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Despairs Darkest Destiny
Epilogue
The Doctor poured another mug of tea down the sink and he emptied another uneaten meal into the bin. Even when he was cooking it he knew he wasn't going to eat it – it was just something to fill the empty hours with – time seemed so worthless since… since the incident. The Doctor sighed and ran his finger over his chin where long forgotten stubble was starting to form; his fingers rubbed his face digging into the bags that hung under his eyes. He walked around the Tardis, it was so empty and quiet – he couldn't stand it. He slowly paced the corridors until he reached Rose's room, his hand rested on the door as he thought. He finally gave in and pushed the door open, a shiver of dread ran through him as he saw her empty bed, the empty chair at the empty table. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what she looked like before all of this began, before she was tired, before her eyes were hollow and her skin was black and blue with bruises, before her eyes were blood shot with fear and her mouth hung open on empty screams, before her skin was pale and lifeless – before she died.
The Doctor felt himself choke up again as he remembered
'No' he muttered to himself – she'd died, but he'd saved her, he'd brought her back, he couldn't let go of her. He walked out of her room and entered the medical room, there she lay – her skin so pale it matched the clinical walls. Her chest slowly rose and fell as machines monitored her breathing. He closed his eyes as he remembered the moment her heart stopped, the moment her lips went blue, the moment he fell apart. But he'd saved her – and here she'd lain since, not moving – just sleeping. The Doctor didn't know if she'd ever open her eyes again – he just had to pray that she would because he couldn't imagine not being able to stare into her eyes endlessly. The Doctor sat beside her bed and held her hand – there was nothing he could do but wait - and he had all the time in the world.
It could have been hours later – or it could have been days, the Doctor didn't know and nor did he care. Finally Rose's eyelids flickered open to stare at him from the depths of the bed. He watched her worriedly as her eyes cautiously searched the room, when her eyes met the Doctors a slow smile spread over her face. All the tension that had filled the Doctor slowly drained away as she returned his smile.
'Hey' she murmured
'Hello' he replied. Rose snuggled under the blankets ignoring the wire that connected her to various machines; she just focused on the warmth and concern that filled the Doctor's eyes. He squeezed her hand
'How you feeling?' he asked
'Sore' she mumbled 'sore but better'. He ran a finger down her cheek
'Good' he whispered. Rose smiled at him and squeezed his hand in return, she watched him for a moment, she knew something was bothering him
'What?' she asked, the Doctor opened his mouth to say something but when he caught Rose's eye he thought better of it
'It's nothing' he lied as he tried to force a smile. Rose watched him, her brow furrowing
'We've come this far together – don't start lying to me know Doctor' she told him. The Doctor closed his eyes and breathed – he knew it was a bad idea to reveal all the things that had been troubling him as he waited for Rose's precious eyes to open but he couldn't help himself – he need to know the answers.
'Everything Madeline said about you, about us, about our lives – was it true?' he desperately asked. Rose watched his eyes that now restlessly searched hers and she knew this was tearing him up inside. She raised her hands and gently grazed them down his cheeks
'What do you think?' she asked quietly. The Doctor paused
'I think she was right – I think you fear something' he sadly admitted. Rose looked at him thoughtfully before nodding.
'There is something I fear' she whispered. She felt the Doctor freeze under her hands
'I'm scared of losing you – so scared that some nights I can't sleep, sometimes I just want to lie in your arms and not leave the Tardis whilst you tell me everything's gunna be okay'. The Doctor raised his eyes and searched hers
'Really?' he asked quietly. Rose simply nodded
'Yes' the Doctor smiled at her
'Good' he murmured as he wrapped his arms around her in a familiar embrace.
Outside the Tardis fresh white snow covered four long forgotten graves; their names were etched into the stone for eternity, their story needing to be told. Inside the Tardis the Doctor held Rose to his chest, their warm bodies intertwining
'Everything's gunna be okay Rose' the Doctor promised. Rose smiled at him
'I know'. Together they lay remembering the dark story of a little girl, the story that must be told so her death wasn't in vain. The Doctor silently vowed that no one would forget the tale of the abandoned house that sat on a lone hillside, someday the world would know of the evils that haunted that house and someday justice would be severed. The Doctor bundled Rose closer never wanting to let go, they lost themselves in their cocoon of warmth and love whilst everything outside became blanketed in fresh snow. The white snow covered every blood stain and every memory, not even the darkness of the Cannon family could ruin the fresh innocence of the snow, for once, in one tiny moment in time, everything was at peace and everybody was as one – for one tiny second there was no more pain, no more suffering, there was no more hatred – with this blanket of snow came something that had disappeared so long ago, the snow had brought hope. Hope was all that was needed to banish despairs darkest destiny.
The End
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