A-Levels and Aliens
I apologise in advance for the angst in this chapter; it's not all bad, though! Hope you enjoy and thanks for the reviews.
Disclaimer: Nothing you might recognise belongs to me
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Rose didn't come out of her bedroom all evening, refusing even to come out for tea. Jack offered to take it to her and quickly made his way down the maze of corridors to her room.
"Got your dinner, honey," he said, placing the tray on her desk and then turning to her,
"Thanks," she said, quietly, her face tearstained,
"I'm sorry to hear about your uncle."
Rose nodded, two tears making fresh tracks down her cheeks. Jack immediately went and sat down next to her on the bed and gave her a hug.
"Is he really angry with me, Jack?" she asked, into his chest,
"No, more hurt really."
Rose hiccupped suddenly.
"You know he can't do those things you asked him too. He's explained the whole concept to you before, hasn't he?"
She nodded.
"I know you're hurting 'cause of your uncle and we understand that but… well, you know what I'm trying to say here."
Rose nodded again.
"Just think about it, alright honey?"
And with that, Jack gave her a brief kiss on the forehead and left her to it.
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Much later, Rose opened her door quietly and stepped out in search of the Doctor. He wasn't in his bedroom- not that he'd slept in there for months- nor in the kitchen. She stood in the deserted control room, wondering where he could be and if she should find and ask Jack, when she noticed the TARDIS door was slightly open. She slipped though it and discovered the Doctor standing outside, staring up at the stars in the clear night sky, hands deep in his trouser pockets.
"Are you going to be leaving again soon?" she asked, softly,
"Yeah, probably just after your half term," he answered, not averting his gaze, "Starting to feel restless again,"
"Oh OK," Rose said, moving to stand next to him. They stood in silence for a few moments, each gazing upwards, each lost in their own thoughts.
"I'm sorry," Rose said, suddenly, "I didn't mean it. I don't hate you,"
"I know," replied the Doctor, "It's OK. It was your grief talking, not you. I understand,"
"I'm so sorry," Rose said, a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes, "I can't believe I said those things to you especially when I know you can't do it and you're always so loving and kind to me and then I go and treat you like trash. You're never gonna forgive me,"
"Rose," the Doctor whispered, wrapping one arm around her back to pull her closer to him and cupping her cheek with his other hand, "It's alright, no need to apologise. I've already forgiven you, not that there was anything to forgive. Like I said, it was your grief talking. I did it too, after the Time War and the poor TARDIS took a right battering."
Brown eyes stared at brown eyes until Rose exhaled heavily and leant her forehead against the Doctor's chest. "I just feel so guilty," she confessed, "Like I deserve to be punished or something."
"What, you want me to make you paint yourself blue and stand in the corner with a Dunce's hat on?"
"If it would make me feel better,"
"Well tough. It wouldn't make me feel better. But I know something that would,"
"What?" asked Rose, lifting her head,
"This," the Doctor descended down on her mouth, kissing her lovingly, "I love you, Rose,"
"Love you too," Rose sighed, a warm bubble erupting in her chest, "What did I do to deserve you?"
"That's a question I ask myself everyday," the Doctor replied, seriously before holding her tightly as he felt her shiver from the cold night air, "Are you OK now?"
"I think so," Rose said, before gasping as waves of images of her Uncle Jim swam through her mind. Her legs gave out beneath her and she collapsed to the ground; the Doctor instantly kneeling down beside her, "He's dead. I'm never gonna see him again, never gonna talk to him again, never gonna get a funny birthday card from him every year, oh God!" She gasped for breath as sobs erupted from her mouth as her Uncle's death suddenly hit her.
The Doctor picked her up easily in his strong arms and carried her into the TARDIS, his body pressed comfortingly against her trembling one. He gently set her down on the captain's chair and took a seat next to her. She immediately reached out for him, winding her arms around his waist and burying her wet face in his chest.
"Let it out," he said, softly, stroking her back and hair, "Come on, Rose. It's OK to cry."
Rose clung tightly to one of his hands as tears poured down her cheeks and sobs wracked her whole body. She felt grateful to the Doctor for just being there and holding her, soothing her as she grieved, even crying as she did and being her hand to hold especially after the hurtful things she said to him earlier.
Finally, her tears ran out and she was left to just sniffing sadly. She raised her head and smiled wobbly at the Doctor. "Thanks," she whispered,
"Anytime," he whispered back, handing her a tissue which she took gratefully, "I'm always here for you, my angel."
Rose nodded, almost drowning in the love she saw in his eyes and felt for him. "Sorry I got your shirt all wet," she muttered, feeling the damp fabric against her cheek,
"Don't worry, it'll dry," soothed the Doctor, "Do you want anything?" he asked, meaning a drink or something,
"Not really," Rose said, wiping her eyes, "Can… Can we talk about him? I'd like to tell you about Uncle Jim,"
"Course."
Rose shifted herself, so her head was lying on his warm lap, face angled to look at him before beginning. She held his left hand whilst his right stroked her hair and traced her facial features comfortingly. They sat in that position for the rest of the night, falling asleep together just before dawn to be discovered by Jack. He smiled as he saw them before creeping quietly off, leaving them in peace.
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The Doctor refused to let Rose go to college that day so instead she stayed at home with him and Jack, who both did their best to keep her cheerful. She understandably had anxious calls and texts from her friends, asking her where she was and if she was OK. She was touched at their concern and promised them she'd be in the next day after telling them what had happened. They were most sympathetic and promised to do everything they could to help her, such as picking up any work from college. Rose was glad that she had such amazing friends.
Just over a week later, Rose's college finished for half term. She was slightly scared at just how fast time had passed, meaning that her exams were looming. The TARDIS trio went travelling again for that week and had an amazing time at a ski resort, where all three of them learnt and improved their skiing skills. They had a race on their final day, which Rose just won, beating Jack by a nanosecond. They had left the Doctor halfway up the slope, where he had fallen over. Jack and Rose struggled back up the hill and tried to help him upright, made slightly more difficult by the fact that they were in hysterics at the same time. On the Wednesday, they made a scheduled stop in Edinburgh for Rose's uncle's funeral. The Doctor came into the crematorium with her and silently sat by her, holding her hand all the way through the service as she sat pale faced. Jack joined them afterwards for the wake back at Uncle Jim's house, where Rose introduced them both to her relatives. The Doctor blushed at several comments made by her elder relatives and was thoroughly glad to leave the house after they'd stayed a respectable amount of time. Jackie promised to come back home at the weekend so Rose could stay with her. The trio spent the rest of the week exploring Italy and reluctantly left the partial warmth for the freezing February temperatures back in London on the Sunday night.
The Doctor and Jack said a sad goodbye to Rose the following morning. It wasn't as bad as the previous time as they now knew what to expect.
"So do you think it'll be three weeks again?" Rose asked, just before their departure,
"I don't know," the Doctor replied, holding her tightly, "It might be less time, it might be more but I'll keep you updated." He hesitated. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you instead? It's only been a few weeks and…"
"I'll be fine, Doctor. You need to go travelling again, don't worry about me," Rose said, smiling and pressing her hand against his cheek.
He turned his face and kissed her palm gently. "Alright but call me if you want to talk or need anything… anything at all and I'll be right with you. Doesn't matter what time, you're more important to me than anything else."
"Thanks," Rose said, "Missing you already,"
"Same. Love you loads."
The Doctor kissed her and darted into the TARDIS, smiling at her as he went. The door shut and the engines began to whirr before the great machine disappeared.
Rose sighed before hoisting her bag onto her back and walking away. He'd be back before she knew it.
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Rose's first week without the Doctor passed quickly enough. She kept herself occupied with work and friends and spoke to the Doctor and Jack regularly. She spent time with Jackie, having girly nights in or chatting about things. The death of her little brother had made Jackie more aware and she tried to stay in contact with her remaining family more, knowing that they could be ripped away at any moment. She knew that as soon as Rose completed her A-Levels, it was extremely likely that she'd disappear off the face of the planet once again and there'd be months long gaps between her visits. She didn't want her daughter to become a stranger.
On the second Tuesday back, Rose had just sat down and taken out a sandwich when Kirsty bounded up, looking over the moon about something.
"What's happened?" Rose grinned, her friend's enthusiasm contagious,
"My Mum's just 'phoned me. I got some post from Liverpool uni!"
"And?" Rose asked, holding her breath,
"They've accepted me!" Kirsty squealed, "If I get the grades, I'm going to Liverpool!"
"Well done!" Rose shrieked, leaping up and hugging her friend, "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks," Kirsty said, a grin stretching from ear to ear, "God, I'm so happy. It's my dream come true!"
"Yeah," Rose said, wishing her dream would come true and the Doctor would arrive back in London right now,
"You're not going to uni, are you?" Kirsty said,
"Nope. Me and the Doctor, and Jack of course, are going travelling again and we'll probably never stop,"
"Won't you run out of places to visit?"
"Nah, never happen," Rose declared, "Far too much to see,"
"Well, don't forget to send me a postcard occasionally," Kirsty joked, "Think of me slaving away at my literature course whilst you're seeing the Seven Wonders of the World!"
"With the eighth," Rose grinned before thinking that she really would miss her new friends- especially Kirsty, Lauren and Matt- once this chapter of her life was over. They'd made more of an impact on her life than Shareen or Keisha ever had. She'd be sad to say goodbye but at least se still had a few months left with them. And then, she had the rest of her life with the Doctor and Jack to look forward to.
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"Hi Rose," said a voice.
She opened her eyes from where she'd been lying on her bed in the TARDIS and smiled.
"Hey Jack," she greeted, "You alright?"
"Yeah," he said, coming in and sitting next to her, "I'm on top of the world!"
"How come?"
"I'm in love! I've come to say goodbye,"
"What for?" Rose asked, startled,
"Me and Jessa, we've finally admitted our feelings and we're eloping!" Jack cried, ecstatically, "Oh Rose, I've never felt this way about anyone before!"
"But…but you don't like Jessa that much!" Rose said, confused, "You told me yourself!"
"I had the wool pulled over my eyes," Jack yelled, happily, "I was blind. But now I must go, have a great life, Rose. I sure will!"
He hugged her and bounded out of the room, briefly bumping into the Doctor and saying "See ya, Doc!" before disappearing.
"He can't do that!" Rose cried, "Aren't you gonna stop him?"
"Nah," replied the Doctor, "Rose, I need to talk to you,"
"OK," she replied, crossing her legs and reaching out for his hand.
He quickly moved it and looked at her. Rose frowned. There was something missing…
"Rose, I don't love you anymore," the Doctor said, bluntly.
Rose gasped. "What? Why?"
"I don't do domestics, I've told you before," said the Doctor, "And what we've had, it's all very domestic. Plus, there's the enormous age gap and quite frankly, I've grown bored of you,"
"But you said none of that mattered!" Rose said, refusing to cry, "You swore that you didn't care about that as you loved me!"
"I was a fool," the Doctor said, shortly, "Now, pack your bags. I'm dropping you off home in ten minutes." He stood up and marched out of the room while Rose stared after him, struggling to understand what had just happened.
With a sob, she fell back down against the pillows and let the tears come. The Doctor didn't love her anymore…
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"Doctor, no! Please!" Rose mumbled, before shooting up with a gasp, breathing heavily; sweat and tears mingling on her face. "It was just a dream," she told herself, switching on her bedside lamp with trembling fingers, "He does love me, he does!"
But why did an awful lot of things make sense in that dream..?
Quickly, she snatched up her mobile phone and dialled the TARDIS' number.
"Hello!" came a cheery voice, from the other end,
"Doctor, do… do you still love me?" Rose asked, haltingly,
"Of course I do! What's bought this on, Rose?"
Rose breathed a sigh of relief and gave a small sob. "I had a bad dream,"
"Oh Rose," the Doctor sighed, "I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Yeah, you and Jack were both gonna leave me," Rose explained, with tears in her voice, "Jack, 'cause he was gonna elope with Jessa and you 'cause…'cause…'cause you didn't love me anymore,"
"I'll always love you, Rose," reassured the Doctor, "And I promise that I'll never leave you, OK?"
"Yeah," Rose whispered,
"And I'm pretty certain that Jack won't leave us to elope with Jessa…"
Rose heard a loud "what!" in the background and then a swishing sound as Jack grabbed the 'phone off the Doctor.
"Rose, honey? What's this all about?"
She explained as best as she could, her sobs being replaced by small chuckles as she pictured the ex-Time Agent's face.
"That will never happen," he assured her when she'd finished, "I like Jessa well enough but I'd never choose her over you and the Doctor and our travels. Never,"
"OK, Jack," Rose said, feeling relieved and oddly touched,
"Here's the Doctor again," said Jack, "Love ya lots, babe,"
"Are you feeling better now, my angel?" the Doctor asked, a few seconds later,
"Yeah…I'm sorry," Rose replied, "It's just some of the stuff that you- the you in my dream- said made sense. Like you don't do domestics,"
"I didn't last body," the Doctor mused, "But I do now. I do them for you. I can cope with them for you and only you."
Rose smiled; her heart swelling with emotion. "Doctor?"
"Yes, Rose?"
"I love you."
The Doctor grinned, his mended heart glowing.
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