'We need to talk' were four words that could fill even the most stoic of human beings with a sense of fear and dread, and Rose Tyler was really no different. Hearing them from The Doctor's mouth, so serious and intent, filled her stomach with nerves and butterflies like which she hadn't experienced in a… very long time. Rose didn't respond for a moment, gently sliding her fingers along the console, allowing the TARDIS to hum reassuringly in her mind.
"Not here," Rose said after a moment of silence, and finally lifted her gaze to look at The Doctor, who was staring at her. She flinched, glancing away from him quickly, and wet her lips with her tongue, feeling how dry they were. "Can.. Can we go to th' library or somethin'? It's a long story."
"Well, I was hoping to check you over at the med-bay again, just make sure everything is okay." The Doctor countered, taking off his coat and lying it over the captain's chair. He was playing it casual, but Rose noticed how his fingers twitched, and she let out a small breath. He was just as nervous as she was, at least. He didn't know what she was going to say, after all.
"Can I explain it all first? After that, you can check me over as much as you want, poke and prod me with all your instruments," She requested, rubbing her arm slightly. The Doctor was silent for a moment, but offered a curt nod after a second, before he gestured for Rose to walk ahead of him and lead the way to the library. She stepped forward, cutting in front of him, though her fingers itched to reach out and hold onto his hand, wanting to keep herself as grounded as possible.
The library had always been their spot, back when she had originally travelled with The Doctor. She could recall many long nights there, floating in the vortex after a big adventure or just having a quiet day, curled up on one of the long couches with a book in her hands, or with The Doctor reading to her. When she had first joined The Doctor on the TARDIS, back when he was all leather jackets and big ears, she hadn't exactly been well-read. She knew HOW to read, of course, but reading had never been one of her favourite pastimes.
That had all changed once The Doctor had started to read out loud to her, shortly after their trip to meet Charles Dickens. She was familiar with The Christmas Carol (though she had never read it) and Oliver Twist, and she had wanted to pay tribute to the man who had helped save them in that old basement. When The Doctor had found her with her nose buried in Great Expectations, trying to wrap her head around it all, he'd been amused.
He'd taken it from her, sat down and then he had started to read aloud. From there on in, it had always just been their… thing. The Doctor's voice was always soothing, and Rose's interest in books had grown to the point where she would also read without The Doctor present. Despite that, they always picked out a book that the two of them could read together.
Even when she'd been with John, it was a habit the two of them had fallen into. After his death, she hadn't read anything except Torchwood reports and paperwork. Perhaps it was something she could get back into again. She came to a stop in front of the library, gently sliding her hand over the ornate door frame, letting out a slow breath.
"It feels like an age since I've been here," She admitted quietly, and The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed at the admission, glancing at her, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his suit jacket.
"We were in here just the other week, reading The Lord of the Rings," He pointed out in some confusion, the feeling only growing as Rose turned to look at him, a sad, contemplative smile on her lips. She didn't respond, choosing instead to walk inside of the library and head towards their usual couch.
She fell down onto the plush cushions, letting out a long sigh, and The Doctor joined her on the opposite end, twisting his body so that he was facing her a little more. His nerves were shot, and every atom within his body seemed to be twitching, yearning for answers that were so close within his reach. He couldn't understand why Rose was being so elusive, or why she'd want to hide anything from him at all. Just what did she know about her timelines?
"Doctor, what d'you know about alternate timelines?" Rose asked quietly, moving to pull her knees up to her chest, dropping her chin down on top of them. "I don't mean like Pete's world, not an alternate universe, but… another timeline, where one thing is just different, and everything just… changes completely."
The Doctor frowned at the question, leaning back into the cushions for a moment before he answered. "Risky stuff, honestly. It isn't something that should be meddled with. It's part of why the TARDIS can't go back in time when we're already part of established events, and why, for example, you couldn't save your dad. 'course, that was a little bit different, since you interfered directly with the timeline. In truth, alternate timelines blink in and out of existence all of the time with every single decision you make. Things that could be, may be and never will be, all influenced by a single decision."
He scratched his thumb absently against his sideburns, pursing his lips slightly. "They're timelines that diverge from the natural timeline based on choices and actions that you may have made or never will make. They're not as clean cut as parallel universes, which are created by multiple anomolies. An alternate timeline is influenced by a single decision and change, which is why they're so fragile, really. Many of them don't really last, and fragment into non-existence. Why d'you ask?"
"Okay, so, that means there's a timeline where I didn't get to stay with you at Canary Wharf, right?" Rose offered tentatively. "Say, I started to fall through the breach, an'.. an' just before I fell in, Pete appeared and took me back to his universe with my mum and everyone. The walls between the universes close off, and I'm stuck there. There's a timeline where that could happen, righ'?"
"Weirdly specific, but… yes, I suppose so," The Doctor agreed slowly, his frown only growing. The question and the scenario sat uncomfortably in his stomach. It wasn't a possible future he even wanted to consider.
"Well, it.. it DID happen." Rose admitted, twisting her hands together. She felt nauseous, light-headed in a way that had nothing to do with her previous head injury. "The reason I knew about mum, about.. about getting hold of a rope to tie us to the clamps? I've lived that whole scenario before, Doctor. I know, it sounds crazy, but – but just let me explain, okay?"
She looked up at him, desperate, and The Doctor had gone very still. Rose could see something brewing in his eyes, an old and ancient anger. She had seen it when she had saved her father's life, the fury at the possibility of her altering time for what he likely assumed was her own selfish needs.
"It… It was a long time ago," She admitted. "For me, anyway. Years, in fact. I fell towards the breach, and my dad… he came back and he saved me, but.. but it cut me off from everythin', from you. I couldn't stand it… you said goodbye to me on Bad Wolf Bay, like we just did with my mum, and then you were just… gone, and I had to live without you, without… everything. I started workin' at Torchwood, I did my best to save the world, to do somethin' good with my life while I could, but all I thought about was comin' back to you."
"Let me guess, Torchwood came up with something to send you back?" The Doctor asked, his voice tight, fingers curling into tight fists, his eyes burning into her. Rose could feel tears beginning to build up, and she shook her head quickly. "What, sent you back into this body? Your old body? What about Rose's consciousness? Your old consciousness? What happened to HER?" He demanded.
"I don't.. I don't know, but Doctor, please, you've gotta listen-" Rose begged, but The Doctor cut her off again, pushing himself to his feet as he began to pace back and forth.
"Rassilon! Humans! You never learn, do you? Always meddling with time, tinkering with things you don't understand! No wonder your timeline is so WRONG. You changed everything, ripped a hole through the fabric of time itself to what? possess your old body? Rose, how could you be so careless, so st-"
"I DIED, Doctor!" Rose burst out, and The Doctor froze immediately. Slowly, he turned to look at her, his eyes wide. Tears were slipping down her cheeks, and she had moved to rest on her knees, her hands gripping the material of her jeans tightly. There was a tremor in her voice, and she let out a small, choked sob, reaching up a hand to press it to the centre of her chest. "I was shot, right here. I died."
"What..? you..." The Doctor's anger seemed to dissipate, replaced with an expression Rose could only describe as despair. Rose dying had always been a particularly sore subject for him, and not something he ever cared to think about. "But, you couldn't have."
"I did. I saved my little brother's life… Tony, his name is gonna be Tony." Rose let out a weak laugh, rubbing some of her tears away with the palm of her hand. "I did get back to this universe, but.. but not how you think. At first, I helped Torchwood build this.. machine. It pushed me through holes in the universe already formin', because.. because somethin' bad was happenin'. When I found you, when everything was over and done with, you.. you left me again. It was different, though. I.. I found someone, Or, well, it was complicated, but he died too, and I had… nothing."
Rose moved to press her palms over her heart, closing her eyes for a long moment, letting the words sink in.
"I did my best, though… I carried on, but I wasn't… me. Not anymore. Then, there was this… invasion. It was a species of alien that was s'posed to be peaceful, but they were attacking us. I was leading the defence, trying to evacuate civilians and defending people, when I saw my mum and Tony. One of the aliens, it was pointing his gun right at him, so I ran, and I… pushed him."
The Doctor's hands uncurled from their fists, and he could only stare at her with wide, stunned eyes. He could almost see it in his mind, Rose sacrificing her life in order to save her brother, a child he had never even met yet, who hadn't even been born in this universe.
"I don't really remember much after that, except flashes. Voices calling my name, a lot of pain, and then..." Rose let out a little breath, and a peaceful smile graced her lips. "The TARDIS. I heard her, calling out to me."
"What?" The Doctor managed to ask, slowly moving to sit down again, unable to take his eyes away from Rose. "How is that… possible?"
"I'm not sure," Rose admitted, but moved, resting her hand against a wall. The TARDIS let out a loud, content hum, and The Doctor started at the noise, looking between the wall and Rose, his eyes wide. He knew that his ship and Rose had a special bond, but… this? "I heard this song, and I woke up in some sort of.. field. The TARDIS said it was my mind. I was dyin'."
"The TARDIS… spoke to you?"
"I know, mad, right?" Rose laughed quietly, though there was no mirth in the sound. "I dunno how, but, she told me I was dyin', and that I had a choice. She'd set me free, or she would use our.. our bond to pull me back. Pull my mind through time and bring me to th' point where it all went wrong… Canary Wharf."
"So.. that day, in the console room, when you said you'd had a nightmare," The Doctor slowly began to surmise, and Rose nodded her head.
"I.. It was the first time i'd seen you in a.. a long time. For me, I s'pose it's been nearly eight years since Canary Wharf. Nearly three since you left me at Bad Wolf Bay for th' second time." Rose confirmed quietly.
"How.. How do I know this is true? That you're not just some sort of… alien parasite who latched onto Rose's memories and consciousness?" The Doctor demanded, but there was no real fight inside of him. His protestations came primarily from the thought that he could ever abandon her after losing her for so long. If he had the chance to get Rose back after losing her, he wanted to believe he'd take it. The TARDIS would never have reacted so positively to Rose if this were the case, though, and Rose herself shifted forward, an old sadness in her eyes that he'd never noticed before. No… he'd noticed, he just hadn't wanted to see it.
"Look into my mind, Doctor," She told him, a faint smile on her face. "I'll let you in, just… look. I'll let you see everythin'. No more secrets, I promise."
The Doctor hesitated for a moment, though his fingers twitched towards her face, before freezing in place. Rose's gaze was soft, trusting, and her hands took hold of his own, lifting them and allowing his fingertips to brush against her temples. Instinctively his mind reached out towards her, and as he did so, he felt the brush of her mind reach OUT to him, and he almost jerked back from the shock.
He felt an apology radiating from the presence, and he knew, he could feel her. It was Rose. Her mental touch was like a balm, soothing and gentle, and he fell into her hold, allowing himself to fall into her memories, allowing his entire being to be enveloped by her.
Take me back! Take me BACK! A white wall, a sensation of utter despair and loss. She had lost her whole entire world. What was he going to do without her? He should never be alone, and she felt empty without him. Who was she without The Doctor in her life? A beach, a cold chill in the air as she saw him appear, mutual longing on both sides.
I love you, she choked out through her tears, and he smiled, a sad, ancient thing.
Quite right, too. And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it... Rose Tyler -
He was gone, all too soon, he was taken from her all over again, and the despair only grew. Torchwood. She threw herself into her work, desperate to discover a new way back. Tony, his smile soothed some of the pain in her heart. The stars are going out.
We need The Doctor.
The Dimension Cannon. Darting in and out of the universe to find him, missing him every time. Donna. The most important woman in the universe.
She smiled at him from afar, her expression radiant as she began to run. She had to reach him. He ran too, her name on his lips. A Dalek, ruining everything. Regeneration. No. He stopped it. Jack. A hand.
What was the last thing you said to me? Go on, say it.
I said, Rose Tyler.
Yeah, and how was that sentence going to end?
Does it need saying?
I love you.
John.
She was angry and she was hurt. Resentful. She didn't want him, she wanted The Doctor. Warmth pooled over time, a fondness grew. Love. Marriage. A bond.
I'll be with you as long as our forever lasts, Rose.
LIAR. A hospital bed, grief in her heart as she clutched at his hand, sobbing, begging him to come back to her because he promised. He PROMISED! An emptiness in mind and heart, loss and devastation. Each day a struggle to find meaning, to find hope.
Tony. Danger. She had to save Tony. No matter the cost. Pain bloomed from her chest. She hit her knees. Darkness.
Golden tendrils. Warmth. A choice to be made. A second chance.
Home.
The Doctor pulled himself out of Rose's memories with a loud gasp, realizing after a moment that they were both crying. The tears fell silently down his own cheeks, though Rose trembled underneath his hold, her fingers moving to clutch the lapels of his jacket almost desperately.
"Rose, oh Rose," He spoke her name as though it was a prayer, reverence in every syllable. His fingers cupped her cheeks, pressing his forehead against her own, feeling his hearts breaking as he ran over every one of her memories. She had been married, she'd had a life and a home that he had been able to give to her. But she had lost it all. She had formed a telepathic bond. Rassilon, he knew how much pain she must have been in once that bond severed.
"I'm sorry, Doctor, I'm so sorry..." Rose wept, trying to reign in her tears, to no avail. "Don't… Don't leave me, I'm sorry."
"Never," The Doctor assured her quietly, gently brushing her hair back from her face, closing his eyes and trying to collect his emotions. He moved his arms, winding them around her waist, pulling her into a tight hug. Rose fell into the embrace, moving her head to bury it into his neck as she clung to him, both relieved and exhausted in equal measure.
When they had both calmed down enough, The Doctor had insisted that they relocate to the galley, thinking that they might benefit from a good cup of tea. Rose sat at the table, cradling a mug in her hands, biting down on her bottom lip. The Doctor was silent too, sitting opposite her, watching her carefully for a moment.
"There's one thing I don't fully understand," He finally admitted, and Rose glanced up at him, the question in her eyes. "The glowing. When I activated those huon particles, you started glowing too, and you were… in a lot of pain. When you were hurt by the robots, there was more blood than could have come from the wound that you actually had."
"Honestly? I don't really know about all of that," Rose confessed, shaking her head. "I guess.. I sort of noticed that I wasn't really getting any older after a certain point. I seemed more mature as time passed, but I hadn't really aged physically, I s'pose? Not visibly, at least. After the Gamestation, every time I got hurt I just seemed to heal faster than I used to. I just assumed it was the TARDIS healing me somehow at first. After I got stuck in Pete's world, though, it just kept happening, even though I knew my connection from the TARDIS was cut off, because I couldn't understand aliens any more."
"I think this is the point where I insist on tests in the med-bay," The Doctor pointed out, a wry smile on his face, and Rose laughed quietly in response. The smile faded after a moment, and he sighed, rubbing his hand down his face slowly. "I'm going to have to forget most of this. It's dangerous to know any events of the future, especially for me. I can remember our… initial conversation, but everything relating to future events… about Donna, Martha, The... human… me." He winced slightly. "I can lock those memories away until a certain stimuli triggers them again, preferably after the events have happened, so I don't need to block them all again."
"What about me?" Rose asked, biting down on her bottom lip slightly. "I know I shouldn't know, but, knowing helped me at Canary Wharf, yeah? Plus, I want to make sure that… That John isn't.. That he isn't born, I s'pose. He won't live for long, and I can't do all of that again, Doctor. I just, can't."
The Doctor's expression softened, and he looked down at the ground for a moment, before he sighed, nodding his head slowly. Rose didn't know TOO much about the future, admittedly. There was nothing they could do to stop the Daleks right now (though the thought burned him up inside) and though it was risky, after everything she had been through… how could he deny her this?
"As long as you don't interfere too much. There isn't much you know about my life without you, so most of the events coming up will be new to you. Or… maybe we could block out most of the memories for now, and arrange for them to trigger when the stars start to disappear? I'm just not sure we should allow those events to influence your actions from here on in."
Rose let out a sigh, but looked at her lap for a moment, pursing her lips. Having her memories taken from her was an uncomfortable thought, but she trusted The Doctor, at least. So, she simply nodded her head.
"You're just taking those events, right? Not… not my memories of John or Tony, or… anyone else?"
"Of course I won't take those memories. You just won't remember how John was created, or how you knew Donna before she showed up on the TARDIS. It's just a gap in your memory, but you'll know that the memories have been taken from you. It's a strange feeling, but I promise, you'll get them back." The Doctor assured her, and Rose let out a quiet, thoughtful hum. "First things first, though!"
The Doctor pushed himself to stand up, holding out his hand towards Rose with a warm smile. "I believe I've got some tests to run! Just humour me, alright?"
"Oh alrigh' Doctor! Since it's in your name and all, I'd be mad to turn down a check-up!" Rose agreed with a dramatic sigh, abandoning her mug in favour of taking The Doctor's hand and standing up. "I know it's been on your mind since I hit my head."
"Hit your.. Rose, you did more than just hit your head!" The Doctor insisted in disbelief, and Rose shrugged her shoulders.
"Honestly, Doctor, I've had a lot worse," She confessed, and she got a quiet sigh in response.
"The worst part is, I know you mean it," He muttered darkly, giving her hand a small squeeze. He led her out of the galley at that, and Rose couldn't help but feel as though a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders and chest. The Doctor certainly had been angry to begin with, but he seemed to understand after he'd seen her memories, and she was glad of it.
If he'd been angry, or wanted her to reverse things and put them right? It would have been a completely devastating blow. She may have to lose some of her memories temporarily, but that was the best possible outcome that she could have gotten, really. For the first time since she'd been brought back to this time, she finally felt as though she could relax.
She moved to sit down on one of the beds as they entered the med-bay, shifting to lie down without any prompting from The Doctor, simply offering him a patient smile. She didn't particularly enjoy being poked and prodded, and she'd always tried to avoid going to medical when she worked for Torchwood, but if this was enough to put The Doctor's mind at ease, then she would deal with it.
The Doctor worked in silence for the most part, hooking Rose up to a few different machines, a soft beeping and whirring of mechanics being the only sound filling the room. Rose watched him for a time, a small smile on her face. She took time to trace over his features with her gaze, to the concentrated furrow in his brow as he looked over the results from her testing. She longed to reach out, to ease the wrinkles in his forehead that sprung up when he was worried or thinking too hard, to gently trace the line of his jaw with her fingertips.
The Doctor's eyes met her own for a moment, and Rose's cheeks warmed, prompting her to avert her gaze as quickly as she could.
Boundaries, Rose.
Standing up, The Doctor looked at a monitor by her bed, moving to slide his fingers through his hair, leaving it messier and more unkempt than ever. Rose's eyes followed the movement of his fingers for a moment, before she bit down on her bottom lip, trying to focus.
"So.. what's the prognosis, Doc?"
The Doctor wrinkled his nose at that, and Rose couldn't help but let out a small giggle, prompting him to offer her a smile.
"Well, it's… fascinating, actually. Your brain scans have shown that several portions of your brain, particularly the frontal and temporal lobes are far more active than they've ever been before. Well, since your last scan, at least. That wouldn't be so odd over a period of time, as time passes and you get older, but this is… different. I've never seen activity like this in a human before."
"Hold on, when did you scan my brain before?" Rose asked, sitting up slightly and resting her weight on her forearms.
"The first time I did a medical check on you," The Doctor admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was a long time ago, not long after you started to travel with me. I just did an over-all check, just making sure there was nothing to worry about. I didn't give it much thought, but, there's a.. huge significant difference now. When I touched your temples earlier, to see your memories.. I felt you. You reached out to me with your mind, do you remember that?"
Rose nodded in confirmation, tilting her head to the side. "Yeah, John said I had low-level telepathy, and he was able to unlock more of my potential after we bonded. I haven't exactly used it since he died, and I can only really communicate through touch, but..."
"See, that's definitely not normal. The changes in your brain activity could definitely attribute to that," The Doctor mused, pulling up another scan before letting out a little breath. "And.. your cells. They're regenerating at a faster rate than any normal human cell i've ever seen, not to mention your telomeres..."
"Telomeres?" Rose repeated, moving to sit up properly on the bed, letting her legs dangle over the side, fixing The Doctor with a curious stare.
"Telomeres rest at the end of chromosome strands. They're stretches of DNA and proteins, and as cells divide, these stretches grow shorter and shorter. Eventually, they reach a cut off point, become senescent, and they die out." The Doctor explained, pulling out his glasses from his pocket and slipping them on. He stared at the screens in front of him, focused, and Rose felt a thrill rise up inside of her at the sight of his brainy specs.
"When cells divide, your chromosomes are replicated, but human bodies have trouble when it comes to replicating telomeres. So, each time a chromosome creates a copy of itself, the telomere on the end of the strand gets smaller and smaller with each replication, and this is what causes humans to age." The Doctor continued, and Rose froze, looking at him with wide eyes. Oh, this was about her ageing? "Your telomeres are ABLE to duplicate themselves along with your chromosomes, which means your body isn't biologically ageing."
Rose's mouth fell open at that, and she blinked owlishly at him. So it was true? She really wasn't getting any older?
"Does that mean I won't die of old age?" Rose asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion, and The Doctor let out a small breath, rubbing the back of his neck with a grimace.
"Ordinarily, I'd say you would, it would just be an odd situation since you wouldn't LOOK any older than you do now. However, your cells are also regenerating at a rapid rate, and coupled with that, your lifespan could actually lead to be… far longer than any human. You can die, of course… You were dying in the other timeline, so to speak, but.. not from old age or most natural means."
The Doctor took off his glasses at that, and stared at her, and there was pain on his face. Rose couldn't understand why he was upset.
"Isn't that a good thing? If.. If I'm careful, I could live for a long time! I won't die of old age!" Rose insisted, her eyes shining as she moved to stand up. "I can give you forever, just like I promised."
"Rose." The Doctor swallowed thickly, shaking his head for a moment. "You'll never have a normal human lifespan… live a normal human life. I know you came back to me, and you made this choice, but even staying with me here… one day you might want to lead a normal life.. to leave."
"Doctor." Rose let out a sigh, and moved forward, her hands pressing against his cheeks gently, staring at him intently. "I made my choice long ago. I'm never going to leave you. You know how I feel about you. I married your human meta-crisis for Gods sake. He was human, yeah, and living a short life would've been fine, if It had been with him… with you. But other than that? I don't want to be anywhere else, to do anything else. You… don't need t'say anything to me, Doctor. This doesn't need to be anything other than what it's always been. I can just be sure I'll keep my promise this time."
The Doctor was stunned at the sincerity in Rose's voice, and her words swam around in his head, leaving him dizzy. He had always had a weakness for Rose Tyler. He had been called out on it many a time, with the word love being used on occasion, but stars above, did the implication terrify him. Rose was beautiful, brilliant and a beacon of everything good in his life. He couldn't have imagined living without her in his life now, and thinking of himself in another timeline, torn away from her…
He stared at her for a long moment, before he let out a long breath, and touched his forehead against hers lightly, offering her a small, tired smile.
"Rose Tyler… What did I do to deserve you, hm?"
"Just lucky I guess," Rose quipped in return, giving him the tongue touched grin that never failed to make his hearts soar. He knew how she felt, she was right about that, but he wasn't quite ready to admit his own feelings, or even try to open himself to love. There were still too many uncertainties ahead, but for now, having Rose by his side? That would always be enough.
"The real question is," The Doctor suddenly spoke, pulling away from Rose's hands to turn back to the screens beside the bed. Rose's hands slowly fell, and she rubbed at her arm, averting her eyes to the floor once more. "What caused all of this? You clearly have some kind of connection to the TARDIS, but…" He turned back to Rose, suddenly serious. "Rose? What do you remember about the game station? Back at Canary Wharf, you said that you killed the emperor of the Daleks. How did you know that?"
Rose hesitated for a moment, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I dunno, I just.. know. I don't remember a lot about what I did exactly, just.. fragments. I know that I opened up the heart of the TARDIS, and there was this.. singing, and.." Rose trailed off for a moment, and The Doctor waited patiently. "I.. looked into the TARDIS, and the TARDIS looked into me. I could see… everything." Her voice was a whisper, and The Doctor's hand closed into a tight fist.
"You absorbed the entirety of the time vortex. I took it out of you because it was burning you up from the inside, but I was too late. No-one can absorb the time vortex without… changing, somehow. It killed me just to have it for even a few seconds. I thought you had gotten lucky, but… no." The Doctor shook his head, oblivious to how Rose had stilled at his words. "You forged a direct bond with the TARDIS. Your new lifespan, your lack of aging, the telepathy.. it's the TARDIS. You're completely connected to the TARDIS."
He looked back at Rose to gauge her reaction, only to freeze at the look in her face. Her eyes were shining, and she looked, for lack of a better word, devastated.
"Rose…?"
"I.. I killed you. It was me." Rose's voice was quiet, and she closed her eyes tightly. She had never really known what had caused The Doctor to regenerate. She had assumed at first that it was something the Dalek's did to him, but no. He had taken the time vortex out of her, and it had killed him.
"Rose, Rose, no, you saved me." The Doctor pulled her into another tight hug, gently cupping the back of her head. "They would have killed me over and over until there was nothing left.. not to mention, they would have turned the entire human race into Daleks. I wouldn't want you to try to do it again, but things would have gone very differently without you there."
Rose's arms tightened around his waist, and she buried her face into his chest, letting out a shaky breath. That was at least… something to think about. There were times where she still missed his leather jackets and big ears, though she wouldn't trade her Doctor for anything now. The thought of being responsible for his death, even indirectly, was enough to cause her great pain.
"Sorry," She mumbled against his chest, before she pulled back, offering him a weak, shaky smile. "I just.. it caught me by surprise, I s'pose."
The Doctor offered her a smile, nodding his head once. "It's been.. a hectic day. You should get some rest. I'll have to do some checks on the TARDIS, make sure she's alright after everything that happened. Are you gonna be okay?"
Rose nodded, letting out a small sigh. "Yeah, 'course. I could do with a good sleep, I think. What about repressing our memories of the future, though?"
"We can do it tomorrow, once everything has settled down a little." The Doctor assured her. Truth be told, he still had a lot of questions to ask her, but she had been through a lot, and he needed space of his own in order to process everything. Rose let out a quiet hum of affirmation, and moved towards the door, glancing over her shoulder at him.
"G'night Doctor."
"...Good night, Rose." The Doctor's voice was quiet in response, and he turned to look at the screens once more, his lips tightening into a thin line.