"Go on, how are you here?" She smiled.
"A lovely little device in the TARDIS. It's projecting my image out. There was one crack left in the void and I used it to find you."
"Is there anything that ship can't do?" Rose said with a small laugh.
"Make chips." The Doctor instantly responded. "Although I was thinking about getting a chip maker. I saw a lovely one in a market on the planet Vados in the year 3340. What do you think?"
"I think it's a great idea." Rose tilted her head at him as the conversation died. She ran her eyes over his body and hesitantly reached out but stopped before her fingers brushed his coat. "Can I touch you," she whispered.
The Doctor smiled warmly. "Of course." And before he could blink Rose had closed the gap between them and was wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He instinctively slid his arms round her waist and lifted her from the ground, holding her tightly against his body.
Rose buried her face into his neck, tears soaking both their skins. She inhaled the scent of the Doctor. Her Doctor. She closed her eyes and never wanted to let go. She wanted to stay with him forever. She'd told him she would. And now she couldn't. She didn't think her heart could hurt anymore but it did. But for this moment it was okay to hurt. Because he was here.
The Doctor pressed his mouth firmly against the head of his sidekick, his companion. His friend. He closed his eyes and tried not to cry when he felt her tears on his neck. A lump formed in his throat as he remembered all the things they'd done together. All the places they'd travelled to. And now he would be alone once more. Just a lonely Time Lord in his spaceship floating forever through Time and Space on his own. Just like he was destined to. The scent of Rose's shampoo teased his nostrils and a watery smile edged onto his lips. Words could not begin to describe how much he was going to miss her. Acutely aware that his time here was precious he reluctantly lowered her to the ground and pulled back, letting his hands linger on her hips.
Rose felt her feet touch the ground and hesitantly pulled away from the Doctor. She smiled at him and moved her hand over his to grip it in her own. Their fingers interlaced without them realising, just like they had been doing for a long time.
"So," she sniffed, using her free hand to wipe her tears away. "When am I gonna see you again?"
The Doctor felt his two hearts break at the question. The one question he hadn't wanted to answer. But she was his Rose. Of course she'd ask the one bloody question he hadn't wanted to answer.
"You can't." He said, bitterness tainting his voice. "Once I go, I've got to seal this crack forever. And the two worlds will be separate once more."
Rose's smile fell as she heard the one thing she thought was a thing of nightmares. When he'd dove into the middle of the fight between the Daleks and Cybermen she had felt a tinge of fear. When he had sent her involuntarily to the alternate world she had felt pain. When she hadn't been able to hold on and was sucked towards the void she felt nothing but when her Dad appeared long enough to save her she felt like her soul had been ripped out and left behind in her world. But this, this was worse than all of that. She felt her heart shatter into a million tiny pieces at the thought of never seeing him again. Never touching him, never laughing at his inability to always land the TARDIS in the desired destination. She'd never again be able to catch him looking at her with that quirky smile of his and wonder if he was thinking the same thing she was. Her mouth quivered and she looked down, fresh tears beginning to cascade down her cheeks. Never again…
"I'm sorry." The Doctor whispered, anguish tearing him up inside at seeing her pain written so easily across her face. "If I could take you with me now, I would."
Rose gave a noise which was a sort of half laugh, half sob. She raised her head and blinked up at the cloudy sky, trying to gain control of herself. "It's okay." She said in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Not it's not." The Doctor ran his hand up to her shoulder and stroked the soft skin of her neck. "I never wanted to abandon you Rose but there are somethings even a Time Lord can't change."
Rose tried not to think about the tingling sensations spreading through her body from the one point where his thumb was stroking her skin. She caught him staring at her with a bittersweet smile on his face. She saw the pain he was in and how it mirrored her own. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it refused to move.
"How long have you got left?"
"About five minutes."
"Five minutes huh?" Rose forced out with a harsh laugh. "The Time Lord who can travel throughout all periods of Time and I can only see him for five more minutes." Her voice rose to a squeak by the end of her sentence and she covered her face with her hand.
"Hey," The Doctor moved his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her close. She went willingly resting her head on his chest. She could hear the beating of his two hearts over the sound of the ocean nearby. She took her hand from his and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, smiling faintly as his hearts beat that little bit faster at the movement.
"Doctor," she murmured, tilting her head to look up at him.
He smiled down at her, trying not to think about how beautiful she looked even when in pain. Trying not to focus on her soft lips and how he ached to feel them against his one last time. "Yeah?"
"I love you."
The Doctor felt the words run over his skin like liquid fire, burning through his flesh to scar his soul and mind in memory forever. She loved him and he couldn't deny her the truth. His brain told him 'no' just like it always had done but it was overruled two to one by a pair of thundering organs in his chest. He dipped his head and captured her lips in a soft kiss, tightening his grip around her as she instantly returned the gesture. He fought not to moan as she parted her lips and ran her tongue across his, cautiously asking for entrance. He opened his mouth and her tongue, hot and supple, slid easily into his mouth, licking his tongue, his teeth, his lips. He felt hot tears forming under his eyes as he reached up to cup her head gently, his thumb moving over the soft skin just below her ear.
Rose felt shivers run down her body as his lips pressed against hers. She didn't have to think twice to pull him closer still whilst fiercely proving how she felt about him. How she'd always felt. When the Doctor's tongue teased hers she thought she would melt. She bit off a moan when his thumb once again brushed the sensitive spot under her ear. She wanted this moment to last forever.
The Doctor felt himself getting lost in her kiss, in the sensations and feelings it was bringing out in him. He felt the vibrations in her throat as she tried not to moan and whimpered into her mouth feeling a fire beginning to burn just below his stomach. He'd never wanted anyone this badly. And yet he knew that they had precious seconds left together.
Finding strength he didn't know he had left, the Doctor withdrew his tongue and tried not to shiver when she bit his lip gently. He ended the kiss, the wonderful kiss, and lifted his head just enough to see the passion and love in her blue eyes. How could he ever leave this behind? But he knew he was about to, whether he wanted it or not.
"Rose Tyler." He said, running his fingers through her hair, brushing it away from her face. "My Rose. I love you too."
And then he was gone.
Rose froze on the spot, her arms falling of their own accord back to her sides. He'd vanished. Just faded out in front of her. She could feel the warmth of his lips on hers still, the desire inside her crying out to be attended to by the one person she couldn't have. The kiss had mended her shattered heart. But she felt one piece missing. The one piece forever captured in the soul of a Time Lord. Closing her eyes tears cascaded down her face and her strength gave out. Falling to her tears, she cried and didn't move even when she felt the arms of her mother hold her close. She wept for the man she'd lost forever. And for the love that would never die.
