Take a look at the scrollbar. Now do you see why I made it two chapters? =P
Chapter 7: The Final Goodbye
"Well?" came a strong female voice, and the Doctor felt his heart speed up to twice its normal rate. Pete turned quickly, and the Doctor's eyes automatically moved up to the voice. "What's this task you've got for me?" she asked, and the voice's owner came into view. The woman was carrying a large pile of folders and papers, and she continued talking, not noticing the occupants of the room. "Not anymore paperwork, is it? 'Cause I'm still working on the last…" she trailed off as she saw the Doctor, and the papers and files fell from he hands into a crumpled mess on the shiny metal floor.
Pete and Jackie backed out of view as the Doctor and Rose finally made eye contact, and the guards were ushered out of the room by Jackie and Pete. Rose didn't move, but the Doctor edged forwards slowly, trying to read her emotions from her expressionless face. He could feel her doing the same; the thousands of questions running through her mind were also running through his, but her mind was overwhelmed, and she suddenly whimpered and held her hands up to her face. She backed away slightly, and the Doctor stopped, still. A tear dripped soundlessly from her eye, and the Doctor moved forward one step.
"You came back." Rose whispered, her voice carrying out through the room. No one spoke for a moment.
Then, as if reading each other's minds, the two bounded forwards into each others arms, locked in a warm embrace, relieved at finally being together. Minutes passed, and the two figures clung onto each other helplessly, tears dripping unstoppably down their cheeks. When they finally broke apart, it was just for a second, before Rose pulled the Doctor back towards her body in a second hug, not knowing how else to show her delight at seeing him again. They once again separated reluctantly, their hands becoming linked affectionately.
"I'm sorry." the Doctor whispered, his face and Rose's inches apart. "I'm so sorry."
Tears of joy ran down Rose's face as she smiled.
"I - I don't understand, how -" she began, but the Doctor shook his head, not wanting to waste the moment with unnecessary words, just longing to hold Rose in his arms, forever.
"Don't speak. I'll explain later." He smiled, and she laughed with excitement.
"I think I'm dreaming." she said dazedly, but the Doctor just smiled even more, and pulled Rose's body towards his own as they embraced each other deliriously.
- - - - - -
"Shall I check up on him?" Martha suggested, the room having fallen silent once more.
"No." Jack said firmly. "Give him time."
"Heart rate's fine." Toshiko offered.
"No void stuff." Gwen added, and there was silence once more.
"I guess we just have to wait then." Martha sighed, twisting the cord of the radio around her finger jadedly.
- - - - - - -
Rose clung on to the Doctor's neck, her face buried in his coat, and the two stood comfortably, before the door from which Rose had entered opened for a third time, and they parted regretfully.
"Hey, Rose?" came a familiar male voice. "I thought you were coming right…" his voice trailed off as he saw the Doctor, and he added "…back." to the end of the statement as he walked over to the pair.
"Is he for real?" Mickey asked Rose, not addressing the Doctor. Her face broke into a grin as she nodded, and hearing Mickey's voice, the doors behind the Doctor also opened to reveal Jackie and Pete walking into the room. Rose walked to the Doctor's side and he wrapped his arm around her waist as the Tylers and Mickey gathered round to hear the Doctor's story.
"Okay," he began, sighing. "Well, I guess you're all wondering what's going on, so I suppose I should start at the beginning." he was about to begin when he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, wait a minute!" he released Rose and pressed his earpiece gently.
"Hello?" he called, and Rose exchanged glances with Jackie, Pete and Mickey. "Martha? Gwen? Anyone there?" no one answered, so he turned back to the room, putting his arm back around Rose.
"Sorry, they must be busy." he apologised. "So -"
"Who's Martha? And Gwen?" Rose asked loudly, and the Doctor swallowed.
"Ah, well…you see, Martha is a girl - woman, I mean - who I've been… travelling with for a while." he admitted, and Rose's face fell slightly. She didn't seem angry though, so the Doctor continued. "I mean, we've only been together for - well, not together, just travelling together, I mean - for a bit, and she's just helping, a little, with, you know, this. And Gwen's just -"
"Doctor." Rose interrupted with a smile, her silent jubilation not swayed by this information, wrapping her hand around his waist as he had done to her. "It's fine. I understand."
"Really?" the Doctor breathed out and smiled, as did Rose, who nodded and inclined for him to continue.
"Right, okay. So, the beginning." he started again. "Well, it basically started when, uh, Martha, found this book." he looked to Rose but her face showed no reaction. "And, well, she knew a bit about you, Rose, and that it was all to do with a parallel universe, and in this book, was the blueprint of a teleport chair that could transport people across the universe. So, we tried it out, only it wouldn't work properly; I only came through as an image, and it kept pulling me back and malfunctioning. Then we went to find Jack, and his Torchwood team helped us figure it out."
"Jack?" Rose asked with disbelief. "What d'you mean, Jack? Jack's... y'know... dead."
"It seems not." the Doctor said airily, not wishing to delve into that particular subject just yet.
Jackie took the Doctor's pause as an opportunity to ask questions. "How do you mean, Torchwood? I thought the Torchwood in your world shut down?"
The Doctor nodded. "That was Torchwood One; Jack's team is Torchwood Two, and it's set in Cardiff."
"Cardiff?" Mickey asked. "What the hell are they doing in -"
"Back to the point." Rose interrupted, and the Doctor smiled.
"Yeah, well," he continued. "Torchwood Two helped Martha and I research this chair invention, and one of them - Toshiko - figured out that we needed more power, so that I could come through the void properly. She found this UNIT file about a power capsule, and we started to make it." He paused again, not bothering to explain the details of the power capsule, and Rose took this unusual behaviour as a sign of how excited he was. "We made the capsule, and I used the chair again, and… well, here I am!" He lifted his free hand into the air and lowered it again to show that the account had finished, and hugged Rose closer to his side with his other hand.
"So, sorry, how does this chair thing work?" Pete asked the Doctor.
"It's like a teleport. It creates a temporary hole in the void, and it allows me to pass through; but it's so small that no damage is caused. And we've got just enough power for…" he rummaged around in his pockets with his free hand, and pulled out the metal disc transporter. "this to work."
Rose smiled in recognition of the item, but Jackie's face fell.
"It'll work?" Rose asked excitedly, taking the disc with her free hand, and Jackie frowned.
"You're… going with him?" she asked Rose quietly, and she looked to her mother sadly.
"I - I've got to go. You know what's out there, mum, and you know the Doctor." She didn't let go of the Doctor's waist, and turned to look at him. "Can we come back? If we go back to the other universe, could we come back later?" she asked, and his smile dropped.
"We - we can try, but I don't think so." he said, but without hope. "It's just…it needs so much power. I don't think it would be possible." He looked into her eyes and saw the terrible choice she had to make.
"I'm sorry."
- - - - - - -
"You know, it's weird that we haven't heard from him since he got there." Ianto spoke suddenly, and the atmosphere of the room changed from the uncomfortable silence to a worried quietness.
"Doctor?" Martha whispered into the radio, but there was no response. "Doctor? Can you hear me?" she asked again, louder this time.
"No answer. It's been hours." she reported back to the group, and Jack sighed.
"Maybe he's just… busy." he suggested, but he didn't look hopeful.
"Is there a way of going after him?" Gwen asked, but Martha shook her head. "Not enough power. And even if there was, we've got no way of finding him if the earpiece has stopped working."
Toshiko stood up slowly and walked round to the back of the chair, checking on the wires and cables connecting the different elements.
"The power's draining fast. That's probably why the earpiece connection has cut off. No signal. We need to hurry." she informed the group.
"Well, pity we've got no way of telling him that." Owen said sarcastically and unhelpfully, and there was silence once more in the dark, dusty room.
- - - - - - -
The Doctor was sat on a large sofa at the Tylers' house, watching Simone Tyler playing with her toys excitedly, pushing each of them simultaneously into the Doctor's hands. 'She looks just like a miniature Rose.' he thought, smiling cheekily at the thought. Simone gurgled back, and Jackie smiled slightly from her youngest daughter's side.
Pete came through the door from the kitchen and handed Jackie a cup of tea, then sat down on the other side of Simone, and picked up one of her toys from the floor.
"The thing is, Doctor," Jackie began, and the Doctor looked up from Simone's smiling face. "Last time she travelled with you, it wasn't exactly… safe." The Doctor looked into Jackie's eyes sincerely.
"It's her choice." he said honestly.
"So you agree then?" she confronted him. "It's not safe?"
The Doctor breathed out slowly. "No. It's not safe. But I'll take care of her, Jackie." Jackie smiled weakly; that was all she needed to hear from him.
Rose walked through the door slowly, and the Doctor looked up to meet her eyes. She dropped a large bag on the floor and walked over to Simone.
Jackie's eyes filled with regretted tears, and she shook her head in agitation.
"Don't go." she pleaded, though she knew it would be no use. "Please Rose."
Rose didn't look at her mother. She rubbed her little sister's cheek and kissed her forehead firmly, all her love for her new relation seeping through the connection.
She stood up, strongly sniffing the salty water away from her eyes. Pete took her hand and pulled her towards him, hugging her closely. It had been his one chance to give Rose her father back, and she was already leaving. He stroked her hair in a loving, fatherly way, and gently guided her towards her mother. Jackie stood up but didn't move further. Rose pulled her mother into a hug and let a single tear roll down her cheek. It lingered there before dropping onto Jackie's shoulder. When released, Jackie wiped her eyes and smiled at Rose.
"Okay." She forgave Rose without needing an apology.
"It's fine, mum." Rose insisted, and the Doctor didn't speak, giving the two a moment to be together, for what would be the last time. "The Doctor'll take care of me. You know he will." Jackie nodded, and smiled again before pulling Rose into a second hug.
"I love you." she spoke into her daughter's shoulders, and Rose replied by pulling away.
"And you know I love you. Always." she said, and turned to Pete.
"You're not my real dad." she said firmly, and he smiled apologetically. "But I still love you like one. Thanks."
He didn't reply, but hugged her affectionately. She bent down to Simone's level and smiled. "Sorry I won't be around to see you grow up." she whispered to the child, who ignored her, pushing her doll in Rose's face. She took it gingerly. "Don't forget me. I'm your older sister. And I love you - very much." She laid the doll back on the coffee table and stood up, facing the Doctor. Pete walked over to Jackie and put one arm around her, and she buried her face in his should for a moment.
"I'll never forget you all." Rose said suddenly, turning back to her family. "And make sure Simmy knows the truth about me. She deserves it. Where's Mickey?" she added, and Pete shrugged.
"Think he went home." he said quietly, and Rose nodded understandingly.
The Doctor walked out of the living room after Rose and followed her out of the house, picking up her heavy bag as he went. Jackie picked up Simone and led Pete outside with them, standing outside the door as Rose and the Doctor walked up the pathway onto the pavement outside the front garden.
"Wait!" Mickey called from a distance, running up the road to reach Rose and the Doctor. Rose smiled, relieved, and walked a few steps towards the approaching figure. When he reached Rose, he embraced her caringly, holding back the imminent salty tears in his eyes. The Doctor looked away awkwardly. When they broke apart, Mickey handed her something, placing it in her hand and closing her fingers around it. He didn't release her hand, but held onto it tightly, forcing her fingers still.
"This is from me. Don't forget about us." He released her hand and didn't move, but she didn't open her fingers. She could feel cool, smooth metal under her fingers, and a long, delicate chain. She unfurled her fingers to see a large, golden locket on a long gold chain. She stroked the smooth gold with one finger and snapped open the locket. Inside the enchanting pendant was a picture of herself, Mickey, Pete, and a pregnant Jackie.
"I couldn't find one with Simone in." Mickey said sheepishly, but Rose clasped the necklace firmly in her hand and put her arm around his neck, pulling him into another hug.
"It's wonderful." she said as they let go of one another. "I love it, thanks."
Mickey shrugged, embarrassed. "Then I guess this is it."
Rose nodded, breathing deeply. "I love you." she told him caringly, and he scoffed, but she persisted. "I do."
"An' I love you." he said after a pause, then he turned away, and went to stand with her family. Rose turned back to the Doctor with tears in her eyes.
"You know that if there was a way -" he began, but she shook her head.
"I know." she insisted. "I just can't believe I'm never going to see them again." she rubbed her forehead with the hand holding the necklace and breathed back the tears, casting a glance to her family and Mickey, stood at the door of the house.
"Just you and me, then." the Doctor smiled, and Rose laughed.
"Yeah. You and me. Together at last." she agreed, and the Doctor handed her the large grey button that was to take her away from her family for the last time.
- - - - - - -
"Okay, now I'm getting worried." Jack admitted.
"It's been… hours. Many, many, many hours." Ianto sighed, bored of the waiting in the dark.
"Trust him." Martha forced herself to remain hopeful.
"Face it. Something's happened." Owen said pessimistically.
"We don't know that." Gwen replied quickly, also refusing to give up hope.
"Oh, why are girls always like this?" Owen groaned with frustration.
"Like what? Like, we care about other people?" Gwen shot back, glad that Owen couldn't see her truthfully worried face in the darkness.
"No, like you won't see reality."
"Well, excuse us for trying to help."
"But you're not helping!"
"I'm doing more than you!"
"Quiet!" Jack intervened loudly. "No one is helping by shouting." Gwen turned back to looking at the chair, and instantly shrunk back.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed.
"What now?" Owen asked agitatedly.
"It - it's that stuff." She stood up unsurely, and Martha and Toshiko followed suit.
"I can see it. It's like, multicoloured dots, like the Doctor said. It's like they're leaking out of the chair. Like they're flooding the place." Gwen took off the glasses and thrust them into Martha's hand. "Look." she urged her, and Martha slipped the glasses on delicately, before ripping them off again almost instantly. Everyone had slowly backed away to the door.
"It's not… dangerous. Is it?" Ianto asked nervously. Martha's eyes widened.
"No… I don't think so, anyway." she replied dubiously.
"Oh, great. That's reassuring." Owen sighed, opening the door, and everyone winced at the sudden change in lighting.
"Wait, he said it was void stuff, right?" Toshiko suddenly spoke up, and Martha nodded. "Well, didn't he also say that the void was nothing? As in, just black matter? So it can't be harmful." she shrugged, and Owen closed the door, but nobody moved towards the chair.
"Still," Gwen muttered. "Just to be on the safe side…" she sat down at the back of the room next to Ianto, and Martha and Toshiko sat near them cautiously.
There was a pause, and then Martha spoke suddenly.
"He said to call him back." she realised. "He said if there was any sign of void stuff, we had to bring him back."
"But… what if he's found her? What if they're on their way back now?" Ianto asked nervously.
Toshiko stood up confidently. "If I had some electrical devices up here, I could link them with the earpiece and radio and transfer the power across, and we could find out what's going on." she suggested, and Ianto and Owen stood up.
"Yeah, okay. We'll go." Ianto offered, and began to walk out of the door with Owen by his side.
Toshiko ran to the door, calling after them as they ran out of the room. "Get mobiles, rift manipulators, anything that uses power and signal!"
Martha heard Owen yell back "Got it!" from down the corridor, and she brought her knees up to her chest, hoping to the heavens that the Doctor was okay.
- - - - - - - -
Rose reached up, waving her hair over her shoulders, and closed the golden clasps of the chain around her neck. She let the locket fall to her chest and hide underneath her jacket, close to her heart like the people inside it. The Doctor turned around to face her and smiled encouragingly, and she reciprocated it nervously.
"Ready?" he asked, and she nodded slowly.
As he put the chain of the button disc around her neck, she looked up, smiling but with tears in her eyes. When he released the button, it fell to her chest and knocked against her pendant, and her smile dropped suddenly. She gasped and held her hands over her mouth with distress. She looked up at the Doctor, and all the colour drained from her face.
"I can't do this." she whispered softly with wide eyes, shocked at her own behaviour, stepping back, and the Doctor felt his hearts sink.
"Sorry?" he asked her in shock.
"I'm sorry." she sobbed. "But they're… my family. You left me, and they were left to pick up the pieces. I can't just desert them after putting them through that. I - I can't leave them again. And never come back." She was crying now, and the Doctor's eyes were wide-open, his hearts telling him to protest but his mind not letting him. Sensing that something was wrong, Jackie approached her daughter quickly, pulling her into a comforting embrace.
"It's okay. Rose, it's fine." Jackie calmed her, speaking soothingly into her neck. The Doctor stood, frozen to the spot, and after a moment of Jackie's relaxing shushes, Rose broke away to look at the Doctor. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jackie stepped in front of her.
"No." she said quietly, before Rose could speak. "I know what you're going to say, and I won't let you." She shook her head frantically, tears in her eyes. "Because as much as I want you to stay, Rose, you don't belong here any more. You belong with the Doctor. You know I'm right." It pained her to say it, but she knew that she had to, and so, with those final words, Jackie walked away for the final time, leaving her daughter's future in the hands of the Doctor. Rose brushed away her tears, knowing her mother was right. This was what she wanted.
"Right then." the Doctor said, looking deep into Rose's eyes. "Ready?" he asked her again, and this time, she smiled, took one last look at the people she loved outside the house, and nodded firmly to the Doctor.
"Definitely."
- - - - - - -
Toshiko bit her lip with frustration as she connected wire after wire to the power capsule and the chair.
"Done." she said at last, and Owen sighed with relief.
"Yay." Owen said unenthusiastically, and Jack shot him a warning glance.
"Right." Toshiko said, ignoring Owen as she stood up next to Gwen and Martha. "Martha? Use the radio."
With a deep intake of breath, Martha braced herself and switched on the button on the microphone.
"Doctor? Are you there?" she asked hopefully, and waited patiently for a response.
- - - - - - -
The Doctor started as Martha's voice erupted into his ear with a crackle.
"Martha?" he asked, and Rose frowned.
"Uh, no. Rose." she told him, hurt, but he shook his head agitatedly.
"No. Martha, in my earpiece." he explained, and removed the earpiece from his ear, zapping it with his sonic screwdriver for a few seconds.
He held it out in the palm of his hand and pressed down on it gently.
"Martha?" he asked unsurely. "Hello?"
"Doctor? I can hear you!" The transmission was terrible, but it was definitely Martha's voice coming through the earpiece.
"Martha, hello! Haven't spoken to you in… well, hours. Oh, and meet Rose, say hello Rose, this is Rose! Martha, say hello to Rose!" the Doctor stammered nervously, hoping the two would get along.
"Um, hello?" Martha said unsurely, though the voice was hard to make out amongst the crackly diffusion.
"Hi." Rose said calmly, which the Doctor thanked her for.
"Wow. So, you're Rose." came Martha's slightly distant voice.
"Listen Martha, I lost contact with you a while back." the Doctor intervened, before anything could happen.
"Yeah, the power was fading a bit. But we've fixed it now… oh, wait, no we haven't. Tosh says it's not fixed, it's just repaired. Well, a bit."
The Doctor was finding it almost impossible to hear Martha.
"I think we're breaking up. I can't hear you very well." he informed her.
"Yeah, me neither. Hold on." There was a pause, and after a second, the background noise had disappeared.
"Better?" Martha asked, her voice sounding clearly in the quiet of the street. Rose was staring with wide eyes at the earpiece, but neither Jackie, Pete or Mickey seemed to have noticed what was going on.
"Listen, Doctor, you've got to get back." Martha said, her voice suddenly serious. "There's that stuff - void stuff - coming out of the chair. And we're losing power. That's why we lost the signal of the earpiece earlier. Doctor, I think the gap in the void's closing up. You have to hurry!"
"What does she mean?" Rose asked concernedly.
"I'll explain later." the Doctor shook his head. He replaced the earpiece into his ear and seized Rose's arms.
"Rose, listen to me." he urged her. "We have to go. Now. And if we do, we can never come back. Do you understand that? Never." He knew he had to give her the choice but secretly wished he hadn't. He knew what would be running through her mind, the possibilities, the questions, and he begged her silently to choose the 'right' answer.
"I know, Doctor." Rose insisted. "I've made my decision. And I've said my goodbyes."
The Doctor gave her a second, but she didn't reconsider.
"We're coming." he told Martha, his eyes still on Rose's.
"I need to form a telepathic link." he told Rose, putting his hands up to her temple. "You're gonna have to open your mind. Don't worry, it won't hurt." She allowed him in, fully opening her thoughts to him. He resisted the urge to delve into her thoughts and just opened the link, then pulled his hands away and found the yellow button hanging from her neck.
"This is it."
She smiled encouragingly, and with just one moment of hesitation, the Doctor pressed the button down, closed his eyes, and brought himself back to his Earth with Rose, leaving her family and Mickey to walk into the house together, leaving her behind.
The two disappeared for a second, but as Jackie carried Simone inside after Pete and Mickey entered the house, there was a loud crackling noise and the Doctor and Rose reappeared, out of breath and confused.
"What?" the Doctor exclaimed breathlessly. "But…"
"What happened?" Rose asked, panting, but the Doctor had no answer.
"Martha?" he asked, pressing his finger to the earpiece while Rose caught her breath.
The reply was once again unclear, but the Doctor could just make out Martha's voice.
"What happened? You kind of appeared, but just for a second, then you faded away. And Rose was there. Well, I guess it was her."
"Martha, I can't hear you!" he told her.
"Me neither; not well." Martha replied. "But what happened?"
"I don't know. I don't think there's enough power. That, or the gap's not big enough."
"We're working on it." came Martha's insisting voice, but the Doctor shook his head, frustrated.
"No, it won't work." He was ready to give up, to admit defeat. "How are the void stuff levels?"
"I can't tell what you're saying!" Martha's voice came through, impatient and loud, but heavily distorted. "I don't know if you can hear me, but we're getting more power."
"Martha!" the Doctor tried again, but the signal had once again died.
"Lost her." he told Rose, ripping the earpiece out of his ear. He paced backwards and forwards down the pavement and Rose watched nervously.
"Is there anything we can do?" she asked. "You said we needed power; can we boost it from this side?"
The Doctor shook his head in frustration. "No. It's got to be linked to the chair. That's the element. It's the key to bringing you back." There was a pause, and the Doctor stopped walking to look into Rose's hopeful eyes.
"Don't you see, Rose?" he asked her impatiently, but she didn't reply. He reached out and took hold of her wrist. "I can't do it. It's not going to work. I've got to leave you here." There were tears in his eyes as he caressed her skin. She breathed in slowly.
"What do you mean?" she asked, willing her own tears away as one fell down the Doctor's cheek.
"Matter from the void is creeping out into my world. If I stay here any longer… both universes will collapse." He let go of her hand and covered his mouth. "I've been stupid, Rose. I was so set on finding you… I never thought to check it was safe. Because I assumed, Rose. I assumed that the gap in the void wouldn't be big enough to cause any damage, because it didn't when I came through before, as an image. But I got it all wrong; the chair wasn't built to cross realities. It can't cope. It made a rip in the void. A huge gap that's going to pull things in and spit things out. And it's in the TARDIS." he added the final sentence as realisation hit him with a thud.
"I created a black hole, right in the middle of the TARDIS. It's got the whole of the time vortex to feed on, and soon it'll be pulling things in. Starting with the people in that room. And there's no way to warn anyone." he ran his fingers through his hair, begging himself to think of an answer. "There's got to be something. There has to be a way." he insisted, pacing up and down the street.
Suddenly he stopped panicking and returned his gaze to Rose.
"I - I have to go. Now. Without you." he said simply, but Rose clung onto his sleeve.
"But you can't." she said, tears falling fast down her cheeks. "If we wait, they might find more power. On the other side, they might work out what's going on. We just have to wait." The Doctor didn't hide his own tears as they plummeted down his face, unstoppable. He shook his head regretfully.
"I can't. The void is being ripped apart; there's no time. I can't take you with me because there's not enough power. It's the only way. I have to leave you here." He shook his head sorrowfully.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for doing this to you, again." he choked out. "I wish I could take you; it's killing me that I can't. But you have to understand, Rose, it's you or the world. And believe me, if I could, I would choose you. Because you would be worth every particle of dust, in the burning skies of every collapsed planet. And I want nothing more than to break open the void and take you back to the TARDIS with me. But -"
"Doctor." Rose interrupted, her shimmering face giving away her clear despair. "I love you." she wept, for the second time.
The Doctor let tears fall down his face weakly, not believing that he had to do this for a second, final time. "Rose…" He didn't know where to begin.
"Just… say it. Please?" she asked him, begging to hear just three words.
"I do. Of course I do." he told her, his voice breaking slightly.
"I just need to hear it." she sobbed. "Say it. Why won't you ever say it?"
"Because then I'd be saying goodbye." the Doctor replied simply. He reached out and touched Rose's forehead, breaking the telepathic link, and she sobbed more.
"I love you." she repeated, trying to be strong as he stepped back.
"I know." the Doctor told her feebly. "And you know I do too."
"Doctor!" Rose persisted, and the Doctor dropped his head.
After a brief silence, broken only by the sound of the pair's tears falling to the ground, the Doctor raised his head and walked suddenly towards Rose. He reached out and placed a hand behind her back, pressing his lips up against hers with lust and longing. His other hand found her neck, and the Doctor pulled her towards his body in an embrace. Rose responded forecefully, running her fingers through the Doctor's hair, and the two were entwined gracefully, impervious to their surroundings, as if the worlds depended on their final moments together.
The Doctor finally pulled away, and stepped back out of reach.
"I will always love you." he said confidently, tears running down his cheeks smoothly, and he gazed at Rose's tear-stained face with yearning.
Rose stared straight into his eyes, not able to speak, as the Doctor faded before her once again.
She stood for a moment, still with shock, and then the reality hit her. He couldn't come back. It was over, for the last time. She buried her face in her hands and cried until she couldn't bear it anymore. She sunk into a ball in the middle of the road and sobbed, because there was nothing else she could do.
A hand appeared over her shoulder, and someone wrapped their arms around her comfortingly. She didn't speak, and neither did Mickey, as he rocked her back and forth caringly, kissing the top of her head, trying to share her pain. Jackie and Pete stayed in the house, staring sadly out at their disheartened daughter through the window.
- - - - - - -
The Doctor appeared in the chair suddenly, and Martha jumped back with shock. Gwen shrieked with surprise and there was a sigh of relief when everyone realised it was the Doctor. But they could all tell something wasn't right, because the Doctor was alone, and he didn't move from the chair; he covered his face with his hands and tried to control his sobbing.
"Doctor?" Jack asked tentatively, ushering everyone else out of the room. "What happened?" Owen, Ianto, Toshiko and Gwen left silently, looking back over their shoulders at the crying shadow of the Doctor as they closed the door behind them. Martha kneeled down on the floor next to the Doctor, and reached out to touch his leg gently.
"Doctor?" she asked quietly, but he pulled away, not answering. After a moment's pause, he released his face and let his arms rest on his knees.
"Where's Rose?" Jack asked, and the Doctor stared straight ahead.
"In the other universe."
Martha and Jack exchanged glances as the Doctor lifted himself up off the chair.
"What do you mean?" Martha asked as he walked to the opposite door and leant on the wall. The Doctor didn't speak for a moment, gathering his thoughts.
"There wasn't enough power. I couldn't bring her back. She's…gone." he told himself, losing hope.
"But… there must be another way." Martha suggested, but the Doctor looked up angrily.
"No. I am never putting Rose through that, ever again. Do you hear me? That's it, it's over." he told her firmly, his despair turning into rage. "Because there's nothing else I can do. And because she doesn't deserve it!" Martha looked at him sadly and the Doctor dropped his gaze to the floor, where the 3D Glasses lay, from when Gwen had ripped them off with surprise as the Doctor had appeared.
"The void…" he whispered weakly, rushing over to the machine. He frantically flicked all the switches off and unplugged everything, then, venting his anger through his actions, he kicked the chair madly with a growl of frustration escaping his lips. Jack pulled him away and he sank down against the wall, suddenly not speaking, not crying, and not longing for Rose. He had given up hope.
"It'll get better." Martha insisted. "And... I'll stay, for a bit. If you want." The Doctor didn't reply, but Martha could tell he didn't want to force her to stay. "In fact, even if you don't want me to, I'm staying. Because I won't leave you now." She reeled off all the reasons he still had to live, and all the ways his life would get better.
But the Doctor wasn't listening to Martha's words of comfort. He wasn't hearing Jack's heavy breathing from the corner of the room. He stared ahead miserably, focusing on the chair when it was all he could do not to lash out and destroy it. Rose's face emerged out of the darkness into his mind, and he closed his eyes for a moment, letting a small tear of regret roll down his cheek. Then he opened his eyes and the face was gone. Rose was gone.
It was over.
Arghh, what have I done?! Lol. Hopefully I've left a few of you teary-eyed; that was my aim, because I'm evil. Just kidding; I really hope you enjoyed it!
The title of the chapter was supposed to be kind of cryptic, like, you start off thinking it's Rose's goodbye to her family, but it's actually the Doctor and Rose's goodbye. Did it work, or not?
A few questions need to be answered, I guess (most of which I expect none of you care about):
1. Yes, I had planned to have a sad ending the whole way through. Kind of. It started off happy, then went sad, but there were only ever three choices of endings (One was a happy reunion, one was this ending, and the third was Rose dying, so I think you actually got off pretty lightly, lol). I hope it proved a good ending, especially to the reviewers who told me my story was "predictable" and "boring"; I wanted to say something, but didn't, so I hope I surprised you!
2. No, I probably won't do an alternative ending. Sorry, I just can't write happy fluff very well, although, looking back, I can't really write this very well either =P
3. Yes, I do have ideas for a sequel (-all groan-), but I'm not sure quite where it's headed. It will include Donna as the assistant if I write it.
My thanks go to all my loyal reviewers who have been giving me feedback throughout the story, and to those of you who didn't review, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Thanks to the many, many people who contributed to the 7000+ hits to this story, and a big thank you to my best friend, Braceface Freak, who helped me out a lot.