I actually can't believe this is the last chapter. It's so surreal because I've loved writing this, I really have and everyone has always been so nice in their reviews that I didn't want to end it. I was so nervous about posting it and I've written and re-written this about a million times to get it right. Oh, I know the song's a bit obvious but I couldn't resist. Dedicated to all my reviewers in the order of their first review: J, CalleighDelko, DoctorWhoForever, Laced-With-Fire, MontyPythonFan, Della, ClaireRickman, StarshineBaby, Redfield99, bookend, Hanyou Jiru, More-than-words, Miss Sara 11, I-Confuse-Everyone, Funkyfergie56, Sabriel Silverwing, Timerelativedimensioninspace, totally-utterly-me, taby42, Roxy, saiyamar, Sarah Jane Smith, Bad-Wolf 2006, Sonaive, morganalefave91 and laura. So here it is. Hope you like and thanks in advance for reviewing. It's been great.:D
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Wonders of Her World
Shock filled the room. Adam's face paled, his hand spreading over the spot on his stomach where the blaster had injected his body with electricity. The Doctor, Rose and Jack froze in horror as painful electric energy ran its way through Adam's blood. Rose stepped back, breathing heavily. Jack was trembling, blood evacuating his face as his skin turned ashen but the Doctor's face was harsh, devoid of any emotion. As Adam stumbled back towards the wall, shock and fear spread on his face, he held the corner of the gun in his trembling hand, still pointing at his own stomach where the shot violated his body. He stumbled, his back hitting the barricade hard at the back of the room, his grip loosening on the gun, letting it fall at his feet. Adam's breathing stopped, his heartbeat ceased as his other hand fell away from his stomach as he slid downwards, eyes closing; he was dead.
Silence contaminated the space.
Rose's pained sobs broke the silence as she whimpered and shook violently. Jack shot out of his own shock, grabbed Rose tightly around her waist and brought her into his chest, one hand splayed across her back, the other stroking down her hair soothingly as she sobbed quietly into his shoulder. His heart broke for her. So strong, so brave and loyal, their Rose. It took a lot to break her like this. She couldn't have held it all in this long. The Doctor stood staring at the pair, lost in the guilt and shame that made his mind buzz. His eyes burned a hole in Jack's forehead. He just couldn't believe it had come to this. The Doctor tore his gaze from the two of them, walking slowly towards the lifeless body of Adam Mitchell. His fingers shook as they pressed lightly into Adam's neck, searching for any signs of a pulse.
Nothing greeted him. Not a beat, not a throb, not the slightest tremor. Slowly he turned back to Jack and gradually shook his head. Sighing and running his hands through his hair, caverns forming in the matt of blood and gel, "Jack, take Rose to the med bay and check her over. I'll be there in a minute." Jack just nodded silently and extracted Rose reluctantly from his chest, an arm wrapped around her waist, so protective it made her weep harder. His fingers were laced tightly, almost painfully, with hers as she smeared the broken tears from her face.
There was a Rose I knew,
I met her once or twice before
She was a pretty sweet thing,
Not the least bit insecure
Then you came with your slick game
And played with her youth
Ashamed of the way you lied,
Played with the truth,
He just stood over Adam's body, staring at it, willing himself to feel remorse. Adam slumped on his side, head lolling loosely to his right. The Doctor tried hard to be penitent but his will was in vain. He felt nothing for the boy. He wasn't happy he was dead but he wasn't horrified either. The Doctor knew that he had it coming. In one way or another, justice prevailed. In one way or another, everything had a way of working out. It always had. There were good, bad and the people in between. There was life and death and the ones left behind to face the penalty. The Doctor just wished with all his might that Rose didn't have to face the consequences Adam had left behind. He braced a clawed hand against the wall. His voice was tainted with sincerity. "Why did this have to happen? What do I do now?" Another voice, quiet and cautious, echoed through his head.
You have to go to her.
He sighed deeply, knowing that the TARDIS was listening to him, talking to him, trying to comfort his raging guilt. "She's got Jack, she doesn't need me now."
Lord, you are stupid sometimes. She's in love with you! Jack might be able to help but she needs you right now before she gives up on you again. Do you want to lose her?
He looked down to his feet, ashamed. "She's already lost. So long ago now, she was lost."
No, Rose's just wounded. But wounds do heal, with time and love and you've got both; you can heal her again, however long it takes.
He looked at Adam's body, down by his feet. "Maybe…I don't know." Staring for what seemed like hours until he was suddenly frozen, a horror of a thought coming into his head. "What…what happened back there? Who pulled that trigger? It was all so fast and I just couldn't…tell me what happened…"
I don't know, Theta, it's something that I can't tell you. It's something that I won't tell you. It's up to you to believe in the ones you love.
He paused looking at his hands for a while. He could still see the stains of Rose's blood; he could imagine his fingers on the trigger, pulling it back and sending Adam into an early, painful death. "Old girl," He spoke finally, "Bury him on earth, please. Maybe it'll help her heal. She can't see him here. She can never see him." The pain, fresh and laced with shame was evident in his voice.
Yes, I will. Go, now, Time Lord; be with her again. Make her whole.
He strode quickly to the door, glancing back once again at Adam's body before closing the door silently behind him. In his mind, he could hear the TARDIS whirring, building up her energy to transport his body out. As the humming ceased abruptly, plummeting him into stunned silence, an image flashed across his mind, an image projected by the TARDIS. A cemetery flashed across his brain. A cold, grey marble headstone, dappled with shimmering snow in the dead of a harsh winter. Across the monument held only two words, a name etched into the stone, deepened with black inlay: a name that would haunt the memory of Rose Tyler for the rest of her life. The name of Adam Mitchell.
Now believe me when I tell you that I've been hurt myself
When I tell you that I love you and I see nobody else
And now you're so tough trying to wear tight clothes and things
Tossing and flossing, trying to fill the void heartbreak brings
When she faces the mirror, yeah
She's crying, you can't hear her
Now the rose is still a rose
She wears a flower, trying to forget about you
The Doctor just walked slowly, his feet padding heavily across the floor. The dull thump of his converses against the grating pushed his mind to think about Rose once again. He didn't know what to do. How could he even begin to make this up to her? Would she even be able to forgive him? He soon found himself facing the battered med bay door once again. He'd been here too many times in the past few hours to want to be back here again so soon. Head bowed, he summoned up all his bravery and depressed the ornate silver handle on the door. Looking up bit by bit he saw every single piece of equipment in place, fixed once again, brand shining new. The TARDIS had fixed herself up, trying to help keep the pain suppressed for now.
Rose was sitting on the edge of a baby-blue sheeted bed, her eyes facing the floor as Jack ran a scanner over her shaking body. When he finally reached her toes, he straightened up, saying something inaudible to her and walked over to the Doctor, still standing half frozen in the doorway. When he spoke his voice was soft but the Doctor knew he was suppressing anger, "Physically she's fine. A few bruises and…" he swallowed visibly, "Some torn tissue and membrane but that's about it." His tone dropped to a whisper, "I'm more worried about her mind. You'd better tell her you're sorry or so help me god, I'll kill you myself." He scowled and pushed past the Doctor, leaving the two alone again.
Rose head inched up steadily, long lingering in other places that she seemed to be in slow motion. As her eyes finally reached his level, he saw unshed tears glistening in them. As her eyes locked onto his own, she broke. Each tear that slid silently down her pale cheeks carved through the Doctor's resolve. Every time another silky tear broke free from the barrier; he took a tentative step towards her, her tears becoming louder as he came closer. He couldn't bear it. He couldn't watch her like this; so broken. His head dropped, the eye contact shattering into a million pieces.
"N…no…" Her voice was whispered, sugared with sadness, "Don't blame yourself. I've come too far to let you blame yourself."
He was stunned that she even wanted to talk, let alone absolve him of crimes he knew he was guilty for. "Rose, I…"
"I told him I wasn't going to let him break me; not now and not ever. I can never forget, but I can learn to cope. I just need the person I love with everything I've got left to help me." His head shot up at her admission. "I need you… I thought I'd lost you so many times, I can't do it again. I can't lose you again… it's too much…" She dissolved into choked sobs, staring at the floor.
Watching Rose Tyler, so broken, so desperate for something to cling onto broke his will. He grabbed her and wrapped her protectively in his arms, quietly crying onto her shoulder. He felt her fingers digging hard into his skin, through his clothes. They both clung on for dear life, neither ever wanting to let go ever again. His hands splayed as far as they would across her back, their bodies grasping for each other's warmth and love. They shared everything in that one moment. The one moment that meant more to the both of them than anything else in the universe. He rocked her back and forth tenderly as she cried herself hoarse.
She never knew what hit her
Steal her honey, then forget her
A rose, she wears a flower
Trying to forget about you
Cause a rose is still a rose
Baby girl, you're still a flower
He can't lead you and then take you
Make you and then break you
Darling, you hold the power
When Rose pulled her head from on top of his shoulder to meet his gaze, she saw his question before he asked it, "I love you. So damn much it hurts when you're not there. I don't ever want to leave you again."
He smiled winningly "I don't want you to leave either." He kissed her cheek and whispered low and husky. "I love you more than you could know."
She looked stricken, her eyes darting everywhere, "What…what about Reinette?"
He kissed her lips feather-like, tantalising. "Never in all my life could I love her as much as I love you. It's just impossible, I mean… you're the most amazing woman I've ever known! So fearless and loyal, my Rose, my wonderful, beautiful Rose Tyler!" He grinned, his eyes sparking with love and something so profound that it didn't have a word in the English language.
She cupped his cheek, "My Doctor. Brave, brilliant, amazing, fantastic Doctor!" She kissed his cheek. "Never anyone else."
"Really?"
She smiled again. "Really, really."
The Doctor laughed shortly, "Shrek? I do believe I've had an effect on you, Rose Tyler."
Rose grinned, "You have no idea."
They stared into each other's eyes, heads slowly inching towards each other. Attracted like a magnet, pulling the two beings together relentlessly. Rose wound her fingers through his hair and brought his lips down to meet hers. She was flying so high in happiness, in ecstasy, wading knee-deep in a vat of love. The kiss deepened, sparks of electric jolting between their noses. She broke off to breath reluctantly, moaning at the loss of his warm lips against hers. "Not exactly a happy ending, though, is it?"
He smiled sadly for a second, "In my experience, true love doesn't get a happy ending. I think true love doesn't get an ending at all."
She narrowed her eyes at him and beamed. "True love?"
Smirking along with her, he said in a deep, low voice, "Oh yes. Definitely true love."
Rose tilted her head, "You continue to amaze me." She kissed him again, something incredible and beautiful beginning and growing between the two astounding spirits.
The Doctor finally understood that no-one would ever hurt Rose again as long as she was with him. He knew the power of love; and his love for her was the greatest power in the whole of time and space.
Rose found that home was with the man she loved, never leaving his side. She knew that she would forever be safe with him, he would be with her, love her and protect her from her fears and her nightmares with all the life he had in him. Rose Tyler knew he would never stop believing in her.
The TARDIS switched off the camera in the med bay. The TARDIS knew who pulled that trigger and killed Adam Mitchell but she would never tell. Begrudgingly, the TARDIS kept the secret because, above all other reasons, she knew that Rose would never be able to forgive herself for any kind of death, whether intentional or not.
Rose Tyler was just too good.
Let your life be in the sunshine
Not the darkness of your sorrow
You may see your all today
When you know it'll come tomorrow
See a rose is still a rose
Baby girl, you're still a flower
He can't lead you and then take you
Make you and then break you
Darling, you hold the power.
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A/N 1: Please tell me what you think, what your favourite chapter were, any continuation errors, anything. Just please review.
A/N 2: Extra songs I used were: EVERYTIME: BRITNEY SPEARS, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD: KT TUNSTALL, OVERKILL: COLIN HAY, CRY: JAMES BLUNT, CANNONBALL: DAMIEN RICE, HOLY TEARS: TARA MACLEAN, BOTH SIDES NOW: JONI MITCHELL, TONIGHT I WANNA CRY: KEITH URBAN, EVEN GOD CAN'T CHANGE THE PAST: CHARLOTTE CHURCH, A ROSE IS STILL A ROSE: ARETHA FRANKLIN
