Life After Death
Chapter 6: Impossibilities
Two months after his return, six weeks after he and Rose had moved into their flat, and a little over a month since he'd started working at Torchwood, the Doctor's life had settled into a nice display of domesticity.
He was sleeping more than ever, but it was still much less than normal by human standards. He'd wake Rose up with tea and breakfast, and the two of them would eat together and talk. After that, they'd get dressed and go to Torchwood. They'd ride up the lift together, and he'd give her a kiss when it stopped at the eighteenth floor and she got off. He'd continue up to the twenty-fourth floor and go to his own lab. She would usually come to get him for lunch, since he'd be engrossed in tinkering with some alien toy, and together they'd walk over to their favorite café on the corner, a place that served soups, salads, wraps, sandwiches, and was conveniently located next door to the best chippy in town. They'd eat together, occasionally joined by Pete, Mickey, or some of their other co-workers, and then they'd walk back to work hand-in-hand. Occasionally, they'd run, just for the fun of it. Another kiss as she left the lift, work for a few hours, go home, cook dinner, perhaps go to visit Pete and Jackie or Mickey.
It all changed on 23 May.
It was 1:30 in the afternoon, and he was still basking in the glow of the smile she had sent him as the door to the lift had closed, the one that was "his" smile, that he was the only person lucky enough to receive. He was going through a crate of alien artifacts (most of which were preschool toys, although he did find a nice piece quite similar to an electric cattle prod) when the building's intercom sounded.
He wasn't alarmed at first; there were weekly – sometimes twice weekly – drills intended to keep everyone prepared in case of an emergency. But then came the announcement.
"Medical team to level 18, section delta, possible fatalities, this is not a drill."
He barely heard as the announcement repeated. The world around him seemed to stop. Rose. That was the section Rose worked in.
…possible fatalities…
Rose!
He ran to the lift, then changed his mind. It was too slow, all too slow, he couldn't get to her fast enough! He went to the stairs instead, almost flying down them, seeming to cover an entire flight in only a few steps. He burst onto the level and raced down to Rose's lab. The smell of an explosion hung in the air. Burnt electronics, charred flesh.
The medical personnel were scattered around the room, tending victims. One was bent over Rose. As he watched, the woman slowly stood up and shook her head.
"Noooooooo!!!" he screamed. Ten years, ten years hoping, and looking, and trying to get her back, and he'd only been given two months?! He flung himself at her, gently scooping her battered, burnt body in his arms, clutching her to his chest as he sat on the floor.
"No…Rose…my Rose…"
TBC
A/N: DA DA DEEE DUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!
I didn't leave the last one as a cliffhanger. So I had to leave this one as one. Sorry (well, no, not really).
Also, the new bulletin board is officially launched. It's called "The Doctor and His Rose" and you can find it at http://www.doctorandrose(dot)proboards78(dot)com.
I'll try to get the next part out soon…thank you to the fifteen people who've put this on their Favorite Stories list, and the twenty-five who've added it to Story Alerts! You make me so proud!!!!